Child poverty in Britain fell in Labour's first term, though by much less than micro-simulation exercises suggested. Nonetheless, the decline is statistically significant, and is greater if measured just in the last 6 months of 2000/1, rather than the whole year. The decline also proves robust...

Significant change was made to both tax and benefits systems during the period 1997--2001. The impact of the changes which directly affect households is highly progressive, reflecting a significant increase in means-tested benefit levels. But the underlying distribution of income has moved such...

In 1997, the Labour Party was elected in the UK with few explicitly articulated ideas about social security reforms. This paper reviews the large number of subsequent reforms to social security, and argues that some consistent themes have emerged. A commitment to keep to the tight spending plans...