70 YEARS OF WELFARE STATE TORIES DESTROY IT

  

SIR WILLIAM BEVERIDGE

It was on 1 December 1942 Sir William Beveridge dreams came true and the Welfare State was born. It protects the people from the cradle to the grave.

It was Labour Party's greatest gift to the Nation 

Beveridge made sure that out of the horror of the World War 2 a welfare state was created and to change the squalor, ignorance, want, idleness and disease once and for all. During his stay in the Oxford University he wrote an autobiography and mentioned the question why Britain with great wealth has still so much poverty? He sat about to change it.

In 1900 he witnesses at first hand the misery of poverty in the East End of London as a voluteer. He realised that with charities, medical boards and prison the problem could not be solved.  He remembered a dreadful place in Shadwell named Medland Hall. It was a free shelter and down and outs were queuing up for hours to get a place. It taught him that hand-outs and drop-in shelters are not the real answer to the problem.

From 1900 he started his campaign for jobs and growth pointing out that these are the fundamental needs for a just society.  He further demanded a minimum wage, free school meals and old age pensions. Furthermore, labour exchanges for the unemployed and insurance benefits if they can’t work.

At a time of total inequality these were a lot of great radical ideas. However, after 30 years of campaigning and fighting for it Sir William Beveridge manages to get it established.

The Second World War gave him the chance. Beveridge was in charge of a most unimportant inquiry into the co-ordination of social services.  He turned it into a full blown fight for social justice.

His report Social Insurance and Allied Services became a best seller for 100,000 copies in the first month. The British people started to fight for it and demanded no return to the 30s.  The report showed a determination to destroy the real problems by demanded a comprehensive welfare system such as National Health Services, child allowances and full employment.

The Beveridge revolution certainly brought about welfare for all. It was brought about by contribution of taxpayers to National Insurance. A democratic way and brilliant common sense to benefit everyone. It was also a way of acknowledging the great sacrifices people showed and gave during the war.

He also established, with his demands, that the poor were treated with much more respect.

During the Tory-led coalition the report was pushed into the back ground and they hope it will be lost and forgotten.  A group of Labour MPs fought to keep it alive and when Labour won the election in 1945 the Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee made sure the report was implemented.

The Family Allowance Act gave the child benefit; the National Insurance Act covered unemployment benefit and pensions.  In 1948 the people of Britain received the greatest gift of them all – the National Health Service.

Beveridge was determined to establish a welfare state for all and not hand outs. He wanted the people to be covered when times were hard and individual freedom with responsibilities.

All these sweeping changes proved full production and respectable living standard.

All Beveridge’s vision and proven perfect ideas are now under attack and again from the Tories. Already there are food banks establishing by the hundreds across Britain which proves the people are not being able to cope any more even when they are in employment.

In the North of England women walking for miles to get to the food banks, even in pouring rain, because they can’t afford the bus fare. The Prime Minister and his government should be aware of it and yet they are still cutting benefits. 

The Tories and their coalition are determined to dismantle the welfare state with withdrawal of child benefits, attacks on the NHS in the so-called “reform” and cutting the Disability benefit which is the worse.  The Disabled people are supposed to be going back to work but there is no work. The Tories even closing the factories for the disable people and outside there are 2.5million unemployed of all ages who can’t get a job.  Therefore there is no employment for r disabled people.

WHAT DO THEY THINK PEOPLE LIVE ON? OR DON’T THEY THINK ABOUT IT?  OR DOES IT NOT MATTER TO THEM?