Is further welfare state retrenchment likely in the UK?

Résumé ou Introduction

The welfare state is an important part of the British state politics since its establishment and development. It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the modern society processes like aging of population, rise of unemployment, declining financial resources and their pressure over the welfare system structure. The rapid economic and demographic changes after the Second World War are having a serious effect on the social policy system of Britain. In recent years there has been an increasing interest among social scientists in the examining and restructuring the welfare state system, particularly after the conservative welfare state reforms of the 80’s. The issue of welfare retrenchment has been a controversial and much disputed subject within the field of social policy. This paper will focus on the question if further welfare state retrenchment is likely in the UK, critically examining the politics of the National Health Service and the Politics concerning Disabled People.
The first section of this paper will concentrate on the status of the welfare system in the state and the main sources of influence for successful retrenchment policies. It will than go on to the particular policy field of the Health services in the UK and outline its specific position in the British welfare system. Finally, the essay will describe the special features in the Disabled Politics in Britain and discuss if further welfare retrenchment in this area is expectable.