Misplaced Pages

#259740

90-470: The New Deal (renamed Flexible New Deal from October 2009) was a workfare programme introduced in the United Kingdom by the first New Labour government in 1998, initially funded by a one-off £5 billion windfall tax on privatised utility companies. The stated purpose was to reduce unemployment by providing training, subsidised employment and voluntary work to the unemployed. Spending on

180-471: A Conservative candidate because it was too late to remove his name from the ballot paper. A total of 2,378 postal voters in Bristol West were wrongly sent ballot papers for Bristol East by mistake. Bristol City Council officials asked people to tear up the wrong papers and said: "Every effort will be made to ensure delivery [of new ballot papers] by 30 April." The SNP attempted but failed to ban

270-457: A Labour government. The governing Labour Party led by the prime minister Gordon Brown lost the 66-seat majority it had previously enjoyed, but no party achieved the 326 seats needed for a majority. The Conservatives won the most votes and seats, but still fell 20 seats short. This resulted in a hung parliament where no party was able to command a majority in the House of Commons. This was only

360-444: A Labour–Liberal Democrat marginal seat. She asked him about vulnerable people supposedly not receiving benefits because immigrants were receiving them, adding: "You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you're ... but all these eastern Europeans what are coming in, where are they flocking from?" Brown replied: "A million people have come from Europe but a million British people have gone into Europe." In

450-538: A breakthrough in opinion polls following the first debate, in which their leader Nick Clegg was widely seen as the strongest performer. Nonetheless, on polling day their share of the vote increased by only 1%, with a net loss of five seats. This was still the Liberal Democrats' largest popular vote since the party's creation in 1988; they found themselves in a pivotal role in the formation of the new government. The share of votes for parties other than Labour or

540-533: A combination of activities that are intended to improve the recipient's job prospects (such as training, rehabilitation , and work experience ) and those designated as contributing to society (such as unpaid or low-paid work). These programs, now common in Australia (known as "mutual obligation"), Canada, and the United Kingdom , have generated considerable debate and controversy. In the Netherlands workfare

630-490: A five-year limit, created state controlled funding, rewarded work with performance bonuses, and required participation in paid or unpaid work. Welfare reform made workfare the official social welfare ideology of the United States. The effort to decrease the number of people on the welfare roll was successful, although some argue that this did not translate to a decrease in poverty. The criticism related to workfare in

720-493: A fourth consecutive term in office, and to restore support lost since 2001. The Conservative Party sought to gain a dominant position in British politics after losses in the 1990s, and to replace Labour as the governing party. The Liberal Democrats hoped to make gains from both sides and hoped to hold the balance of power in a hung parliament. Since the televised debates between the three leaders, their poll ratings had risen to

810-531: A general election with new leaders was in the 1979 election , when James Callaghan as Labour leader, Margaret Thatcher for the Conservatives, and David Steel with the then- Liberal Party took to the polls. The prospect of a coalition or minority government was being considered well before polling day. Gordon Brown made comments about the possibility of a coalition in January 2010. In 2009, it

900-428: A household after a man had abandoned her or died. People of color were unable to receive any poor relief at all. This "deservingness" discrepancy impacting women and people of color set the stage for disproportionate assistance to date. Poorhouses and workhouses existed as a main method of poor relief through the 19th century, particularly growing in popularity as immigration increased in the United States and leading to

990-438: A means of increasing self-reliance. Impoverished and destitute community members were forced into labor at poorhouses and workhouses to enable individuals to provide for themselves while completing a task for the community. Workhouses were designed for the "unworthy" poor, or those who were unemployed but able to work. During this time, women were disproportionately found in workhouses, as they were unable to own property or run

SECTION 10

#1732797263260

1080-623: A new loose coalition, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), contested a general election for the first time. TUSC was a grouping of left wing parties that participated in the 2009 European Parliament elections under the name of No2EU ; members included the Socialist Workers Party , the Socialist Party , the Socialist Alliance, Socialist Resistance , and is supported by some members of UNISON ,

