For Your Welfare

Listen to the story of the launch of the UK’s Welfare State, told by a leading authority on the subject.

Dr Chris Renwick, of the University’s Department of History, has written ‘Bread for All: The Origins of the Welfare State’, which he describes as a “deep history” of the ground breaking concept. But was the public ready for the Welfare State and who would be its biggest winners and losers?

https://soundcloud.com/university-of-york/for-your-welfare

The text of this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. You're free to republish it, as long as you link back to this page and credit us.

We have a narrow understanding of the kind of things the Welfare State does, and a narrow understanding of the kind of people who benefit from it. The fact is we all benefit in one way or another, and the people who benefit the most are not necessarily the people you might think.

Dr Chris Renwick,
Senior Lecturer in Modern History

‘Bread for All: The Origins of the Welfare State’ is written by Dr Chris Renwick and published by Penguin Books.

Featured researcher

Chris Renwick

Senior Lecturer in Modern History

Dr Renwick is a historian of Britain since the early nineteenth century. His main area of expertise is the relationship between biology, social science, and politics, in particular how the interaction of the three has shaped the way we think about, study, and govern society. 

View profile