A problem shared? The role of the public in the legitimation of policy: a case study of gendered welfare change in the United Kingdom
Richards-Gray, Laura (2022) A problem shared? The role of the public in the legitimation of policy: a case study of gendered welfare change in the United Kingdom. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society 29 (2), pp. 536-559. ISSN 1072-4745.
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Abstract
This article argues that shared problematizations—shared political and public ways of thinking—legitimize policies and their outcomes. To support this argument, it examines the legitimation of gendered welfare reform in the recent U.K. context. Drawing on focus groups with the public, it provides evidence that the public’s problematization of welfare, specifically that reform was necessary to “make work pay” and “restore fairness”, aligned with that of politicians. It argues that the assumptions and silences underpinning this shared problematization, especially silences relating to the value and necessity of care, have allowed for welfare policies that have disadvantaged women.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Additional Information: | This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The version of record is available online at the link above. |
School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences |
Research Centres and Institutes: | Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life |
Depositing User: | Laura Richards-Gray |
Date Deposited: | 07 Jun 2021 12:10 |
Last Modified: | 13 Feb 2024 11:06 |
URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/44392 |
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