Analysing the History of British Social Welfare

Jonathan Parker is Professor of Society and Social Welfare at Bournemouth University and Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Stavanger.

• 1. Concepts, Continuities and Critique2. A Brief History of British Social Welfare3. Philosophical Binaries and Normative Judgements4. Chocolate, Flowers and Social Welfare Reform5. War: The Paradoxical Crucible of Welfare Reform6. Gendered Perspectives on Welfare7. Piacular Austerity: Sacrificing the Poor for the Rich8. Universal Credit vs. Universal Basic Income: Strange Bedfellows?9. Containing the Radicals and Regulating the ‘Other’: A History of the Strange Case of Social Work10. W(h)ither Welfare After Brexit and COVID-19?

“Parker has provided an insightful analysis of the history of the welfare state. In exploring why welfare policies follow certain paths, Parker offers a critical insight into welfare states development and its multiple potential futures.” Lee Gregory, University of Nottingham