Philosophers and social theorists have long debated what equality is, and this book probes what this means for both those at the centre and on the margins of society. That people should be treated as equals is one of the core principles that underpin our society. Britain is in many ways a fairer and more equal society today than at any other time in living memory. One hundred years ago women were not allowed to vote: this seems preposterous now. It is an undeniable truth, however, that inequalities still persist today. In some cases they seem to grow. Prejudice is apparent in everyday life, and flares up from time to time on a national scale. From Brixton to Bradford, history is littered with examples. This book engages with key issues today, and engages with how far we have come as a society facing up to difficulties of the past and more recent challenges. It goes on to explore ways forward to ensure that we remain an open and tolerant society.

This is the first book to describe the real lives of unmarried mothers, and attitudes towards them, in England from the First World War to the present day. The focus is on England because the legal positions, and other circumstances, of unmarried mothers were often very different elsewhere in Britain. The authors use biographies and memoirs, as well as archives and official sources, to challenge stereotypes of the mothers as desolate women, rejected by society and by their families, until social attitudes were transformed in the 'permissive' 1960s. They demonstrate the diversity of their lives, their social backgrounds, and how often they were supported by their families, neighbours, and the fathers of their children before the 1960s, and the continuing hostility by some sections of society since then. They challenge stereotypes, too, about the impact of war on sexual behaviour, and about the stability of family life before the 1960s. Much of the evidence comes from the records of the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and Her Child, set up by prominent people in 1918 to help a social group they believed were neglected, and which is still very active today, as Gingerbread, supporting lone parents in need of help. Their work tells us not only about the lives of those mothers and children who had no other support, but also another important story about the vibrancy of voluntary action throughout the past century and its continuing vital role, working alongside and in co-operation with the Welfare State to help mothers into work among other things. Their history is an inspiring example of how, throughout the past century, voluntary organizations in the 'Big Society' worked with, not against, the 'Big State'.

The continuing under-representation of women in political and public life remains a matter of concern across a wide range of countries, including the UK and Ireland. Within the UK it is a topical issue as political parties currently debate strategies, often controversial, which will increase women's representation. At the same time, devolution has ushered in significant change in the level of women's representation in Scotland and Wales and improved representation for women in Northern Ireland. That such increases in women's representation in political institutions have been slow in coming is indisputable, given that full enfranchisement of women on equal terms with men was achieved in Ireland in 1921 and in the UK in 1928.>

Sinners? Scroungers? Saints? is the first book to describe the real lives of unmarried mothers, and attitudes towards them, in England from the First World War to the present day. Pat Thane and Tanya Evans use biographies and memoirs, as well as archives and official sources, to challenge stereotypes of the mothers as desolate women, rejected by society and by their families, until social attitudes were transformed in the 'permissive' 1960s. They demonstrate the diversity of their lives, their social backgrounds, and how often they were supported by their families, neighbours, and the fathers of their children before the 1960s, and the continuing hostility by some sections of society since then. They challenge stereotypes, too, about the impact of war on sexual behaviour, and about the stability of family life before the 1960s. Much of the evidence comes from the records of the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and Her Child, set up by sympathetic men and women in 1918 to help a social group they believed were neglected, and which is still very active today, as Gingerbread, supporting lone parents in need of help. Their work tells us not only about the lives of those mothers and children who had no other support, but also another important story about the vibrancy of voluntary action throughout the past century and its continuing vital role, working alongside and in co-operation with the Welfare State to help mothers into work, among other things. Their history is an inspiring example of how, throughout the past century, voluntary organizations in the 'Big Society' worked with, not against, the 'Big State'.

At the turn of the millennium more people are living into their seventies, eighties, nineties and even beyond. Is the existence of so many old people in Britain something new? Are they creating an intolerable burden of costs of care and pensions on a shrinking younger generation? This book shows that old people have always been an important presence in English society. It describes the variety of ways in which they have lived their lives, and argues that as more people live longer, they are fit and active for longer. Older people can and do benefit society more than they burden it.

Originally published in 1978 The Origins of British Social Policy arose dissatisfaction with conventional approaches to the subject of welfare responsibilities in the state. This volume stresses the complexity of conscious and unconscious influences upon policy, which include such political imperatives as the wish to maintain social order, to maintain and increase economic and military efficiency and to preserve and strengthen the family as a central social institution. It suggests that the break between unsympathetic nineteenth-century Poor Law attitudes towards the poor and modern 'welfare state' approaches has been less sharp or complete than is often assumed.

