Publications: A Social State
Duty to care
David Price, Professor Allyson Pollock
Policy paper, 14 May 2013
Proponents of the argument that tax-financed or ‘free’ health care is a privilege we can no longer afford are unable to explain why universal health care was instituted when the world’s economy was very much smaller than it is today. This paper asks - if the UK could create an NHS when the country was literally bankrupt, why in England (but not in Scotland or Wales) can the government not sustain the NHS today? They suggest the answer is political and not financial and that the response of the left must be political too.
In Land Revenue
Andy Hull
Think piece, 8 May 2013
This paper argues that our current land economy does not serve us well. In response, it proposes a Land Value Tax for the UK. A Land Value Tax, targeted at unproductive wealth and speculation, could help deliver the house-building revolution – and the economic revival – our country desperately needs. In the end though, the proposition is simple. The few who own this land of ours should not get off tax-free while too many people cannot afford a decent home.
Financing the Social State
Richard Murphy, Howard Reed
Policy paper, 22 April 2013
This paper seeks to show that the policy of austerity that has increased idleness and has now given rise to the additional problem of disguised underemployment, makes no economic sense. Focusing on fiscal and taxation policies, Richard Murphy and Howard Reed argue that, as in Beveridge's time, the global recession now provides another revolutionary moment in which new thinking is required.
The Case for Universalism
Mike Danson, Paul Spicker, Robin McAlpine, Willie Sullivan
Policy paper, 18 April 2013
Universalism is once again edging up the political agenda. This underlying principle behind the welfare state has always been reviled by those who wish to see it dismantled, but more immediately concerning is a growing acceptance that in order to protect vital public services the ideal of universal coverage should be abandoned in favour of selectivity. Due to these concerns, this paper puts forward the case for universalism by examining its effects on society; the economy; taxation, redistribution and equality; and political philosophy, whilst debating, in contrast, the problems that come with selectivity.
Exposing the Myths of Welfare
Class-Red Pepper Magazine
Briefing, 10 April 2013
This pamphlet is the first in a series of mythbusters from Class and Red Pepper, designed to expose the realities behind the recurring myths which often scew the debate on welfare.
Abolishing Want in a Social State
Kate Bell
Policy paper, 10 March 2013
Beveridge's 1942 Report was first and foremost a plan for the abolition of want. Yet want, in the form of poverty, has proved far from easy to abolish. This paper attempts to understand why, 70 years after the Beveridge Report, poverty continues to be so prevalent and will attempt to suggest what a renewed attack on want might look like.
Tackling Squalor
Duncan Bowie
Policy paper, 4 March 2013
'Tackling Squalor' was commissioned as part of the Social State series to address the Giant Evil of ‘squalor’ and propose new policy priorities for housing in 2015 Britain. This paper argues that the best way to counter the residualisation of social housing and the spatial concentration of social housing tenants is to radically increase the supply of social housing.
Achieving a Social State
Zoe Williams
Think piece, 25 February 2013
This first paper in the Social State series of work looks at what we can learn from Beveridge’s analysis of society and explores how his Giant Evils can be redefined for today.
Blog:
Mervyn King’s rosy recovery prediction means little for a shattered nation
Publication:
Duty to care
Blog:
The case for a Land Value Tax
