Introduction

We undertake four tasks in this chapter. First, we offer a brief review of Peter Townsend's work on global social policy and the stature of its contribution to its field. We highlight the innovativeness and breadth of coverage of Peter's work which was firmly grounded in a materialist, globalist and sociological analysis of social policy. Second, we reflect on the impact of this work, where we make reference to his academic and policy impacts. Third, we assess the implications of the key messages of Peter's work for current and future research, teaching and campaigning. We focus on the value and importance of a global approach to social policy research, teaching and campaigning, and make especial reference to the implications of his work both on child poverty and social security in the context of the current United Nations (UN) Global Social Floor strategy. Finally, we add some comments on what still needs to be done if Peter's vision of a meaningful global social policy grounded in democratic socialism is to be realised.

Scene setting: a review of the global dimensions of Peter's work

Peter was a pioneer of global social policy. Although global social policy is commonly attributed to a field of study and research that developed in the mid-1990s (see Yeates, 2008b), as early as the 1950s Peter was developing a global analysis of world poverty, combining the insights of global sociology with those of development studies and social policy. Peter's personal diary from January 1953 evidences that he reflected on the relationship between Britain and its colonies in the development of social policy: