英国社会发展评述

Abstract:Facing the aftermath of the global financial crisis and economic stagnation，the Coalition government adopted a general social policy of austerity and reform aimed at cutting public expenditure，changing the public’s reliance on state welfare and boosting the British economy. Some of the measures have proved successful，such as the welfare cut and the measures to reduce deficit，and the radical reform of the secondary education system and raising the university tuition to 9000 pounds. Some have met with strong resistance and suffered failure or unclear result，such as restructuring the NHS，simplifying and unifying the welfare claim system. An important event was the nationwide riots in August 2011 that caused huge casualty and property loss. The whole society debated on the root causes of the riots，blaming it on high unemployment rate，youth deprivation，bad policing policy，the gangster culture and strained race relations. The past two years also witnessed two happy events - Prince William’s wedding（2011）and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee of Accession to the throne（2012）- which brought pleasant atmosphere to the atmosphere mood of the public’s general mood.

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