A Straitjacket with Wriggle Room: The Beveridge Report, the Treasury and the Exchequer's Pension Liability, 1942-59

The last two decades have seen the establishment of a new orthodoxyabout William Beveridge's 1942 pensions plan which questionsboth the radical credentials of his proposals and their practicalinfluence and coherence. However, as this article shows, whilethis new orthodoxy has usefully demolished some myths aboutBeveridge's legacy, it has also exaggerated the plan's conservatismand inflexibility. Certainly, Beveridge did not propose thatthe state should trespass far on to the territory he believedshould be covered by volutarism. However, his scheme was moreredistributive and financially flexible than has often beensuggested. As the article further shows, it was the actionsof postwar politicians, prompted by a vigorous campaign emanatingin the Treasury, that reined in the more radical features ofBeveridge's plan, and reduced the pension system's ability torespond flexibly to the demands of the 1950s. The significanceof the findings of this study for our understanding of the postwarwelfare consensus will be highlighted throughout its course.