Political views on the family

Political views on the family

Conservative goverment (1979-1997)

Benefits were cut back in an attempt to encourage individuals, particularly fathers, to become more responsible for their children and families
The Child Support Agency was set up in an attempt to make fathers pay maintenance for their children and discourage people from having children outside of marriage
The New Right failed to introduce free/reduced-cost childcare to women as well as making assumptions about women staying at home
Providing people who were married with tax and welfare benefits
Privatising care for the elderly put poorer families in a position of responsibility for elderly relatives, meaning that women were likely to take responsibility for their care
Evaluation =
- Many conservative goverment policies were criticised by feminists who argued that such policies were counter to improving gender equality
- New Right policies were also criticised for 'blaming the victim' - in other words, blaming single-parent families for societal problems such as antisocial behaviour - In fact, many single-parent families are headed by a working parents who do not rely on benefits as the main source of their income
- Many sociologists and politicians argued that the family policies developed by the New Right increased inequalities and poverty, rather than decrease it

New Labour policies (1997-2010)

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