Universal credit is a disaster on almost every level. Its implementation has been catastrophic, its design is deeply flawed and it provides too little for struggling families. But it is a disaster that can be rescued, with common sense and...
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Labour has the opportunity to carve out a fresh approach on social security, based on the principles of fairness, dignity and respect, writes Ruth Patrick
For lots of reasons, the 2017 general election felt very different from recent battles to secure...
For a decade, I’ve been writing about the crisis in English social care. So it came as little surprise last year when a close member of my own family became yet another victim of our failing system of care and...
On Friday 1 September the government’s flagship policy to provide working families with 30 hours of free childcare came into effect. If you cast your mind back to the 2015 general election, you’ll remember both Labour and Conservative manifestos offered a commitment...
Exploring new models of taxation
After the financial crisis, when tax revenues collapsed and public deficits soared, social democrats sought new ways of pursuing social justice which were less reliant on public spending. They rightly focused on the reform of markets,...
For Whose Benefit? The everyday realities of welfare reform, Ruth Patrick, Policy Press, 2017, £19.99
Since the general election, poverty has been hitting the headlines. The most recent critics of Conservative welfare cuts have included PM Gordon Brown who has warned:...