A 'new politics' of austerity, workfare and gender? The UK coalition government's welfare reform proposals

This paper considers the UK coalition government's austerity drive, which attempts to garner public support for the reduction or withdrawal of welfare entitlements through appeals to frugality, self-sufficiency and fiscal prudence. In particular, the paper considers the recasting of the former Labour government's work incentives and welfare disincentives amidst mounting pressures on public expenditure. The reorientation of state assistance towards work, coupled with the proposed simplification of working-age benefits and tax credits, is argued to present a particular challenge to the financial security and autonomy of women, signalling the end of the process of modernizing the welfare system that was forged around the single earner family model in the period of post-war austerity.