ABSTRACT
The greatest achievement, the crowning glory, of the immediate post war Labour Government, perhaps of any post war government, was the creation of the National Health Service as the cornerstone of the Welfare State. For its proponents it was the most essential of all institutions, an attempt to break the vicious cycle of illness and poverty that affected so many British citizens. It gave free medical care on demand at the point of use to the whole population; it was to be fully comprehensive, based on state provision rather than any insurance principle. The publication of the Report of the Working Group on Inequalities in Health, known as the Black Report, in 1980 had a devastating impact, as did Margaret Whitehead's Report The Health Divide in 1987. The Black Report argued that there was a need for further information and research and the evidence now for the link between poverty and ill health has become overwhelming.