1170-515: A private conversation with his communications director Justin Forsyth following the meeting, Brown described Duffy as "just a sort of bigoted woman that said she used be Labour. I mean it's just ridiculous." Brown's remarks were inadvertently recorded by a Sky News microphone he was still wearing, and widely broadcast. Labour sources later stated that Brown had misheard Duffy and thought she had asked, "where are they fucking from?" Soon after

1260-428: A result than they had been in 1974. The coalition government that was subsequently formed was the first to result directly from a UK election. The hung parliament came about in spite of the Conservatives managing both a higher vote total and a higher share of the vote than the previous Labour government had done in 2005 , when it had secured a comfortable majority (although vastly reduced from its landslide victories at

1350-754: A small percentage of the population, rhetoric such as this laid the groundwork for welfare reform in the 90s. In 1996, President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (also known as welfare reform), which created Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) , shortened welfare stays, and mandated intensive job training and work requirements for individuals in need of assistance. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act mandated work requirements after two years of assistance, instituted

1440-573: A variety of news outlets, took attention away from the previous day's speech by Brown to Citizens UK , widely described as his best in the campaign. A Conservative Party activist in Peterborough was arrested after alleged postal voting fraud, calling into question 150 postal votes. Simon Bennett resigned as the head of the British National Party 's online operation then redirected its website to his own on which he attacked

1530-483: A £750 training allowance was also available to participants. Those taking part were not paid wages. • Full-time education and training, for up to 12 months. • Work in the voluntary sector, called the 'Community Task Force': those taking part were paid JSA plus a £15 training allowance. • Work with the Environmental Task Force.(DWP website; Peck, “Workfare” 304; Glyn 53) Participation in one of

1620-580: Is generally unskilled and is comparable to community work carried out by criminal offenders being punished on community service schemes. Workfare has also been criticised as forced labour , as those placed under workfare who do not work for who they are assigned to risk benefit sanctions and starvation from a loss of benefits needed to survive. A 2008 report by the UK's DWP on US, Canadian, and Australian workfare schemes suggested against their effectiveness. It found little evidence that workfare majorly reduced

1710-701: Is known as Work First, based on the Wisconsin Works program from the United States. Workfare approaches to welfare are examples of Active Labor Market Policy (ALMP) that differ based on country, welfare state , and time period. Active labor market policies are utilized to counteract capitalistic market failure that prevent full employment in an economy. Four types of active labor market policies are incentive reinforcement, employment assistance, maintaining occupation, and human (social) capital investment. Workfare/work-first approaches have been identified as more coercive forms of welfare to work regimes. The US and

1800-479: Is not properly reflected in overall share of the vote figures. Immediately following the previous general election, Labour held a double-digit lead in opinion polls. However, over the course of 2005, this lead was eroded somewhat. By December 2005, the Conservative party showed its first small leads in opinion polls following the controversial 90 days' detention proposals and the election of David Cameron to

1890-555: Is not). Race discrimination has placed a central role in this struggle, particularly in the United States as a diverse nation. Typically, people of color have struggled entering the workforce due to narratives related to high crime and low-skilled levels. This discrimination is a leading cause for the higher rates of poverty of people of color in the United States. Jeff Manza argues that people of color, particularly African Americans, are more likely to utilize social benefits because they are more likely to be poor. Since workfare decreases

SECTION 20

#1732797263260

1980-560: The 2007 Scottish parliament elections , set itself a target of 20 MPs and was hoping to find itself holding a balance of power. Equally, Plaid Cymru sought gains in Wales. Smaller parties which had had successes at local elections and the 2009 European elections ( UK Independence Party , Green Party , British National Party ) looked to extend their representation to seats in the House of Commons. The Democratic Unionist Party looked to maintain, if not extend, its number of seats, having been

2070-924: The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland , the Progressive Unionist Party of Northern Ireland , the British National Party , the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and the Green parties in the UK: the Green Party of England and Wales , the Scottish Green Party , and the Green Party in Northern Ireland . In 2009, Nigel Farage announced his intention to resign as UKIP leader to focus on becoming an MP. Farage

