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Conceptualisations of Welfare Deservingness by Polish Migrants in the UK

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

DOROTA OSIPOVIČ
DOROTA OSIPOVIČ*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1H 9SH email: Dorota.Osipovic@lshtm.ac.uk
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Abstract

The issue of reconciling ethnic diversity with the welfare state is a subject of long-standing theoretical debate. In particular, it remains unclear to what extent a shared national identity is necessary for endorsing claims to welfare at the individual and societal levels. Surveys show that migrants are seen as the least deserving category of welfare recipients. Yet migrants’ own views are rarely considered. Based on a qualitative study, this paper explores how Polish migrants residing in London conceptualised their deservingness to British welfare benefits and social housing. It finds a strong preference for conditionality of welfare predicated on contributions through work, payment of taxes and law abidance. Such conditionality applied to both in-group and out-group members thus transcending identity-based claims. These contributions were seen as both necessary and sufficient for laying claims to the British welfare system. Solely needs-based claims were seen as problematic.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , October 2015 , pp. 729 - 746
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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