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The one nation idea and state welfare: the Conservatives and pensions in the 1950s

The one nation idea and state welfare: the Conservatives and pensions in the 1950s
The one nation idea and state welfare: the Conservatives and pensions in the 1950s
The Conservatives’ 1959 earnings-related pension scheme has rightly been dismissed by historians as an exercise in financial retrenchment. However, the debate that preceded its introduction has been ignored. This, it is argued, involved the first concerted attempt by ‘One Nation’ Conservatives to construct a social policy different both from the Conservative right’s rigid adherence to laissez-faire government and Labour’s uncritical statism. The state would guarantee and regulate greater private pension provision, but would only provide pensions as a last resort. The Treasury and the Conservative right blocked these proposals in 1957–58, but similar ideas continued to inform debates on pensions policy after this date.
83-104
Bridgen, Paul
6a2060f6-cbab-47d4-a831-ff82350055c9
Bridgen, Paul
6a2060f6-cbab-47d4-a831-ff82350055c9

Bridgen, Paul (2000) The one nation idea and state welfare: the Conservatives and pensions in the 1950s. Contemporary British History, 14 (3), 83-104. (doi:10.1080/13619460008581595).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The Conservatives’ 1959 earnings-related pension scheme has rightly been dismissed by historians as an exercise in financial retrenchment. However, the debate that preceded its introduction has been ignored. This, it is argued, involved the first concerted attempt by ‘One Nation’ Conservatives to construct a social policy different both from the Conservative right’s rigid adherence to laissez-faire government and Labour’s uncritical statism. The state would guarantee and regulate greater private pension provision, but would only provide pensions as a last resort. The Treasury and the Conservative right blocked these proposals in 1957–58, but similar ideas continued to inform debates on pensions policy after this date.

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Published date: 2000

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 33818
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/33818
PURE UUID: a6a651d3-5f73-44a4-abfa-c10edb8fe72a
ORCID for Paul Bridgen: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6039-3254

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Date deposited: 20 Jul 2006
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:03

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