2160-736: The London Borough of Tower Hamlets . The Times reported on 2 May that the investigation had revealed some names on the register were fictitious, with a late surge in applications to be added to the electoral register (before 20 April deadline) leading to 5,000 additions without time for full checks. In terms of the outcome of the borough's two seats, the narrower majority in any event exceeded 5,000 votes in Poplar and Limehouse , at 6,030 votes. The Labour candidate for North West Norfolk , Manish Sood, described Gordon Brown as Britain's worst ever prime minister. The comments, which he repeated to

2250-910: The National Union of Teachers , the University and College Union , the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers , and the Public and Commercial Services Union . Several members of these unions ran as candidates under the TUSC banner. However, some former members of NO2EU, such as the Liberal Party and the Communist Party of Britain , chose not to participate in the TUSC campaign. The coalition did not run candidates against left wing Labour or Respect candidates. The prospective Labour candidate for Moray , Stuart Maclennan,

2340-490: The Conservative candidate for North Ayrshire and Arran , was suspended from the party for comments he made about homosexuality on his website, describing it as not "normal behaviour". Andrew Fulton , the chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party , called the comments "deeply offensive and unacceptable", adding: "These views have no place in the modern Conservative party." However, he still appeared as

2430-455: The Conservatives again took the lead and, from then, extended their lead into double digits, particularly in response to the MPs' expenses scandal, although there was some evidence that the lead narrowed slightly towards the end of 2009. By the end of February 2010, Ipsos MORI , ICM , YouGov and ComRes polls had all found a sufficient narrowing of the Conservative lead for media speculation about

2520-426: The Conservatives was 35%, the largest since the 1918 general election . In terms of votes it was the most "three-cornered" election since 1923 , as well as in terms of seats since 1929 . The Green Party of England and Wales won its first ever seat in the House of Commons, and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland also gained its first elected member. The general election saw a 5.1% national swing from Labour to

2610-444: The Conservatives, the third-largest since 1945. The result in one constituency, Oldham East and Saddleworth , was subsequently declared void on petition because of illegal practices during the campaign , the first such instance since 1910. A hung parliament had been largely anticipated by the opinion polls in the run-up to the election, so politicians and voters were better prepared for the constitutional process that would follow such

2700-609: The House Jacob Rees-Mogg and Penny Mordaunt , future Health Secretary Matt Hancock and future Deputy Prime Ministers Dominic Raab and Thérèse Coffey . On 6 April 2010, the prime minister, Gordon Brown , visited Buckingham Palace for a meeting with the Queen to ask permission to dissolve Parliament on 12 April, confirming in a live press conference in Downing Street , as had long been speculated, that

2790-480: The Labour Party. Realising that a deal between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats was imminent, Brown resigned the next day, on Tuesday 11 May, as prime minister, marking the end of 13 years of Labour government. This was accepted by Queen Elizabeth II , who then invited David Cameron to form a government in her name and become prime minister. Just after midnight on 12 May, the Liberal Democrats approved

New Deal (United Kingdom) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2880-615: The New Deal was £1.3 billion in 2001. The New Deal was a cornerstone of New Labour and devised mainly by LSE Professor Richard Layard , who has since been elevated to the House of Lords as a Labour peer. It was based on similar workfare models in Sweden , which Layard has spent much of his academic career studying. The New Deal had, as its signature, the power to withdraw benefits from those who 'refused reasonable employment'. 'Workfare' in

2970-502: The New Deal with the exception that payment by the Department is now more focused towards employment outcomes – and thus payment to workfare third parties – than previously. Critics claim that participants failed to see the value in the programmes and the programmes were not effective in equipping participants for work. Workfare Workfare was first introduced by civil rights leader James Charles Evers in 1968; however, it

3060-477: The Rallings and Thrasher studies using ward by ward data from local elections and the 2005 general election, the new boundaries used in 2010 would have returned nine fewer Labour MPs had they been in place at the previous election; given that there are to be four more seats in the next parliament this nationally reduces Labour's majority from 66 to 48. Pursuant to Boundary Commission for England recommendations,

