Wanna Argument?
Big versus Small Government
Is there any evidence of greater regulation under New Labour? If so, what's going on?
In 1996, the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown stated that, "the road to equality of opportunity starts not with tax rates, but with jobs, education and the reform of the welfare state - redistributing existing resources efficiently and equitably".
New Labour is driven by a stated desire to end social exclusion and so to "re-invent government" through collective action in the community. The creed of communitarianism is seen as the treatment for the excesses of Conservative individualism.
The problems faced by the poor in the UK are the focus of New Labour's welfare reforms. Lone parents, the young and old unemployed, people with disability and pensioners have been targeted through policies designed to stem social security spending. The chart below indicates why they might be keen to cut this part of public expenditure:
The chart shows starkly that social security spending is by far the largest programme of government expenditure, nearly twice the level of spending on the Health Service. In contrast, in 1979-80, social security spending was £49 billion.