Researching Social Policy

Abstract

First Paragraph: The narratives and discourse around social policy can be a contentious field of struggle. Social policy is negotiated within political arenas and connected to assumptions around ideology, societal ‘norms’ and cultural understandings. We have seen the rise of ‘Fake News’, an increasing role for social media and the importance of clear information. This struggle has been highlighted in social policy recently in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and, in the context of the United Kingdom (UK), the new processes and governance implications flowing from devolution and leaving the European Union (known as ‘Brexit’) in 2020. Social policy is an ever-changing field of power and struggle, with many attacks on expertise, science and the foundations of the welfare state. For the UK, Beveridge’s post-second world war key pillars of welfare, social security, education, health, employment and housing are areas where people can become entrenched in misinformation and ideology.