Available in paperback for the first time, this book examines a decade of extraordinary ferment in ideas, and the battles about those ideas out of which emerged the Britain of the late-twentieth century. In addressing the ideational contours of the decade, Reassessing 1970s Britain takes an innovative approach. It assembles a group of actors who were influential in generating and disseminating new ideas in the 1970s to reflect on key texts and arguments in which they were closely involved during that decade, and debate them with contemporary historians. It ranges over a wide field, encompassing politics, economics, women's liberation and popular culture. It also engages with the ways in which such ideas were disseminated to a wider audience. Reassessing 1970s Britain will be of interest to lecturers and students in a wide range of disciplines: modern British history, economic history, cultural history, social history, politics, gender studies and cultural studies. -- .

Originally published in 1978 The Origins of British Social Policy arose dissatisfaction with conventional approaches to the subject of welfare responsibilities in the state. This volume stresses the complexity of conscious and unconscious influences upon policy, which include such political imperatives as the wish to maintain social order, to maintain and increase economic and military efficiency and to preserve and strengthen the family as a central social institution. It suggests that the break between unsympathetic nineteenth-century Poor Law attitudes towards the poor and modern 'welfare state' approaches has been less sharp or complete than is often assumed.

This book examines a decade of extraordinary ferment in ideas, and the battles about those ideas out of which emerged the Britain of the late-twentieth century. In addressing the ideational contours of the decade, Reassessing 1970s Britain takes an innovative approach. It assembles a group of actors who were influential in generating and disseminating new ideas in the 1970s to reflect on key texts and arguments in which they were closely involved during that decade, and debate them with contemporary historians. It ranges over a wide field, encompassing politics, economics, women's liberation, and popular culture. It also engages with the ways in which such ideas were disseminated to a wider audience.Reassessing 1970s Britain will be of interest to lecturers and students in a wide range of disciplines: modern British history, economic history, cultural history, social history, politics, gender studies, and cultural studies.

Women have always made up the majority of older people: this examination of the lives of elderly women in Britain in the period 1500 to the present reveals attitudes towards the ageing process. It sheds light on household structures as well as wider issues - including the history of the family, the process of industrialisation, the poor law, and welfare provision - and questions many common beliefs about elderly women, particularly that female old age was a time of poverty and want. An important book for students of history and sociology alike.

Based on themes such as status and welfare, Old Age from Antiquity to Post-Modernity examines the role of the elderly in history. This empirical study represents a substantial contribution to both the historical understanding of old age in past societies as well as the discussion of the contribution of post-modernism to historical scholarship.

This new collection of essays examines the lives of older women in Britain from 1500 to the present and gives a fascinating insight into the lives of elderly women from a range of different social strata and different times. This latest book in the " Women and Men in History" series will break down some widely held assumptions revealing attitudes towards the aging process and challenging common beliefs and stereotypes. The book sheds light on the history of family relationships, welfare provision, changing female self-images and the structure of the family in pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial Britain and, in doing so, the book can also modify our understanding of wider society. The essays draw on women's diaries, autobiographies, social surveys, mass observation and a fascinating variety of other sources. This an important book for anyone interested in sociology, history, social policy, gerontology or women's studies. Also available in Hardcover - 0-582-32901-9 $79.95Y

Based upon interdisciplinary themes such as status and welfare, Old Age contains a collection of pieces examining old age in the study of history and places the problem of a rapidly ageing population in its historical context.
Covering from Ancient Greece to modern Germany and America, Old Age features both methodological and empirical studies. It represents a substantial contribution to the historical understanding of old age in past societies as well as to the discussion about the contribution of post-modernism to historical scholarship.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203021029

A fully revised and rewritten second edition of a book which is now regarded as a classic. Takes full advantage of new research and places strong emphasis on voluntary action and the role of women in the shaping of social policy. It retains the excellent historical perspective that makes it unique among its competitors, comparing recent policy changes to pre-1950 welfare policy.

A fully revised and rewritten second edition of a book which is now regarded as a classic. Takes full advantage of new research and places strong emphasis on voluntary action and the role of women in the shaping of social policy. It retains the excellent historical perspective that makes it unique among its competitors, comparing recent policy changes to pre-1950 welfare policy.

