The social citizenship of lone parents 2010-2015 : evolution and devolution

• Main Author: Simpson, Mark
• Published: Ulster University 2016
• Subjects: 362.82
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.686441

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of 2010-2015 oversaw profound change in the nature of social citizenship - the right of the citizen to enjoy, and the duty of the state to ensure, a minimum acceptable standard of living. At the level of the UK government, the evolution of social citizenship has been driven by the principle (also central to New Labour social security policy) that paid employment is the best means of ensuring one's economic welfare and that labour market participation should, for most, be a precondition to accessing social protection. Consequently, conditions associated with the receipt of benefit have been tightened and extended to a wider range of claimant groups, penalties for non-compliance stiffened and the level of many benefits reduced. The rise of the workerist model is illustrated by an examination of the increasing conditionalisation of access to social security for lone parents, a group that until 2007 was largely exempt from compulsory 'welfare-to-work' programmes. Meanwhile, in Scotland and Northern Ireland, pressure has grown for greater devolution of social citizenship through meaningful regional control of social security, the main social right of citizenship to remain effectively centralised in 2010. Through qualitative interviews with elite actors in both regions, the thesis explores possible drivers of demand for regionalisation, including dissatisfaction with UK-Ievel developments, differences in ideologies of social citizenship and the specific circumstances of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Consideration is given to the extent to which divergence in social security policy and regionalisation of social citizenship are likely outcomes. Given the importance of opposition to aspects of coalition welfare reform policy and the associated austerity agenda in stimulating regional discontent, it is concluded that the processes of evolution and devolution are intimately linked, and are likely to remain so as further controversial policies are pursued by the new Conservative government.