Penny, Joe; Slay, Julia; (2013) Surviving austerity: Local voices and local action in England’s poorest neighbourhoods. New Economics Foundation (NEF): London, UK.

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Abstract

The welfare state no longer provides an adequate safety net. Many people are struggling just to meet their basic needs. Precarious employment is rising, and in-work poverty has overtaken out-of-work poverty for the first time. Public spending cuts are giving rise to more needs and greater demands on the welfare state. Austerity measures have thwarted the best ambitions of the government’s plan to build a ​‘Big Society’. But people can use local assets and resources to try to tackle these problems. In 2010, the Coalition Government began trying to reduce the national deficit through public spending cuts and welfare reform. This – along with the effects of the recession – became the ​‘new austerity’. It was linked with a new political programme to build a Big Society by promoting local social action. Two years ago, nef (the new economics foundation) set out to explore how people in two of the most economically deprived parts of Birmingham and Haringey, North London, were experiencing these changes. Through peer research, photojournalism, interviews and workshops with local residents, community organisations and local authority officers, we asked: How are people experiencing welfare reform and public sector cuts? What does the Big Society mean for local residents? What can be done at local level to promote social justice and improve people’s well-being?

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