Social Citizenship in an Age of Welfare Regionalism

The State of the Social Union

Mark Simpson

• Publisher: Hart Publishing
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781509946426
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Social Policy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This book presents a socio-legal examination of national and devolved-level developments in social protection in the UK, through the eyes of politicians and officials at the heart of this process. Since its inception in 1998, devolution has altered the character of the UK welfare state, with dramatic change in the 10 years since 2010. A decade of austerity at national level has exposed diverging view in how governments in London, Edinburgh and Belfast view the social rights of citizenship. This political divide has implications for both social security law, as the devolved countries begin to flex their muscles in this key area for citizens' economic welfare, and the constitutional settlement. The book reflects on the impact of austerity, the referendum on Scottish independence and subsequent changes to the devolution settlement, Northern Ireland's hesitant moves away from parity with Westminster in social protection, withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit), and the possible retreat from austerity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The social union may or may not be weakening; its character is unquestionably changing, and the book lays bare the ideological and pragmatic considerations driving legal developments. TH Marshall's theory of citizenship provides the lens through which these processes are viewed, while itself being reinterpreted in light of the national government's increasing delegation of responsibility for social rights – whether to individuals, the voluntary sector or lower tiers of government.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Abbreviations
• List of Tables
• Table of Cases
• Table of Statutes
• Table of Statutory Instruments/Rules
• Table of International Agreements
• 1. Introduction: Social Citizenship in an Age of Welfare Regionalism
• 2. A Socio-legal Perspective on Social Citizenship
• 3. Social Citizenship and Multi-level Governance
• 4. Twenty-first-century Welfare and the UK Model of Social Citizenship
• 5. Constructing Devolved Social Citizenships: Divergence from the UK Model of Social Security
• 6. Rights and ‘Fairness’ in UK and Devolved Social Citizenships
• 7. The Foundations of Devolved Social Citizenships
• 8. Social Citizenship and the Constitutional Future of the UK: Welfare Unionism, Nationalism and Regionalism
• 9. Towards Devolved Social Citizenships: How Far Have We Come and Where Are We Going?
• 10. Conclusion: The State of the Social Union
• Bibliography
• Index
• Copyright Page