In Welfare Policy Under New Labour, Andrew Connell attempts to map out some of the deficiencies in policymaking during those heady days when Frank Field was parachuted in to ‘think the unthinkable’ as welfare reform minister.
Connell’s prose is academic and serious rather than comic. His interest is in structures rather than the gritty detail of political fist fights. Yet readers will see the basis for Thick-of-It-style farce in what he sets out: the disharmony between ministers and officials in the then Department for Social Security; its weakness against the Treasury steamroller that produced the New Deal and tax credit infrastructure without bothering to involve the department nominally in charge of welfare policy; and the early ineffectiveness of No 10 which was unable to ensure Tony Blair’s support for Field translated into meaningful change.
But this book is most important for the way it examines how Field’s vision for reform found itself in conflict with that of Gordon Brown, and ultimately made little impact. In one corner of the ring sat the maverick former head of the Child Poverty Action Group whose Christian socialism drove him to believe government should ‘set people free’ by reducing reliance on state help. In the other sat the mighty New Labour chancellor who was determined to construct a new form of welfare epitomised in his tax credits and New Deal for the long-term unemployed: one where government agencies played an active and ongoing role redistributing wealth by targeting resources to get people off benefit and into work. In Brown’s model, people deserved help regardless of whether they had paid their contributions in the past, so targeting and means-testing increased. Field’s model was designed to reduce means-testing and revived the national insurance principle that those who hadn’t made a contribution could not expect the same level of help.
It wasn’t a fair fight: Brown won, Field got pulverised and has never served as a minister since.
This is far more than yet another stroll down memory lane: it should spur on those of us who want to see Labour driving welfare reform in the next decade even more effectively than the landmark progress secured since 1997. If it stimulates within the Labour party a serious re-examination of Field’s guiding ethos, Connell’s work could prove to be very significant indeed.
For more on welfare, read Margaret Curran’s article on the removal of the mobility component from the disability living allowance
Welfare Policy Under New Labour
Andrew Connell | IB Tauris
208pp, £56.00
Well said John Woodcock. What a shame that as a result of the clash you describe, one of Labour’s best thinkers was cast into the political wilderness and that it took a CONSERVATIVE government to bring him back into the system. Had Frank won the day, we might have been the ones reforming welfare for the benefit of the whole of society, rather than the Tories and Lib Dems – who will do so with far less concern for fairness and social justice.
Soooo,the big C.says the Big S. is about “devolving (?) power (???) downwards (?) so “neighbourhoods (?) take control of their destiny ” (who writes this stuff,Stephen Speilberg ?) Devolving power downwards sounds like a new aerobic exercise to work on core muscles! I think his ‘people’ ie.boys in the backroom have been taking a few buzzwords from the gym ! We obviously need some examples of what this magic ‘power’ will affect,is it like pixie dust? can you sprinkle it on anything? If he’s sending his ‘special officers’ in to ‘deprived areas’ to cheer lead,I think we should just hide! We had a dippy Community Development Officer here in North Kensington who wanted to cover the railway bridge with Moroccan tiles ,great, considering some of the London bombers actually met at times in the cafe over the road! I said then ,fer gawds sake lets just paint the bridge green ,this is no more a Moroccan area than Afro-Caribbean,Irish,Portuguese,Spanish ,etc etc, born and bred old school white and the rich totty-posho’s from up the road who like to pop down here for latte and to score , yah (and they are the one’s calling it “Little Morocco”.
We may as well keep a Tory Government then since new labour seems to be health and alive,
it’s a pity about the cut backs Robert or they could probably have got someone from Social Services to pop round and help you with that depression,because my dear that is what your anger really is . The Labour Part does want to help people but you need a professional ,there might be a voluntary organisation you could contact ,your doctor might know of one ,good luck.