Political discourse and gendered welfare reform: a case study of the UK Coalition government

ABSTRACT

In the UK, as in many other countries, welfare reform in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis has had a detrimental effect on gender equality. Between 2010 and 2015 the UK Coalition government initiated far-reaching cuts to public spending, as well as an increase in welfare conditionality. These reforms have hit women harder than men as women are more likely to rely on welfare benefits and services due to unpaid care responsibilities. Many have suggested that the way in which issues are represented by policymakers can limit what can be conceived as appropriate policy solutions. In line with this, Bacchi’s What’s the problem represented to be? (WPR) approach is used in this article to interrogate the way in which welfare was problematized by the UK Coalition government. Findings suggest that the Coalition represented reform as necessary to make work pay, with “work” promoted as paid work and unpaid care work (predominantly undertaken by women) ignored. It also highlights the ways in which the Coalition’s promotion of paid work silenced the necessity and value of care, allowing for the implementation of welfare reforms which have disproportionately disadvantaged women and exacerbated gender inequality.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Where quotes are provided from speeches, the initials of the politician and the date of the speech are included in brackets. A full list of the speeches included is available upon request.

2 The final principle for reform was to “ensure that the benefits and Tax Credits system is affordable in the short and longer term”.

3 These 51 references were spread across just 27 speeches and 13 came from one speech by Nick Clegg (NC 13.11.12).

4 Quote from a speech by IDS 12.10.11.

5 This term was used 12 times across the 82 speeches.

6 Work in the UK context by those such as Frances Ryan highlights how political discourse around welfare may have led to harmful effects for disabled people.

7 There were 19 references across the 82 speeches associating participation in paid work with “doing the right thing” and eight associating it with “playing by the rules”.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by funding from the School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary, University of London.

Notes on contributors

Laura Richards-Gray

Laura Richards-Gray is a lecturer in politics at Birkbeck, University of London. Her research focuses on the role of elite and public discourse in political and social change, including from a gendered perspective. She is also currently co-convenor of the Political Studies Association's Women and Politics specialist group.