3150-729: The SNP and Plaid Cymru about The First Election Debate broadcast on ITV1 on Thursday 15 April 2010". The leader of the UK Independence Party, Lord Pearson , wrote an open letter to Somerset newspapers, asking voters to support Conservative candidates, rather than UKIP candidates in the Somerton and Frome , Taunton Deane and Wells constituencies. This action was criticised by UKIP candidates who refused to stand down. The Labour candidate for Bristol East and former MP Kerry McCarthy revealed information about postal votes cast in

3240-405: The UK are both examples of liberal welfare regimes that prioritize the market's role in mitigating poverty, hence adopting workfare. There are two main types of workfare scheme: those that encourage direct employment to get individuals off the welfare roll and directly into the workforce, and those that are intended to increase human capital by providing training and education to those currently in

3330-432: The UK can arguably be traced back to 1986, and compulsory 'Restart' interviews for claimants after a certain period, and as such the first introduction of 'conditionalities' with the possible outcome of 'sanctions' for perceived non-compliance. The 'New Deal' replaced the previous workfare programme of the then-Conservative government of John Major , 'Project Work', which had been launched in the early 90s. A further project

3420-564: The UKIP leader, Lord Pearson stated that his party should also be included. Following a decision by the BBC Trust not to uphold a complaint from the SNP and Plaid Cymru over their exclusion from the planned BBC debate, the SNP announced on 25 April that they would proceed with legal action over the debate scheduled for 29 April. The party said it was not trying to stop the broadcast but it wanted an SNP politician included for balance. The SNP lost

3510-625: The United States dates back to before the American Revolution , during which land grants and military pensions were distributed sub-nationally and based on means-testing . The disbursement of the "first" social benefits set precedents for the development of the US welfare state. In the early days of the United States, most Americans were deeply connected to the Protestant religion that favored literacy and hard work. Therefore, education

3600-468: The United States is focused on the financial self-reliance of families through work, and tends to lean towards a male-breadwinner model. A male-breadwinner model assumes that men participate in the labor market and women complete domestic and caregiving tasks unpaid. Welfare policies designed and structured based on the assumption and support of marriage significantly disadvantage single mothers. For example, in some states, work-first policies may not consider

3690-441: The United States is most notably about the tight restrictions and opportunities for low-skilled workers. Loic Wacquant theorizes that the United States and other Western, liberal states have shifted towards more punitive governance under the guise of neoliberalism . Supplemented by welfare reform and the 1994 Crime Bill , he argues that workfare has shrunk (via stricter restrictions) and prisonfare has expanded, ultimately locking

New Deal (United Kingdom) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3780-574: The Western model. However, a workfare model typically not only focuses on provision of social protection through a wage-income transfer, but also supports workers to get into work. The purported main goal of workfare is to generate a "net contribution" to society from welfare recipients. Most commonly, it means getting unemployed people into paid work, reducing or eliminating welfare payments to them and creating an income that generates taxes. Workfare participants may retain certain employee rights throughout

3870-430: The agreement "overwhelmingly", sealing a coalition government of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats . A total of 149 sitting MPs stood down at the election, the highest since 1945 , including many former New Labour Cabinet ministers such as former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott , Alan Milburn , Geoff Hoon , Ruth Kelly , James Purnell and John Reid . One reason for the very high number of MPs standing down

3960-457: The banner of " Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force ". However, this caused the sole UUP MP Lady Sylvia Hermon to resign from the party on 25 March 2010, leaving them with no representation at Westminster for the first time in their history. Many constituencies were contested by other, smaller parties. Parties that won no representatives at Westminster in 2005 but have seats in the devolved assemblies or European Parliament included

4050-615: The broadcast of the final party leaders' debate in Scotland, in a court action. They had argued that "the corporation [the BBC] had breached its rules on impartiality by excluding the SNP". The judge, Lady Smith, ruled that "the SNP's case 'lacks the requisite precision and clarity ' " and added she could not "conclude the BBC had breached impartiality rules". Additionally, broadcasting regulator Ofcom ruled that it had not "upheld complaints received from

