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What Matters is who Works: Why Every Child Matters to New Labour. Commentary on the DfES Green Paper Every Child Matters

University of Leeds, j.f.williams{at}leeds.ac.uk

The article argues that, while the Green Paper opens up new possibilities for the way society can transform the lives of children and their parents, it also, at the same time, closes these off. One reason for this is its failure to be explicit about its vision and its values. The article summarizes the main proposals in the Green Paper, and then focuses on three issues: the meaning of respect for children and childhood; whether children are seen as citizens of the present as well as the future; and the place of trust in the idea of the parent-state partnership. The discussion highlights particular tensions between entitlement and responsibility, protection and punishment, and in the scope of education.

Key Words: children’s rights • New Labour • parenting • values

Critical Social Policy, Vol. 24, No. 3, 406-427 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0261018304044366


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