These reforms are practical and doable. They are issues under consideration and firmly established on the political agenda. British democracy has much going for it and should do better. These two reforms would revitalise British democracy, infuse it with citizenship pressure for performance and lift it from mediocre to high quality.
Notes
1. The 1942 report on Social Insurance and Allied Services, known commonly as the Beveridge Report was an influential document in the founding of the welfare state in the United Kingdom, published in December 1942. It was chaired by William Beveridge, an economist, who identified five “Giant Evils” in society: squalor, ignorance, want, idleness, and disease, and went on to propose widespread reform to the system of social welfare to address these. The Report
Unit I. UK: from Empire to Democracy
Unit I. UK: from Empire to Democracy
came in the midst of war, and promised a reward for the sacrifices undertaken by everyone. Highly popular with the public, the report formed the basis for the post-war reforms known as the Welfare State, which include the expansion of National Insurance and the creation of the National Health Service.
2. Electronic Data Systems ran the Inland Revenue's tax and National Insurance system from 1994 to 2004. In 2003, the launch of a new tax credit system led to over-payments of £2 billion to over two million people. EDS later paid £71.25 million in compensation for the disaster.
COMPREHENSION ASSIGNMENTS
A. In pairs, discuss how you understand the phrases/clauses below. If still in doubt, discuss the phrases as a class.
1. ... the United States with its pioneering democratic constitution ...
2. The Westminster Model has very much going for it.
3. ... to be in command of a modicum of physical and human capital to be able to live as the master of his or her life .
4. With the NHS the government cut through the rot .
5. . the jury is still out on this .
6. . with the help of carefully engineered means-tested benefits.
7. . this strategy . is never target efficient .
8. . its potential is not realised in delivery.
9. . there appears to be little or no demand or appetite in the population for this crucial building block in the democratic architecture to be restored.
10. The narcotic of free money has numbed political sensitivities.
B. Answer the questions on the text.
1. What is a solid democracy according to the article?
