
Episode 2
Richard Bilton investigates unemployment, uncovering startling parallels between the lives of the jobless in 1910 and now, as well as the incredible advances brought by reform.
A hundred years on from a ground-breaking investigation into unemployment, Richard Bilton compares the lives of the jobless in 1910 with their modern-day counterparts. A century ago single mums lived on the brink of starvation - now our costly benefits system means that children do not go hungry. But has the welfare state created new problems? And as the government embarks on the biggest shake-up of benefits for a generation, what lessons can we learn from research into unemployment carried out a hundred years ago?
In 1910, philanthropist and chocolate tycoon Seebohm Rowntree wrote a radical book about unemployment, exposing for the first time the terrible conditions faced by Britain's jobless. In the second of two programmes looking at a century of unemployment, Richard Bilton uncovers startling parallels between then and now - including a man living in a tent and reliant on casual labour - as well as the incredible advances that 100 years of reform have brought us. But he discovers that for some, the solutions to ending a life without work remain as out of reach as they did a century ago.
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Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Richard Bilton |
Series Producer | Guy Smith |
Producer | Barbara Arvanitidis |
Director | Barbara Arvanitidis |
Executive Producer | Sam Bagnall |
Broadcasts
- Fri 29 Oct 2010 21:00ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Two Scotland & England only
- Sat 30 Oct 2010 01:35ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ HD
- Tue 2 Nov 2010 23:20ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Two Wales
- Wed 3 Nov 2010 00:20ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Two England
- Wed 3 Nov 2010 23:50ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Two Northern Ireland
- Fri 5 Nov 2010 00:00ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ HD
- Thu 16 Dec 2010 03:25