Activities per year
Abstract
In 2009, the UK government emphasised that it was ‘deeply committed’ to the maintenance of the state's social union, embodied in a single social security system. Five years later, the future of this social union appeared less certain than at any time since the 1920s. Dissatisfaction with the ‘welfare reform’ agenda of the coalition government was a driver of support for Scottish independence in the 2014 referendum campaign. Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Assembly failed to pass legislation to mirror the Welfare Reform Act 2012, normally a formality due to the convention of parity in social security. Despite Westminster's subsequent extension of the 2012 reforms to the region, divergence in secondary legislation and practice remains likely. This article draws on the findings of qualitative interviews with politicians and civil servants in both regions during a period covering the conclusion of the Smith Commission's work on the future of Scottish devolution and the height of a political impasse over Northern Ireland's Welfare Reform Bill that threatened a constitutional crisis. It considers the extent to which steps towards divergence in the two devolved regions have altered the UK's social union and to which the two processes have influenced one another
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 251-268 |
Journal | Journal of Social Policy |
Volume | 46 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 22 Jul 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 30 Apr 2017 |
Keywords
- Devolution
- Welfare reform
- Social citizenship
- Welfare nationalism
- Scottish referendum
- Northern Ireland
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'The social union after the coalition: devolution, divergence and convergence'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Activities
- 6 Oral presentation
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The state of the social union
Mark Simpson (Speaker)
1 Apr 2021Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
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Social citizenship in the Cameron years: a cold climate for claimants, rich terrain for researchers
Mark Simpson (Speaker) & Ruth Patrick (Speaker)
Apr 2018Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
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The welfare state and devolution: reflections on the 2011-16 mandate
Mark Simpson (Speaker)
22 Sept 2016Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
File
Research output
- 12 Citations - Sourced from Scopus
- 1 Book
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Social Citizenship in an Age of Welfare Regionalism: The State of the Social Union
Simpson, M., 30 Jun 2022, Oxford: Hart Publishing. 272 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review