A neoliberal revolution?

CHOICE Recommended:
‘This capstone book by three academics widely known in modern British politics and social policy is key to understanding the policy and politics of the Thatcher era of the late 1970s and 1980s, one of the most important eras in modern British history.’
M. J. Moore, emeritus, Appalachian State University

‘We are still living, the authors note, “with the consequences of policies salvaged from a failed revolution”. … What also comes through powerfully in their account are the poor judgment and faulty political instincts of nearly everyone involved.’
Professor Helen McCarthy, University of Cambridge

‘With provision for an ageing population widely predicted to impose serious fiscal problems in the future, in 2025 yet another government review has been announced, but with no clear strategy yet evident. Aled Davies, James Freeman and Hugh Pemberton explore how we got to this place, but in doing so offer a much broader analysis of British politics and public policy over the last fifty years than the words ‘reform of pensions’ might suggest.
At the core of their discussion is a detailed assessment of how far the popular use of the terminology of ‘neoliberalism’ to describe the driving force of policy, in the 1980s and beyond, aids or obstructs our understanding. In this sense, pensions policy acts as a (very detailed) case-study for a wider argument about how we should understand the formation of public policy in the Thatcher years and the legacies of that period.’
The English Historical Review

Aled Davies is Assistant Professor in Modern British History at the University of Cambridge.

James Freeman is Senior Lecturer in Political History and Digital Humanities at the University of Bristol.

Hugh Pemberton is Emeritus Professor of Contemporary British History at the University of Bristol.

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