The inclusive society?

Social exclusion and new Labour

Ruth Levitas, Palgrave MacMillan, 296 pages, paperback, £18.99

In his 1997 election victory speech Tony Blair talked about creating a united country "with no-one shut out or excluded". After the establishment of the Social Exclusion Unit the government has provided more information and debate about the nature of poverty and the broader concept of social exclusion than any previous administration.

This book tries to put this debate and policy responses in perspective and looks at how they have developed along three key lines. These are: redistribution, where the focus is on poverty; morality and culture (how to deal with a growing underclass); and social integration (reintegrate people into the labour market).

However, the book argues for greater redistribution. While the evidence suggests that Labour has halted the increase in inequality of the Conservative years it has yet to manage a major reversal of that trend.