Politics

Socially Liberal Traits

Socially liberal policies are characterized by a willingness to provide state support and being open to different family types. Social liberals believe people can choose the best thing for themselves and prioritize thinking of individual needs.

Socially Conservative Traits

Socially conservative views center on a desire to preserve tradition and a preference for the traditional nuclear family. They want the family to be self-reliant and think of the family as a single unit.

Political Eras and Social Policies

Labour 1940-70s

Key legislation introduced under Labour during this era includes:

  • Abortion Act 1967

  • Divorce Reform Act 1969

  • Equal Pay Act 1970

  • Sex Discrimination Act 1975

Conservatives 1979-97

Conservative social policy during this period reflected a preference for traditional nuclear families, encouraging individual and parental responsibility, and a concern that the welfare system might encourage non-traditional family forms and irresponsible behaviour.

Key policies included:

  • Section 28 (1988)

  • The Children Act 1989

  • The Child Support Agency 1993

  • Married Men Tax Allowance

Criticisms of Conservative Governments:

  • Marxists argue policies just cut state expenditure to avoid taxing the rich - benefitting the ruling class.

  • Despite their best efforts to preserve the nuclear family, this period saw the largest growth in family diversity.

New Labour 1997-2010

New Labour was a rebranded version of the Labour Party (1997-2010) that combined traditional values in a modern setting, being more individualistic and socially liberal.

Key policies included:

  • Lone Parent Benefit Cuts (1997)

  • Adoption & Children’s Act 2002

  • Child Tax Credits (2003): Stated depending on the amount of children you had it reduced the amount of tax you paid slightly. This is paid to the main carer of the children, usually the mother.

  • Civil Partnership Act (2005)

Criticisms of New Labour 1997-2010:

  • The New Right argue that the Child Tax Credit Policy undermined family privacy and that Labour was constructing a 'nanny state' that interfered largely in family life.

  • Other critics argue they didnt go far enough on gay rights.

  • Whilst they were more open to other family types, they hadnt really moved on from nuclear family being the ideal.

Coalition 2010-15

After the financial crisis of 08-09, the coalition led by Cameron introduced austerity to reduce national debt. Bradshaw argues that these cuts disproportionately affect the poor and lead to broken homes (child poverty grew by 1.6%).

Key policies included:

  • Troubled Families Programme 2012

  • Shared Parental Leave 2015

Criticisms of Coalition Government 2010-2015:

  • Inequality of approach to same sex and opposite sex couples.

  • Public attitudes potentially dont reflect changes - e.g. fathers not taking advantage of parental leave.

Conservatives 2015+

Key social policies and proposals introduced include:

  • Proposed Dementia Tax 2017

  • Child Tax Credit Restrictions 2017 (2-child limit)

  • Free School Meals 2020