eprintid: 10130109
rev_number: 14
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/10/13/01/09
datestamp: 2021-06-24 08:45:02
lastmod: 2021-12-20 23:49:14
status_changed: 2021-06-24 08:45:02
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Cooper, K
creators_name: Burchardt, T
title: How divided is the attitudinal context for policymaking? Changes in public attitudes to the welfare state, inequality and immigration over two decades in Britain
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B16
divisions: B14
divisions: J80
keywords: immigration, inequality, public attitudes, welfare state
note: © 2021 The Authors. Social Policy & Administration published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
abstract: If public attitudes towards the welfare state, inequality and
immigration are becoming increasingly polarized, as recent
political events might suggest, the space for progressive
social policies is more constrained. Using data from the British Social Attitudes Survey (BSA) spanning 23years, we analyse trends in these attitudes, examining whether there has
been divergence between those who have been more and
less exposed to disadvantage through changes in the economy and the welfare state across more than two decades.
Taken in this longer term context, and examining characteristics not previously considered in relation to public attitudes such as lone parenthood and disability, we find little
evidence of polarization in attitudes to welfare, inequality
and immigration and even some evidence of attitudinal gaps
narrowing. We conclude that given this lack of division,
there may be greater room for more pro-welfare and progressive policies than the prevalent narrative of polarization
suggests.
date: 2021-05-26
date_type: published
publisher: WILEY
official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/spol.12739
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 1872146
doi: 10.1111/spol.12739
lyricists_name: Cooper, Kerris
lyricists_id: KCOOP30
actors_name: Flynn, Bernadette
actors_id: BFFLY94
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: Social Policy & Administration
pages: 18
citation:        Cooper, K;    Burchardt, T;      (2021)    How divided is the attitudinal context for policymaking? Changes in public attitudes to the welfare state, inequality and immigration over two decades in Britain.                   Social Policy & Administration        10.1111/spol.12739 <https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12739>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10130109/1/spol.12739.pdf