4140-777: The cameras. She said the incident had left her feeling more sad than angry and that she would not be voting for Labour or any other party. The incident was subsequently dubbed "Bigotgate", which was later added to the Collins English Dictionary . Despite this, Labour went on to gain the Rochdale seat from the Liberal Democrats, one of the few gains they made in the election. In Hornsey and Wood Green constituency 749 postal voters were sent ballot papers which asked voters to pick three candidates instead of one; Haringey Council had to send correct versions by hand. The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation in

4230-410: The case, in a judgement delivered on 28 April. Since each MP is elected separately by the first past the post voting system, it is impossible to precisely project a clear election outcome from overall UK shares of the vote. Not only can individual constituencies vary markedly from overall voting trends, but individual countries and regions within the UK may have a very different electoral contest that

4320-483: The childcare responsibilities of women receiving benefits when requiring them to participate in workfare. Single mothers are 33% more likely than married parents to be in poverty in the United States also in part due to the stagnant minimum wage and gender pay gap . Canada ran the experimental Self-Sufficiency Project , a "generous" income supplement to welfare recipients who found work. 1998 research saw significant increases in employment rates and hours worked over

4410-492: The constituency on Twitter. Avon and Somerset Police said they were "looking into a possible alleged breach of electoral law". Bristol City Council stated: "This is a criminal matter and [it] will be for the police to decide what action to take." The former Prime Minister Tony Blair returned to the campaign trail for Labour, visiting a polyclinic in Harrow West, following a troubled Labour campaign. Postal voters in

4500-406: The control group (who did not benefit from the project). Though later research suggested that the control group was on trend to catch-up with the recipients in the long-run. A 2001 review of a range of welfare programs concluded that earnings supplements are an effective policy to increase employment and earnings. In the UK, critics point out that the type of work offered by workfare providers

4590-680: The deaths of Labour MPs and one due to the resignation in January 2010 of a DUP member. Each of the four national boundary commissions is required by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (as amended by the Boundary Commissions Act 1992) to conduct a general review of all the constituencies in its part of the United Kingdom every eight to twelve years to ensure the size and composition of constituencies are as fair as possible. Based on

SECTION 50

#1732797263260

4680-471: The election would be held on 6 May, five years since the previous election on 5 May 2005. The election took place on 6 May in 649 constituencies across the United Kingdom, under the first-past-the-post system, for seats in the House of Commons . Voting in the Thirsk and Malton constituency was postponed for three weeks because of the death of a candidate . The governing Labour Party campaigned to secure

4770-458: The emphasis on education and increases the emphasis on work, scholars like Manza assert that work-first policies trap people of color in a cycle of low-wage work and poverty. Gender inequality arises in workfare as well, particularly related to equal pay and dependent care work . Welfare states can adopt different models related to the main breadwinner: male-breadwinner model, dual breadwinner model, or dual-earner-dual carer model. Workfare in

4860-460: The end of Tony Blair's 10-year tenure as prime minister and 13 years as leader of the Labour Party, while David Cameron had succeeded Michael Howard in December 2005 and Nick Clegg had succeeded Menzies Campbell (who never contested a general election) in December 2007. During the campaign, the three main party leaders engaged in the first televised debates . The Liberal Democrats achieved

4950-568: The formation of the Conservative-led coalition government after the General Election of May 2010 , Tory minister Chris Grayling announced the end of the New Deal that October. Grayling said the scheme had cost over £31,000 per job placement. Although the figure quoted was correct at the time, the project was front-loaded with costs and lagged in results; given another 11 months, the cost per head would have been roughly half of

5040-464: The four options was mandatory in order to be still able to claim JSA, refusal to participate led to 'sanctions' - withdrawal of JSA, and referral to a 'Decision Maker' who decided the outcome of 'sanctions' on the claimant. A new scheme, called the 'Flexible New Deal', was introduced in October 2009, aimed at revamping the programme that had, by then, been in existence for more than a decade. Following

5130-409: The fourth-largest party in the House of Commons. The key dates were: This election had an unusually high number of MPs choosing not to seek re-election, with more standing down than did so at the 1945 general election (which on account of the extraordinary wartime circumstances came ten years after the preceding election). This has been attributed to the 2009 expenses scandal and the fact there

