Social policy case study 1: Modern Conservatism, practical social justice and welfare reform

Abstract

Having assessed the theoretical and philosophical origins of the concept of social justice, we move on to focus on how the term has influenced the contemporary social policy agenda of the Conservative Party in practice, particularly in the sphere of general welfare reform. In the context of reframing the Conservative policy message in both image and rhetorical terms while aligning it with an appropriate ideological framework, the desire to mould a new and distinct 21st-century interpretation of ‘social justice’ has been a key challenge for David Cameron’s leadership, both while in political opposition from late 2005 and in power from mid-2010. The narrative and analysis of Britain’s ‘broken society’ has therefore been a central and developing theme of the Cameron era since his accession to the Conservative Party leadership; a mechanism to allow him to propose his own distinct political solutions.