Beveridge's Trojan Horse

On the morning of December 2nd, 1942, the British media was saturated with news of the publication of Social Insurance and Allied Services, the report of a government committee chaired by Sir William Beveridge. Coming as it did, at the turn of British fortunes, soon after the news of the breakthrough at El Alamein, the report was seized upon with enthusiasm by a war weary population which needed an optimistic vision of the post-war world. Within days it was clear that the Beveridge Report, which described a comprehensive system of social security for every citizen 'from the cradle to the grave', had filled this void. Some of the longest queues of the war were formed at the government bookshop in central London to obtain a copy. Two weeks later, a BIPO report determined that 95 per cent of those questioned had heard of the Report, 88 per cent were in favour, and only 6 per cent against. Interest was marked particularly among the lower income groups, and 52 per cent believed that the government would back the scheme. Nevertheless, there was considerable scepticism already about the government response.