5220-430: The incident, Brown talked to Jeremy Vine live on BBC Radio 2 and publicly apologised to Duffy. American comedian Jon Stewart commented that the clip showed the moment when Brown's "political career leaves his body". Brown subsequently visited Duffy to apologise in person. Upon emerging, he described himself as a "penitent sinner", while Duffy refused to speak to the press and would not shake hands with him in front of

5310-662: The largest share of the 2009 European Parliament election vote in Scotland. In Wales, the Labour Party remained the largest party in the Welsh Assembly , although Plaid Cymru increased their share of the vote and formed a coalition government with Labour. In 2009 the Ulster Unionist Party and the Conservative Party announced they had formed an electoral alliance whereby the two parties would field joint candidates for future elections under

5400-564: The leadership of the Conservative party. In early 2006, opinion polls were increasingly mixed with small leads given alternately to Labour and Conservative. From the May 2006 local elections, in which Labour suffered significant losses, the Conservatives took a small single-digit lead in opinion polls. Labour regained the lead in June 2007 following the resignation of Tony Blair and the appointment of Gordon Brown as prime minister. From November 2007,

5490-415: The marginal Vale of Glamorgan constituency had to be issued with new ballot papers after mistakenly being told they did not have to sign applications for postal votes. A group of entrepreneurs warned on the dangers of a Labour-Liberal coalition in an open letter to The Times on 29 April. On 28 April, Gordon Brown met Gillian Duffy, a 65-year-old woman and lifelong Labour voter from Rochdale ,

SECTION 60

#1732797263260

5580-402: The narrative that poverty equates to laziness. Throughout the 20th century, narratives about laziness morphed into stereotypes such as the welfare queen that aimed to paint black, single mothers as abusers of the welfare system. This stereotype claimed that black mothers supposedly refused to get jobs, had numerous children, and lived exclusively off of taxpayer dollars. While applying only to

5670-439: The number of claimants, or increased the likelihood of finding work. Rather it pushes participants to stop claiming before even getting work, leaving them with no income. However, the report notes there was a limited pool of evidence. Comprehensive Employment and Training Act United Kingdom general election, 2010 Gordon Brown Labour David Cameron Conservative The 2010 United Kingdom general election

5760-573: The number of seats in England increased by four, and numerous changes were made to the existing constituency boundaries. Northern Ireland continued to elect 18 MPs, but minor changes were made to the eastern constituencies in accordance with the Northern Ireland Boundary Commission's recommendations. For the first time, these changes include the splitting of an electoral ward between two constituencies. Following

5850-632: The party's leadership. On the morning of polling day, 6 May, the former and later leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage , standing in Buckingham against the Speaker, was injured when a light banner-towing aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed near Brackley , Northamptonshire. Groups of voters waiting in queues at 10 pm were locked out of polling stations in Sheffield Hallam , Manchester and Leeds; and police said one London polling station

5940-523: The point where many considered the possibility of a Liberal Democrat role in Government. Polls just before election day saw a slight swing from the Liberal Democrats back to Labour and Conservatives, with the majority of final polls falling within one point of Conservatives 36%, Labour 29%, Liberal Democrats 23%. However, record numbers of undecided voters raised uncertainty about the outcome. The Scottish National Party , encouraged by their victory in

6030-544: The previous general election included the Scottish National Party , with six parliamentary seats, Plaid Cymru from Wales with three seats, and Respect – The Unity Coalition and Health Concern , each of which held one parliamentary seat in England. Since that election, the SNP had won the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections and gained control of the Scottish Government , and also won

6120-477: The previous two elections). Coalition talks began immediately between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats , and lasted for five days . There was an aborted attempt to put together a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition (although 11 seats from other smaller parties would have been required). To facilitate this, Gordon Brown announced on the evening of Monday 10 May that he would resign as Leader of

