This publication examines the question of whether the election of a New Labour government in the UK in May 1997 is leading towards the establishment of a new welfare state. This chapter provides the broad framework for the book and discusses issues and raises questions that will be examined in the remaining chapters. It starts by briefly locating the British welfare state within its wider geographical and temporal context. After a brief overview of changes to the welfare state inherited by Labour and changes to the Labour Party, the chapter then focuses on Labour's ‘Third Way’, the claim for a distinctive set of policies that are different from both the Old Left and the New Right. This sets up the main questions to be addressed:

• • To what extent does the policy of New Labour differ from Old Labour?

• • To what extent does the policy of New Labour vary from the New Right?

• • How far do any changes suggest a new welfare state?

In short, is New Labour associated with a ‘new welfare state’?

British welfare state in context

Although this text is focused on the British welfare state, it is useful to place it within a wider context. This section locates the British welfare state within typologies of welfare states, and outlines the influences of broader social, economic and political changes. The most widely used typology is given by Esping-Andersen (1990) who distinguishes between Nordic (Socialist), Continental West European (Conservative) and Anglo- Saxon (Liberal) welfare states. Examples are Sweden, Germany and the UK respectively. This typology is the basis for many accounts of comparative social policy (for example, Ginsburg, 1992; Leibfried, 1993; Pierson, 1998, Chapter 6; see also Giddens, 1998, pp 6-7). However, a number of caveats should be pointed out. First, some accounts have argued for a fourth type of Southern European welfare state. Second, it has been noted that in some ways Britain sits uneasily in its category, with many important differences from other Liberal welfare states such as the United States. The third, and related, point is that the model tends to be based on services in cash rather than in kind so there may be differences within welfare states.