Parents and policy under New Labour: a case study of the United Kingdom's new deal for lone parents

Abstract

Within the context of neo-liberal economic policy, and triggered by the looming demographic crisis of an ageing society, a cornerstone of the policies aimed at parents of the previous New Labour administrations in the UK ‘encouraged’ parents to take up paid work or to make themselves ‘work-ready’ to provide the skills to compete in a globalised labour market. Underpinned by a belief that most citizens should be in a position to participate in the paid labour market, government rhetoric actively perpetuated a normative code of economic participation in a political climate that appeared to increasingly marginalise and denigrate the work of social reproduction. Notions of good parenting and, in particular, good mothering were variously tied to (re)employment, financial independence and offering a productive role model to children. ‘Good parenting’ was supported by a host of policies which aimed to enable parents to take financial responsibility for their families, ensuring their children did not grow up in poverty. In this paper, I consider the impact on parents and children of one of the key policies aimed at parents to come out of the UK in the last decade: ‘The New Deal for Lone Parents’. In  doing so this article will highlight the role that economic and fiscal concerns have had in shaping the direction of policies aimed at parents in the UK. Drawing on empirical work which sought to explore the views of parents and their children of welfare reform, it will also argue that policy-makers must engage with children when developing policies aimed at parents.

Keywords:

• new deal for lone parents
• New Labour
• welfare reform
• parents and policy
• children and policy

Notes

Surestart was a national policy which provided integrated learning and childcare in most disadvantaged areas as well as parenting guidance and ante- and post-natal care.

Established in 1998, the National Childcare Strategy aimed to provide good quality and affordable childcare in every neighbourhood.

If they were in paid work, lone parents received an earnings subsidy via the Working Families Tax Credit.

Parental leave allows fathers as well as mothers to take time off paid work in order to care for dependent children. Parental leaves are more common in EU-Europe, while the maternity leave favoured by New Labour endorsed separate spheres between women and men (Daly 2010).

North-East Surrey is on the periphery of London (part within and part outside the M25 Motorway which circles London). It is one of the most affluent areas of the UK, with relatively low unemployment and relatively high wages. However, this should not diminish the fact that inequalities exist with large numbers of families living in relative poverty. The names of the individuals interviewed have been changed in accordance with ethical procedures to protect the anonymity of the participants.

Sarah had been looking after a neighbour's child along with her own. This was an informal arrangement in that while she was paid for the service she provided she was not registered as a childminder. This may partly explain the fact she did not consider looking after her neighbour's child as ‘proper work’ and felt now her child and the child she had been looking after were at school during the day she should get a job.

‘Laters’ is a pseudonym for the after school club Stacey attended.