Full Description
Austerity has proven deadly. Over the last decade, the damage caused by austerity measures in the UK has had a long-lasting and profound effect on many lives. The first edition of Austerity Bites offered on-the-ground reportage of one of the most significantly regressive economic strategies of any post-war government. Over a year Mary O'Hara toured the UK to gauge the immediate impact - and expectations of people affected - and found many clinging to the hope that austerity cuts would not last long as the damage became increasingly apparent. Alas, this was not how things unfolded.
Instead, much of the Welfare State had its vital support systems systematically undermined. The public sector, including the NHS, is now on its knees. Schools are buckling under multiple structural and budgetary pressures. Councils - even big ones - are going broke. Homelessness is rampant.
While Brexit, the pandemic, and war have no doubt impacted the economic health of the country, previous austerity cuts left the UK less prepared to weather such extraordinary events.
With new commentary, Austerity Bites 10 Years On assesses on the true scale of the damage these policies have inflicted on the country's most vulnerable groups, public institutions and on the wider society. It reflects on where we have been, where we are now and what needs to happen next to undo the damage and avoid the same mistakes again.
Contents
Acknowledgements
A note on the 10th Anniversary Edition
Foreword to the 10th Anniversary Edition
Preface to the 10th Anniversary Edition
Preface to the 2015 Paperback Edition
Introduction
Essay 1: Heat or Eat
Chapter 1: Money's too tight to mention
Essay 2: All Pain, No Gain: The Rise and Rise of Poverty in the UK
Chapter 2: The Big Squeeze
Essay 3: Double Trouble: The Cost of Living Crisis and Austerity
Chapter 3: Welcome to 'Wongaland'
Essay 4: Shame on You: Austerity and the Toxic Poverty Narrative
Chapter 4: Work Maketh the Person
Essay 5: Fear Factor: Enshrining a Benefits System Unfit for Purpose
Chapter 5: All Work and No Pay
Essay 6: Death by a Thousand Cuts: The Disproportionate Harm of Austerity
Chapter 6: Bearing the Brunt
Essay 7: There is Nothing to Fear but Austerity Itself.
Chapter 7: A Life Lived in Fear is a Life Half Lived
Conclusion
Afterword to the 2015 Paperback Edition
Afterword to the 10th Anniversary Edition
Notes
Index
