A new film, The Man With the Plan, directed by Christine Edzard and starring Simon Callow, revisits William Beveridge, the Liberal peer whose 1942 report laid the groundwork for Britain's postwar welfare state. The film argues that Beveridge was far more radical than commonly remembered, and its release is timed to resonate with the new prime minister's stated priorities, framing his call to tackle "want, disease, squalor, idleness and ignorance" as strikingly relevant to contemporary debates over living wages, the NHS's private sector role, and public utility privatisation.

Beveridge's landmark report, despite its dry official title, caused a sensation on publication in 1942, drawing mile-long queues in London and selling more than 650,000 copies. The film, shot at Sands Films Studio in Rotherhithe and set to tour libraries and community centres, follows a student named Flea (Sophie Jenkin) as she encounters Beveridge's "five giants", voiced and portrayed by figures including Miriam Margolyes and Alan Cox, alongside contributions from comedian Mark Thomas and public health professor Sir Michael Marmot, who argues Beveridge's vision remains "necessary, vital" today.