Abstract
After the Second World War, the British political and economic landscape underwent a radical transformation in its own foundations. Indeed, the previous economic orthodoxy that had characterized the governing of Britain was substituted by a Keynesian form of welfare state. It was the beginning of a period of social democracy, best known as the post war consensus, during which there was a general agreement around the five core characteristics of policy-making. The first of these pillars was the creation of the welfare state, which according to Rodney Lowe can be defined as a "synonym for a given range of social services provided by the government". In order to present and analyze this painting of social democracy in Britain, it is necessary to define the concept. As it is pointed out by Tom Clark, social democracy is in fact specific to a certain historical moment. Indeed, it is after the Second World War that the majority of Western parties included this notion and its implications in their programs.
