ABSTRACT
The first Labour government for nearly 20 years was elected on 1 May 1997. This chapter provides an account of the actions of that government in key social policy areas, investigating once again the ways in which such policies address the fundamental boundary between public and private responsibility. One of the earliest concessions made by Labour in opposition to the privatisation agenda had come with its conversion to the policy of selling council houses. By May 1997, the high-water mark of that policy was well past, but continued to enjoy the support of the new administration. In relation to demand for rented housing, the incoming administration took early steps to reverse the previous government’s intentions to cut housing benefit by extending the ‘single room rent’ rule to people aged 25 to 59. It was, perhaps, in the area of homelessness which the new administration of May 1997 showed itself most willing to depart from the policies of its predecessors.
