Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on contributors
- One The transformation of the welfare state? The Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government and social policy
- Two The coalition government, public spending and social policy
- Three The changing governance of social policy
- Four The coalition, social policy and public opinion
- Five Health policy and the coalition government
- Six The coalition government, the general election and the policy ratchet in education: a reflection on the ‘ghosts’ of policy past, present and yet to come
- Seven Coalition housing policy in England
- Eight Social security under the coalition and Conservatives: shredding the system for people of working age; privileging pensioners
- Nine Welfare and active labour market policies in the UK: the coalition government approach
- Ten ‘It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it’: adult social care under the coalition
- Eleven Family policy: the Mods and Rockers
- Twelve One step forward, two steps back: children, young people and the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition
- Thirteen The coalition and criminal justice
- Fourteen Equalities: the impact of welfare reform and austerity by gender, disability and age
- Fifteen Social policy, the devolved administrations and the UK coalition government
- Sixteen Conclusions
- Index
Four - The coalition, social policy and public opinion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 September 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on contributors
- One The transformation of the welfare state? The Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government and social policy
- Two The coalition government, public spending and social policy
- Three The changing governance of social policy
- Four The coalition, social policy and public opinion
- Five Health policy and the coalition government
- Six The coalition government, the general election and the policy ratchet in education: a reflection on the ‘ghosts’ of policy past, present and yet to come
- Seven Coalition housing policy in England
- Eight Social security under the coalition and Conservatives: shredding the system for people of working age; privileging pensioners
- Nine Welfare and active labour market policies in the UK: the coalition government approach
- Ten ‘It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it’: adult social care under the coalition
- Eleven Family policy: the Mods and Rockers
- Twelve One step forward, two steps back: children, young people and the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition
- Thirteen The coalition and criminal justice
- Fourteen Equalities: the impact of welfare reform and austerity by gender, disability and age
- Fifteen Social policy, the devolved administrations and the UK coalition government
- Sixteen Conclusions
- Index
Summary
Introduction
The 2015 general election is likely to be the election that opinion pollsters prefer to forget. The unexpected election of a majority Conservative government represented the most significant failure of UK opinion polling since the 1992 general election. Whether the failure of many of the polls to predict a Conservative majority is attributed to sampling error, shy Tories or some other reason may, or may not, be revealed by the British Polling Council inquiry, which was announced shortly after the election. However, a broader assessment of public attitudes towards central parts of government policy on public spending and welfare does perhaps suggest that the political climate was conducive to a Conservative victory in 2015, and perhaps more so than in 2010.
Several studies have highlighted a hardening of public attitudes towards the poor in recent years, and towards the unemployed in particular. This began under the previous Labour government and continued under the coalition (Taylor-Gooby, 2013; Baumberg, 2014; Hills, 2015). This chapter will examine public attitudes towards social policies, focusing in particular on those adopted by the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition and Conservative governments elected since 2010. It argues that while there is considerable evidence for a hardening of public attitudes towards benefits recipients, the public remain committed to state provision in a range of areas, and that evidence of public support for benefit cuts should be seen in the context of other areas of public concern, such as inequality. The chapter draws on British Social Attitudes data to examine long-term trends in attitudes towards public expenditure and the role of state in welfare provision. The annual British Social Attitudes survey has tracked changes in public support for state-funded provision in a wide range of areas since 1983, and is widely regarding as having high methodological standards. The chapter also deploys public opinion polling data from a range of polling organisations, most notably, Ipsos MORI and YouGov, to examine the public's response to more recent changes. While such polls may perhaps be less accurate than has previously been assumed, they remain the best data we have on public attitudes towards recent developments, and also provide more frequent snapshots that allow for more detailed tracking of trends than annual surveys such as British Social Attitudes.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Coalition Government and Social PolicyRestructuring the Welfare State, pp. 79 - 98Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2016