6210-403: The process, however, often workfare programs are determined to be "outside employment relationships" and therefore the rights of beneficiaries can be different. Some workfare systems also aim to derive a contribution from welfare recipients by more direct means. Such systems obligate unemployed people to undertake work that is considered beneficial to their community. The history of workfare in

6300-662: The quoted figure. The New Deal was replaced in the Summer of 2011 by the Coalition Government 's Single Work Programme. Steps to Work was the replacement for the New Deal in Northern Ireland and is still in existence. It is administered by the Department for Employment and Learning through its Jobs and Benefits Office. Steps to Work came into effect in 2008 and consists of largely the same provisions as

6390-706: The recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales, the total number of seats remained at 40, although new seats caused by radical redrawing of boundaries in Clwyd and Gwynedd were fought for the first time: Arfon and Dwyfor Meirionnydd replaced Caernarfon and Meirionnydd Nant Conwy , respectively; Aberconwy replaced Conwy . At the time of the election Welsh constituencies had electorates on average around 14,000 smaller than their counterparts in England. Scotland saw its most recent large-scale review completed in 2004, so its 59 constituencies remained

6480-595: The same as at the 2005 general election. All three main parties went into the general election having changed leaders since 2005. David Cameron became Conservative leader in December 2005, replacing Michael Howard . Gordon Brown succeeded Tony Blair as leader of the Labour Party and prime minister in June 2007. Nick Clegg was elected as leader of the Liberal Democrats in December 2007, succeeding Menzies Campbell who had replaced Charles Kennedy in January 2006. The last time all three main parties went into

6570-413: The same vulnerable population in a vicious cycle in which low wage work, decreased benefits, and low social mobility lead to increased crime and punishment. He also argues that the institutional racism inherent in the United States has led to the underdevelopment of public aid. In all welfare states, there is a constant need to address inclusion and exclusion (i.e., who Is able to access policies and who

6660-582: The second general election since the Second World War to return a hung parliament, the first being the February 1974 election . This election marked the start of Conservative government for the next 14 years. For the leaders of all three major political parties, this was their first general election contest as party leader, something that had last been the case in the 1979 election. Prime Minister Gordon Brown had taken office in June 2007 following

6750-576: The welfare system. In less developed countries, similar schemes are designed to alleviate rural poverty among day-labourers by providing state-subsidised temporary work during those periods of the year when little agricultural work is available. For example, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in India offers 100 days' paid employment per year for those eligible, rather than unemployment benefits on

6840-470: The young unemployed (18- to 24-year-olds), the New Deal programmes subsequently targeted other groups. These include: [1] • New Deal for Young People (NDYP) received by far the greatest proportion of New Deal funding (£3.15 billion through to 2002 ). It targeted unemployed youth (aged 18–24) unemployed for 6 months or longer. • New Deal 25+ targeted those aged at least 25 years who were unemployed for eighteen months or more. In terms of funding, £350 million

6930-463: Was allocated up to 2002. • New Deal for Lone Parents targeted single parents with school age children. £200 million was directly allocated to the program, not including additional assistance for child-care. • New Deal for the Disabled targeted those with disabilities in receipt of Incapacity and similar benefits. £200 million was budgeted for the program up to 2002 (Peck, “Workfare” 304-305). This

7020-549: Was announced on 21 December 2009 that there would be three leaders' debates, each broadcast on prime time television , and a subsequent announcement in March 2010 that a debate between the financial spokesmen of the three main parties, Alistair Darling , George Osborne and Vince Cable would be held on 29 March. The SNP insisted that as the leading political party in Scotland in the latest opinion poll, it should be included in any debate broadcast in Scotland. On 22 December 2009,

7110-400: Was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, to elect Members of Parliament (or MPs) to the House of Commons . The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom under the first-past-the-post system. The election resulted in a large swing to the opposition Conservative Party led by David Cameron similar to that seen in 1979 , the last time a Conservative opposition had ousted

7200-589: Was introduced in 1999, the Working Families Tax Credit , a tax credit scheme for low income workers which was meant to provide an incentive to work, and to continue in work. Professor Richard Beaudry, from the Department of Economics at the University of York , defined the New Deal as follows in a 2002 paper, Workfare and Welfare: Britain’s New Deal (pp. 8–9) : "The New Deal reforms promise eventual reform of welfare assistance for all benefit recipients." Although originally targeting

