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Americanised and Europeanised: UK Social Policy since 1997 1

A number of recent accounts of UK social policy under New Labour have emphasised the continuing Americanisation of the British welfare state. This article does not deny the influence of the US but rather seeks to balance it with an account of the growing Europeanisation of UK social policy. It argues that Americanisation and Europeanisation are distinct in terms of both content and process. Since these are not mutually exclusive, the UK is currently influenced by both. This situation is illustrated by looking at three social policy issues under New Labour: social exclusion, the New Deal and the treatment of lone parents.