In the early 1900's attitudes were changing and people were becoming more aware of social conditions within the country. The Boer War and the two World Wars had shown politicians that the country was poor, unfit and extremely unhealthy. Unemployment was rising and more and more people were becoming dependant on help from the state. At this time we had the political influence of a Liberal Government who's ideals described as social democratic, would give rise to the health service. Social democratic ideals concerning health care were that care should be available on a needs basis rather than for those who could afford it and should be provided by the state. They believed that all people should be free from poverty. The social democrats thought that it's people were the government's responsibility to look after. This ideolog

The 1980's saw Britain's first women Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, head of the Conservative government. The Conservatives were the first party to reform the welfare state since it was set up in the forties. The liberal government in the early 1900's had set up the pathway for the welfare state incorporating their ideologies of free care for all and their vision of a poverty free nation. The Conservatives ideologies were very different and were know as right wing. Conservatives believed in market forces and capitalism. They believed that the state should not intervene in business and that people were responsible for themselves. Privatisaton and de-industrialistion came about which resulted in high unemployment and increased poverty, which was a drain on resources. This led Thatcher's government to consider privitasation of the NHS. This was considered too big a step so the free market was introduced. The Conservatives believed that only people whom really deserved help, disabled and long-term sick should get free care and everyone else should pay for care. This resulted in the setting up of hospital trusts and private medicine. This was an attempt at reducing the NHS costs paid for by taxation.

The development of health care policy over the last 100 years has shaped the welfare state to what we have today. The social, economic and political influences came about from the country needs for a healthier more educated society for protection and advancement in a modern world. The advancement of women's rights and the vote was instrumental in social policy becoming a main concern of governments. The Beveridge report showed the state of the nation and gave its recommendations on how to eradicate poverty. The welfare state was set up to achieve this and was quite successful in helping living standards improve. The welfare state did not remove poverty as many people today still live impoverished lives. Poverty has changed in that there is less absolute poverty and more relative poverty than before. Social attitudes have changed with people having greater expectations in all aspects of life. This has lead to changes in family structure with more families being reconstituted than nuclear. Demographics of the country have also changed with fewer women having babies and those who do have fewer children. People are also living longer due to medical intervention and advances. This has far-reaching implication to the welfare state as more people becoming dependant on it with less people to pay for it. De-industrialsation has resulted in more people living in relative poverty as job security is gone and people are working longer hours for low pay. This causes more ill health in the poorer section of society who are dependant on the state for care. This costs the NHS more money in staff, drugs and equipment. The liberal and conservatives were the main political influences on the welfare state. The liberals believed in free care for all whereas the conservatives believed if you could pay you should pay but also gave free care to all if needed. The conservatives brought in market forces and gave birth to the mixed economy of care that exists today. All these policies have had their good and bad points. The welfare state is expensive and funding is now a major issue to deal with as our population ages. The government today must find a way to pay for the care industry which is spiraling out of control as patient expect lower waiting lists and excellent service without having to raise taxes. Health care is a very complicated issue to deal with as many other facets of life affects the health of our country such as poverty, demographics, the economy and politics.

Poverty is still in existence today in Britain and is a financial drain on the Welfare state. Poverty has changed over the years with a shift from mostly absolute poverty to relative poverty. The early 1900's saw many people living without p

Some common words found in the essay are:
Welfare Poverty, Norwich Union, Margaret Thatcher, British Welfare, National Insurance, CARE POLICY, Liberal Government, World Wars, health service, health care, people living, people pay, relative poverty, development health care, free care, provide care, absolute poverty, social classes, ill health, private medical insurance, health care policy, social attitudes changed, mixed economy care,
Approximate Word count = 3031
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)