From conception to revolution : a study of the British Unemployment Insurance Scheme, 1906-1945
Date
1990
Authors
Haack, Paul Stephen
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Abstract
On November 29, 1942, William Beveridge, one of the draftsmen of Britain's first unemployment insurance act, submitted his report titled Social Insurance and Allied Services to Winston Churchill's wartime coalition government. The submission of this document was indeed a milestone in twentieth century British history. Essentially, it has proved to be the blueprint for the welfare state which was established by the following Labour Government. Within his report, Beveridge reconstructed Britain's failing unemployment insurance, health insurance and pension schemes along with outlining entirely new schemes for children's allowances, marriage and maternity benefits and funeral grants.
These aforementioned institutions have played a distinctive and important role in post Second World War British society. Although the nation was no longer the world power that it was prior to the war, the post war period saw significant changes in the material quality of British life. As a result of this phenomenon, there are two interpretations of post war British history. The first tends to emphasize the decline of Britain after the Second World War. Some historians draw attention to the fact that: the nation had become a secondary power overshadowed by the emergence of the two new 'super powers'; the once great empire was quickly being dismantled; and Britain was not able to compete as efficiently as other industrialized nations. Other historians tend to see the post war period as being the 'rebirth' of the nation. They draw attention to the fact that it was during the 1950s and 1960s that fantastic improvements were made in the quality of life. On the whole, Britons had never been better off in terms of health, diet, housing and education. In fact, during the 1957 General Election, the Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan campaigned on the slogan "You've never had it so good". Much of this individual prosperity was, in part, attributable to Beveridge's plan for social security.
The purpose of this thesis is to attempt to comprehend the development of the welfare state by examining that institution which seems to have been most influential in its creation; namely unemployment insurance. Beginning with its conception in 1906 and concluding with the the decision to entrench the Beveridge Plan in 1945, this work will examine Britain's unemployment legislation in light of political, social and economic conditions. This work shall also attempt to determine and define a historical pattern to Britain's social security system.