A Commitment to Welfare: the impact of Richard Titmuss on health and social policy

Contributor(s): Professor John Stewart, Professor Lucinda Platt, Dr Sara Machado, Jon Ashworth MP | Having joined the LSE in 1950, Richard Titmuss almost single-handedly, created the academic field of social administration (what we would now call social policy) in Britain. He wrote extensively on health, inequalities and other welfare issues, which have again come to the fore in the COVID-19 pandemic. What can we learn from Richard Titmuss as we look forward to the post-COVID world? Our panel of experts in health and social policy issues will reflect on the life and legacy of Richard Titmuss via the lens of his extensive work, particularly those around the principles of altruism and social solidarity, as well as his role in policy and academic networks at home and internationally. Jon Ashworth (@JonAshworth) has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since 2016 and Member of Parliament for Leicester South since 2011. Sara Machado is a Fellow at the Department of Health Policy. She teaches courses in health economics, with a focus on policy applications of fundamental economic concepts, on the Department's full-time master's programme and executive education. Lucinda Platt (@PlattLucinda) is Professor of Social Policy and Sociology and Head of Department of Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research focuses on economic inequalities, particularly those relating to ethnicity and migration, gender and disability. She also works on the history of social policy, and the evolution of the British welfare state. John Stewart is Emeritus Professor of the History of Health and Healthcare at Glasgow Caledonian University. He has written extensively on the history of health and welfare. His latest book is a biography of Richard Titmuss, published in 2020 by Policy Press. Julian Le Grand (@julianlegrand) was the Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy at LSE from 1993 to 2011. He is the author, co-author or editor of more than twenty books and over one hundred refereed journal articles on economics, philosophy and public policy. He has previously served as Senior Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister and as chair of several government working groups. He is currently Professor at LSE’s Marshall Institute. The Department of Social Policy (@LSESocialPolicy) provides top quality international and multidisciplinary research and teaching on social and public policy challenges facing countries across the world. The Department of Health Policy (@LSEHealthPolicy) trains and inspires people passionate about health by advancing and challenging their understanding of health systems and the social, economic and political contexts in which they operate. 125 years of LSE It’s our anniversary! Join our celebrations as we explore the past, discover new stories, and impact the future. This event forms part of LSE’s Shaping the Post-COVID World initiative, a series of debates about the direction the world could and should be taking after the crisis. Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSECOVID19