Contentions of the presentation:1. We are inescapably involved in politics whether we

realise it or not.2. Politics, being our interconnectivity, is a concept

central to systemic analyses and systemic approaches.3. Many/most people who use social work services have

been failed by politics.4. The dominant politics of the time (not being conducive

to the needs of the most vulnerable, may distort otherwise worthwhile means of assisting people.

Introducing the history of UK politics since 1979 in nine words:

•I am so proud of the next slide so pay attention.

The history of UK politics since 1979 in nine words:

• Blair out-Thatchered Thatcher  and Cameron out-Blaired Blair.

• Neo-Conservatism of the 1908s built upon Hayek’s three central notions of

• Freedom,• Belief in the primacy of the self-

regulating market economy,• Opposition to Welfare Capitalism.

• Brown, K. (2010) Vulnerable Adults and Community Care, Learning Matters

• Rather than revert to socialist support for Keynsian welfare capitalism, Blair developed a hybrid “Third Way” :

• Promotion of inclusion & participation in (freedom or the individual)

• Welfare State tackles causes of poverty & inequality

• State shift from unqualified support to redistribution of wealth through promotion of opportunity.

• Ibid

• Cameron’s (deliberately?) ill-defined “Big Society”

• A more open attack on Welfare as a prison that entraps individuals (“Welfare-junkies”*) at the expense of freedom

• *Apologies for use of Norman Tebbit’s rather ungracious but explicit term (Daily Telegraph. 2010)

Personalisation as a case study:

• Personalisation came was born out of Blair’s 3rd way.

• A hybrid of the inclusion/participation/freedom/individualist strand and the socialist-

welfare strand.• In contrast to one-size-fits-all provision of

welfare state:• The idea that, where people require support it

can be tailored to their needs/selected and bought by them.

• Fits nicely into the niche between State provision and free-market economy of welfare.

• Allows for private enterprise to flourish in provision, to give diversity and promote diversity.

The Big Society

• Participation, inclusion and a more vigorous attack on “the culture of welfare dependency”.

The global financial crisis distorts the picture

• With £1 trillion of deficit (32,000 years)• AAA credit-rating warning• One track economic strategy• Inevitable cuts to welfare spending• Big Society approach as a solution to

meeting need

You can see where this is going, can’t you?

• Approaches like personalisation offer an opportunity to reduce welfare spending, particularly in the orbit of social work provision.

This presentation was held on a conference of the project „STEP“. The project „STEP“ has been

funded with support from the European Commission.

This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be

held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.