The Politics of Unemployment Policy in Britain: Class Struggle, Labour Market Restructuring and Welfare...

— —

Jay Wiggan (University of Edinburgh)

The Politics of Unemployment Policy in Britain

Class Struggle, Labour Market Restructuring and Welfare Reform

Jay Wiggan (University of Edinburgh)

$195

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Policy Press
01 August 2024

Poverty & unemployment; Sociology: work & labour; Social welfare & social services; Central government policies

This book provides an account of the evolution of social security and employment policy and governance in Britain between 1973 and 2023. It explains how this remaking of policy and governance shaped, and was shaped by, the transformation of the labour market and power of claimants and workers.

Advancing a class-centred explanation the text situates contemporary working age active labour market policy as the contingent outcome of a long struggle over curtailment of labour autonomy and the challenges arising from policy 'success' for securing social cohesion, state legitimacy and better economic conditions for growth.

By: Jay Wiggan (University of Edinburgh)
Imprint: Policy Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781447366119
ISBN 10: 1447366115
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 01 August 2024
Audience: College/higher education , General/trade , Further / Higher Education , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

1. Introduction 2. Labour Commodification, the State and Class Politics 3. Labour Market Restructuring and the Changing Class Composition of Labour 4. Labour Autonomy, State Conciliation and the Emergence of Special Employment Measures: 1973 – 1979 5. A Cautious Offensive: Class Decomposition, Disorder and the Transitional Labour Market Policy Regime: 1979 – 1985 6. The End of Conciliation and Social Concertation: Dis-Embedding Labour 1985 – 1989 7. On the Offensive – Enterprise, Employability and Selective Activation: 1989–1997 8. Inclusive Employability, Consolidation and the Progressive Market Liberal Turn: 1997 – 2004 9. Disciplinary Inclusion and Extensive Labour Utilisation: 2005 – 2010 10. Austerity and the Imposition of Work Discipline: 2010–2016 11. Consolidation and Labour Market Policy Continuity in the Shadow of Crisis: 2016–2023 12. Concluding remarks

Jay Wiggan is Senior Lecturer in Social Policy in the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh.

Reviews for The Politics of Unemployment Policy in Britain: Class Struggle, Labour Market Restructuring and Welfare Reform

“This thorough, detailed text lays bare how policy underpinning social security benefits and employment programmes for unemployed people has evolved over the last 45 years in the UK.” Martin Power, University of Limerick “An invaluable analysis of the history of state unemployment since the 1970s. Wiggan explains why ruling elites abandoned full employment as a policy objective, and how the move, since 2010, towards a regressive labour regime is shaped by wider austerity politics.” David Etherington, Staffordshire University “The story of shaping social security policy and employment institutions from the shifting logic of 'gendered full employment' to 'full employability' is explored through a valuable lens of class struggle. Wiggan eloquently traces how austerity, managerialism and marketisation hastened the journey on the low road to activation in ways that preserved the authority of capital. Essential reading for anyone who wants to know why things are as bad as they are.” Mary Murphy, Maynooth University