British Journal of Politics and International Relations, vol. 12, 2010, p. 408-424
Politicians often appeal to moral principles and arguments in their efforts to sell new policies. Thus they typically make the case for initiatives in the area of welfare by reference to the increase in well-being the policy will produce. This article proposes a framework that can be used to disaggregate and reconstruct the process by which politicians select, formulate and employ moral arguments within a democratic context and applies it to New Labour's case for the New Deals and the Flexible New Deal.