Re-Doubling the Crises of the Welfare State: The impact of Brexit on UK welfare politics

Peter Taylor-Gooby

doi:10.1017/s0047279417000538

Abstract

AbstractThe double crisis approach distinguishes two kinds of challenge confronting modern welfare states: long-term structural problems and short-term difficulties resulting from policy choices which affect the success with which the long-term issues can be addressed. Structural challenges include two main areas:•globalisation and technological changes demanding that governments direct attention to national competitiveness, and•population ageing, requiring more spending on pensions, and health and social care.Recent policy-related problems include the austerity programme since 2010 which has been particularly directed towards benefits and services for working-age people. Responses to both kinds of challenge have set the stage for Brexit.

Highlights

In The Double Crisis of the Welfare State (2012) and other work (2016), I argue that in the case of the UK, policies since 2010 have done little to address the longterm problem of competitiveness
Instead they have compounded it by curtailing social policy resources, directing what was available to pensions and to some extent health care financed mainly by harsh cuts on working-age people
The continuing double crisis: long and short-term pressures Long-term structural challenges: globalisation and population ageing The double crisis identified two major long-term pressures on the UK welfare state: globalisation and technological change, and population ageing. These processes are very different in their impact on the welfare state and on welfare politics

Summary

Introduction

The overall impact of population ageing policy is to direct a yet higher proportion of constrained spending towards older people, making it more difficult to develop the human and social investment regime necessary to advance the quality of labour. The most striking issue for the UK welfare state is the need to improve productivity in order to compete effectively in a world market, increasing resources available to sustain social provision for all age groups.

Results

Conclusion