For anyone who looks to Scandinavia as the social model they'd prefer to the (continuing) mid-Atlantic model (part European/part American) the UK currently tries (but often fails) to make work.... the key issue is how is that social provision & social structure funded?
Answer: by a much higher proportion of national income flowing through the state ... so, the transition to a Scandinavian model would involve very significant (perhaps welcome) shifts in the UK's political economy!
compost_funeral
in reply to Emeritus Prof Christopher May • • •I lived in the UK for 10 years before coming to Finland, the degree to which different government services fit into each other is really on a different level, as is the level of comfort most people have with stuff like "your personal number will pull up any information from your prescription list to your criminal record to your last 4 years of payslips and the list of benefits you receive, this is all maintained on your behalf with very little input from you".
The level of trust in institutions was a huge culture shock - as was, honestly, the actual competence of some institutions. Used to UK gov infrastructure projects, I was in utter disbelief watching my Finnish local city council look at the projected population trends, pre-emptively install a tram system, and complete it under budget and ahead of schedule. Amazing what can be done when the central government isn't forcing you to take contracts based on the cheapest quote.