"John Welshman's focus is on the origins of Keith Joseph’s analysis in the 1970s, the direction of the government-funded research program that followed it and on the connections between ideas in the 1970s and New Labour’s approach to tackling poverty, social exclusion and anti-social behavior. He takes the perspective of a social historian, relying primarily on published documents, extensive archival ... Read moreresearch and interviews. He provides an in-depth case study of the political process from a variety of perspectives." Nick Axford, Prevention Action website "John Welshman's book is a thorough and fascinating study of the history of poverty and policy from the mid-twentieth century to the early twenty-first....contains a wealth of empirical detail..... This book is enormously valuable to a range of potential readers....." Twentieth Century British History, Vol 19: 2, 2008 "Welshman's book is a fascinating account of a hitherto largely neglected topic and the author is to be commended for the breadth of his investigation and the relevance of the lessons he draws from it from today." British Journal of Social Work, Vol 38, 2008. "This is an absorbing book. Using archive material well, it throws light on the relationship between social research, its funding and its use by politicians. It also shows the continuity of ideas in social policy - though new terms like social exclusion may come into vogue, the thread of ideas over time remains." Howard Glennerster, London School of Economics and Political Science WELMAN WANTS GLENNERSTER'S QUOTE ON BACK COVER Show Less