Conservative Government Family Policies
The Conservative governments of 1979-1997 strongly promoted the traditional nuclear family with their "Back to Basics" campaign, viewing it as the ideal family structure. They implemented policies that encouraged the male breadwinner/female housewife model, including the Married Men's Tax Allowance which effectively discouraged women from working by creating different tax brackets for men and women.
Marxist critics argued these policies merely supported capitalism by justifying cuts to state expenditure. The creation of the Child Support Agency in 1993 forced absent parents (primarily fathers) to pay maintenance, which critics viewed as a way to reduce government spending on benefits rather than genuinely supporting families.
Section 28 represented a direct attack on family diversity by prohibiting the "promotion of homosexuality" in schools, effectively denying recognition of family structures outside the traditional nuclear model. The government also proposed stricter divorce rules, requiring a year of separation before granting divorce.
Important to know: The Children Act 1889 established legal rights for children, marking an early recognition that family policy needed to consider more than just adult relationships.
