Talk with Michael Lambert from the university of Lancaster

Michael Lambert from the University of Lancaster; an historian of the welfare state in twentieth-century Britain and its Empire. My research explores the dynamics of power, inequality and the state in the development of welfare services across twentieth century Britain and its Empire.

Child welfare inequalities as seen through the organisation of state services has been a consistent focus of my research. “My doctoral thesis used social case files of ‘problem families’ to understand the antecedents of modern child protection practices, linking decisions about individuals to national policies. I have used this approach in contributing as an expert witness to two major national inquiries: in relation to the selection of children from Scotland by the Fairbridge Society for child migration for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry in 2019, and the policy framework surrounding the forcible adoption of children of unmarried mothers for the Joint Committee on Human Rights Inquiry in 2021.”