“Precarious and somewhat battered”? 75 years of ‘Citizenship and Social Class’, 30 years of the JSSL and Marshall’s social citizenship

2024 marks both the 30th anniversary of the JSSL and the 75th anniversary of TH Marshall’s landmark essays on ‘Citizenship and Social Class’. Marshall’s writing on citizenship remains a key point of reference for welfare state researchers, yet his theory has been widely critiqued. Meanwhile, 21st century developments in UK social security law, policy and practice – and in the state’s constitutional arrangements – can appear difficult to reconcile with his vision of a right to “a modicum of economic welfare and security” for all. This article considers the continued value of the Marshallian perspective as an empirical explanation of developments in social security and a normative statement of the social minimum citizens should be able to count on. In doing so, it focuses mainly on the adequacy of low-income benefits, conditions associated with their receipt and the responsibility for social protection of different tiers of government.