Reinventing the Welfare State: Digital Platforms and Public Policies

The welfare state is unfit for purpose – how can we transform it into a force for equality and social justice?

The British welfare state is over 70 years old. It was created to provide economic redistribution, universality of entitlement and collectively provide public services for all. In this book, leading analyst Ursula Huws argues that it is no longer fit for purpose, and must be redesigned in order to succeed in the 21st century.

Huws focuses on some of the key issues of our time – the gig economy, Universal Credit, and gendered and domestic labour, to criticise the current state of welfare in this country. Drawing on a lifetime of research on these topics, she explains why we need to radically rethink how it could change. With positivity and rigour, she proposes new and original policy ideas, including critical discussions of Universal Basic Income and new legislation for universal workers' rights.

She also outlines a 'digital welfare state' for the 21st century. This would involve a repurposing of online platform technologies under public control to modernise and expand public services, and improve accessibility.

Purchase a paperback copy or eBook from Pluto Press here.