This new collection gathers together the best work in social history published in essay form in the past decade. A substantial introduction surveys the rapid growth in this field of study.

At the turn of the millennium more people are living into their seventies, eighties, nineties and even beyond. Is the existence of so many old people in Britain something new? Are they creating an intolerable burden of costs of care and pensions on a shrinking younger generation? This book shows that old people have always been an important presence in English society. It describes the variety of ways in which they have lived their lives, and argues that as more people live longer, they are fit and active for longer. Older people can and do benefit society more than they burden it.

How has the UK evolved into the country it is today? This clear, comprehensive survey of its history since 1900 explores the political, economic, social and cultural changes which have divided the nation and held it together, and how these changes were experienced by individuals and communities. Pat Thane challenges conventional interpretations of Britain's past based on stark contrasts, like the dull, conservative 1950s versus the liberated 'swinging sixties', and explores the key themes of nationalisms, the rise and fall of the welfare state, economic success and failure, imperial decline, and the UK's relationship with Europe. Highlighting changing living standards and expectations and inequalities of class, income, wealth, race, gender, sexuality, religion and place, she reveals what has (and has not) changed in the UK since 1900, why, and how, helping the reader to understand how our contemporary society, including its divisions and inequalities, was formed.

The Labour Party's centenary is an appropriate moment to evaluate its performance across the twentieth century, and to reflect on why a party which has so many achievements to its credit nonetheless spent so much of the period in opposition. Duncan Tanner, Pat Thane and Nick Tiratsoo have assembled a team of acknowledged experts who cover a wide range of key issues, from economic policy to gender. The editors also provide a lucid, accessible introduction. Labour's First Century covers the most important areas of party policy and practice, always placing these in a broader context. Taken together, these essays challenge those who minimize the party's contribution, whilst they also explain why mistakes and weaknesses have occurred. Everyone interested in British political history - whether supporters or opponents of the Labour Party - will need to read Labour's First Century.

Why has a party that has achieved so much nonetheless spent so much of the twentieth century in opposition? Labour's First Century is the only book that assesses this anomaly. Written by a team of acknowledged experts, it covers a wide range of key issues, from economic policy to gender. Their essays challenge those who minimize the party's contribution and explain why mistakes and weaknesses have occurred. Everyone interested in British political history--whether supporters or opponents of the Labour Party--will need to read Labour's First Century.

Modern industrial societies are the creation of forced of change embedded in their pre-industrial and pre-capitalist past, forces which have shaped their economic structures, their politics of domination and resistance, their social ideas and relationships. In this book a distinguished group of historians focuses on this dialectal relationship between capitalism and its pre-capitalist heritage, revealing the ways in which older forms - whether they be social and economic structures and institutions, movements or ideologies, rituals or vocabulary - help to shape new, and are themselves reshaped in the process. The book thus develops a central theme in the writing of Eric Hobsbawm, to whom these essays are presented as a tribute on his retirement from Birkbeck College. An additional essay provides a major reappraisal of Hobsbawm's work. A number of different themes in modern European history are discussed in the context of the interrelationship of capitalism and the pre capitalist past. Several essays explore the history of the working class, its ideas and strategies of resistance, in France, Britain, Germany and Spain. Others discuss the place of landowners and bankers in the European ruling classes, and the development of central and eastern European societies. Their common concern is with the power of the past over patterns of change, and as such they are both a tribute to an outstanding British historian and a major contribution to the analysis of modern European history.

How has the UK evolved into the country it is today? This clear, comprehensive survey of its history since 1900 explores the political, economic, social and cultural changes which have divided the nation and held it together, and how these changes were experienced by individuals and communities. Pat Thane challenges conventional interpretations of Britain's past based on stark contrasts, like the dull, conservative 1950s versus the liberated 'swinging sixties', and explores the key themes of nationalisms, the rise and fall of the welfare state, economic success and failure, imperial decline, and the UK's relationship with Europe. Highlighting changing living standards and expectations and inequalities of class, income, wealth, race, gender, sexuality, religion and place, she reveals what has (and has not) changed in the UK since 1900, why, and how, helping the reader to understand how our contemporary society, including its divisions and inequalities, was formed.