英國福利國的源起，雖然可追溯於一次大戰時期，但一般都會由1940年代初的Beveridge Report 談起。經歷了一段穩定發展後，七十年代的石油危機，加上八十年代Thatcherism 新保守主義，以私營化為主軸的社會政策，質疑福利國家理念，引發一連串改革。工黨在九十年代，提出所謂「第三道路」(Third Way)的一套超越「左」「右」的社會政策。踏入千禧年代，再度持續執政的保守黨，面對財政及政治的考量，在本是右傾的政策綱領中，如何維持歷史承傳下來的福利措施，一直是重大挑戰，特別是在現時的生活危機(Cost of Living Crisis)中。今次沙龍，讓我們一起觀察這數拾年來「左左右右」的福利爭議及改革，了解這福利國家面對的挑戰，討論公民社會在政策制訂的角色，和探討它的前景。

The origins of the British welfare state, although dating back to World War I, are generally perceived to begin with the Beveridge Report in the early 1940s. After a period of steady development, the Oil Crisis of the 1970s, coupled with the Thatcherism (i.e., Neo-Conservatism) in the 1980s focusing on privatization and questioning the idea of the welfare state, triggered a series of reforms. In the 1990s, the Labour Party proposed the so-called "Third Way" as a set of social policies claimed to go beyond the “Left” and "Right". Facing fiscal problems and electoral considerations, how to sustain the inherited welfare regime in the already Right-leaning policy context is a major challenge, especially in the current Cost of Living Crisis. In this talk, let us observe the welfare controversies and reforms over the decades, understand the challenges facing this welfare state, and discuss its prospects.

In this Salon, let us observe the welfare controversies and reforms over the decades, understand the challenges facing this welfare state, and discuss the role of Civil Society plays in the process and its prospects.

Dr Raymond Chan

Raymond Chan graduated from the Department of Social Work of HKBU and obtained a Master's degree in Social Policy and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Essex University, UK. He has taught and worked at PolyU, CityU, and CUHK. He is currently an Honorary Fellow of the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne.

陳國康博士

議員簡介：陳國康博士早年畢業於浸大社工系，其後於英國Essex University 取得社會政策碩士及社會學博士學位。曾任教及任職於理大，城大及中大。現為墨爾本大學社會及政治科學學院榮譽學人。