The Solidarity Society: Why we can afford to end poverty and how to do it with public support

The Solidarity Society sets out a strategy for tackling poverty in Britain over the coming decades. It is the final report of a major Fabian Society research project, supported by the Webb Memorial Trust. The project marked the centenary of the Minority Report to the Royal Commission on the Poor Law, in which Beatrice Webb argued for the abolition of the workhouse and the creation of a modern welfare state.

The book argues for the importance of solidarity and strong social relationships in sustaining generous welfare states, and discusses how to reform our welfare institutions to better nurture the solidarity we need – calling for more universal benefits and services, and for a new welfare contract that would reward all who contribute to society.

The project sought to learn lessons from the successes and failures of post-war welfare history, as well as from international evidence on poverty prevention. It also looked at evidence on public attitudes to welfare, including original opinion research conducted especially for the project.

You can buy a printed copy edition of Why The Solidarity Society for £12.95, plus £1 p+p, by phoning the Fabian Society bookshop on 020 7227 4900, emailing us  or sending a cheque payable to “The Fabian Society” to 11 Dartmouth Street, London, SW1H 9BN.