Beveridge dared to imagine

William Beveridge imagined a Britain where no one would fall into poverty without support. His 1942 report proposed a bold system of social security and struck a chord with the public. In an age before paperbacks, over 600,000 copies were sold by early 1944. Parliament debated it. Politicians and newspapers studied it. Thousands queued to buy it. Beveridge spoke to packed halls across Britain and North America. His BBC interview was broadcast in 22 languages. Copies reached resistance groups in occupied Europe, and even turned up in Hitler’s bunker. The report shook the status quo. Insurance shares fell. Beveridge became an unlikely national hero, offering hope in wartime.

He wrote: “A revolutionary moment in the world’s history is a time

for revolutions, not for patching.”

When Parliament debated the report in February 1943, Labour strongly supported it, while Conservatives were divided. Churchill delayed action, fearing it would raise “false hopes and airy visions.” Frustrated, Beveridge pressed on. In 1944, he published Full Employment in a Free Society, and was elected Liberal MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, though he lost the seat in the 1945 election.

His guiding principle was simple and powerful: the abolition of want.