Shortly before the 1911 National Insurance Act – the Act which practically destroyed the friendly societies and inaugurated the welfare state – the magazine of the Oddfellows carried this: Working men are awakening to the fact that this is a subtle attempt to take from the class to which they belong the administration of the great voluntary organisations which they have built up for themselves, and to hand over the future control to the paid servants of the governing class … […]

Tags: Civitas, Friendly Societies, Healthcare, Hospital, Liberty, Mutuality, NHS, Oddfellows, Reform, Wycombe