Red-Headed

After the war that was started by
The war to end all wars:
A ‘New Jerusalem’ was considered
In a green & pleasant land.

“From the cradle to the grave” said Beveridge
Then Attlee made it so:
The ‘New Jerusalem’ was created
In that green & pleasant land.

(And were those feats in modern times welcomed in England’s mental state?)

But the ‘welfare state’ of Temple’s phrase
Was not a free supper:
The ‘New Jerusalem’ denigrated
In a greed & selfish land.

Utilitarianism’s tasteless face
A many headed hydra:
‘New Jerusalem’ drenched in venom
Became a strange & wasted land.

(And were those debts in troubled times welcome in England’s welfare state?)



After WW2 an idealistic British government decided to eradicate poverty & implement the ‘welfare state’ a term coined by Archbishop Temple in 1941. It was an incredibly bold & ambitious plan & had many detractors. William Beveridge proposed a system of national insurance which should be extended to all citizens “from the cradle to the grave”. This was eventually implemented by the Attlee ministries in 1948. It was the first in the world. It was dubbed ‘The New Jerusalem’ inspired by the famous line ‘Till we have built Jerusalem in England’s green & pleasant land’ in the introduction to Blake’s ‘From Milton’.

In recent times, particularly with the resurgence of 19th century utilitarian & right wing policies the future of the ‘New Jerusalem’ has been questioned.

(My most humble apologies to a certain Mr William Blake for the ‘borrowing’ of some of his ideas in my poem. Which is dedicated to him & all visionaries throughout the world, wherever you are.)