7290-530: Was open until 10.30 pm, which triggered a national review of polling station requirements led by the Electoral Commission . The counts for the Foyle and East Londonderry constituencies were suspended because of a security alert around 11 pm after a car was abandoned outside the counting centre, causing a bomb scare. Following a campaign by Sky News and with agreement of the party leaders, it

7380-604: Was popularized by Richard Nixon in a televised speech August 1969. An early model of workfare had been pioneered in 1961 by Joseph Mitchell in Newburgh, New York . Traditional welfare benefits systems are usually awarded based on certain conditions, such as searching for work, or based on meeting criteria that would position the recipient as unavailable to seek employment or be employed. Under workfare, recipients have to meet certain participation requirements to continue to receive their welfare benefits. These requirements are often

7470-570: Was promoted and poor relief/cash assistance was discouraged in addressing poverty. In addition, the United States never had a history of feudalism to leave a residue of distinct social classes. Feudalism discouraged education to preserve social order; instead the United States immediately embraced capitalism , an economic system in full support of public education. As such, the United States from its early beginnings placed greater importance on education to decrease poverty. This history gave rise to colonial poor relief methodology that supported work, as

7560-462: Was provided by a third-party organisation from the workfare industry such as a4e , a quango such as CSV or a charity spin-off such as YMCA Training. If an employment search still proved unsuccessful after the Gateway sessions, to continue to receive Job Seeker's Allowance , one of four options had to be chosen: • A subsidised job placement. The subsidy being £60 per week, and lasting 6 months;

7650-399: Was replaced in an election by party members by Lord Pearson of Rannoch , whose stated intention was for the electoral support of UKIP to force a hung parliament. The Green Party of England and Wales voted to have a position of leader for the first time; the first leadership election was won by Caroline Lucas , who successfully contested the constituency of Brighton Pavilion . In addition,

7740-533: Was reported that senior civil servants were to meet with the Liberal Democrats to discuss their policies, an indication of how seriously the prospect of a hung parliament was being taken. Nick Clegg and Menzies Campbell had continued the position of Charles Kennedy of not being prepared to form a coalition with either main party and of voting against any Queen's Speech unless there was an unambiguous commitment in it to introduce proportional representation . Other parties with representation at Westminster after

7830-460: Was sacked after making offensive comments on his Twitter page, referring to elderly voters as "coffin dodgers" and voters in the North of Scotland as " teuchters ", and insulting politicians such as Cameron, Clegg, John Bercow and Diane Abbott . The UKIP candidate for Thirsk and Malton —John Boakes—died, causing the election in the constituency to be postponed until 27 May. Philip Lardner,

7920-693: Was superseded by the ' Work Capability Assessment ', introduced by the Brown government in 2008, and administered by Atos Healthcare . • New Deal 50+ targeted those aged 50 and older. • New Deal for Musicians was a little-known element aimed at unemployed musicians. The greatest emphasis of the first New Labour government was the NDYP, which was a pilot phase for more ambitious New Deal reforms with other groups. The NDYP began with an initial compulsory 'consultation session', referred to as 'Gateway', that focused on improving job search and interview skills. This training

8010-509: Was talk that redundancy-style payments for departing MPs might be scrapped after the election. In all, 149 MPs (100 Labour, 35 Conservatives, 7 Liberal Democrats, 2 Independents, 1 Independent Conservative and 1 member each from the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the DUP, and the SDLP) decided not to contest the election. Additionally, three seats were vacant at the time of the dissolution of Parliament; two due to

8100-705: Was the parliamentary expenses scandal a year earlier . A record 228 new MPs were elected at the election. Many of the Conservative MPs elected for the first time became ministers in government. Notable newcomers who were elected to parliament in 2010 included future Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss , future chancellors of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Kwasi Kwarteng , future Home Secretaries Priti Patel and Sajid Javid , future Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson , future Leaders of

#259740