Work to be done? Welfare reform from Blair to Brown

Welfare reform has been central to ‘New Labour’ politics since the mid-1990s. In government, Labour can, with some justification, take credit for getting Britain working and cutting poverty. But while employment continued to rise after 1997, rates of economic inactivity remained much the same. And since 2005, the battle against poverty has stalled. This article assesses the Brown government's plans to reform the welfare state. These plans are leading to fresh political tensions within the Labour Party as the government seeks to extend its ‘employment first’ welfare policies by getting tougher on entitlements and extending the role of the private sector in delivering welfare-to-work. With the economic outlook deteriorating, and public spending under tighter reign, the outlook for Labour's reforms looks uncertain. The buoyant labour market that sustained the government's welfare-to-work programme – but which did little for the underlying rate of economic inactivity – has gone. After 10 years of government, welfare reform is unfinished business for Labour under Prime Minister Gordon Brown.