Quite. There's a difference between austerity and selective austerity - what our last two governments have been practising is the latter, in spades, and you're right - it hasn't led to economic growth or reduced the national debt.
However, I'm starting to sense that this may be sinking in amongst large proportions of the electorate and that the backlash is beginning. Corbyn's unexpected surge in the polls and an increased turnout among young voters in the last election are positive manifestations of this.
I'm hesitant to predict that the Grenfell Tower fire might alert even more swing voters to the negative effects of cost-cutting and deregulation as the last thing I want to do is use a human tragedy to score political points - but it can't be logically denied that both were major factors in causing the disaster (as discussed in the "dangers of deregulation" thread.
It's just terrible that it took the deaths of 79-plus people to highlight the effects of the long-term erosion of social housing that was begun by the Thatcher administration but continued by successive governments both (New) Labour and Tory.
Reply | with quote | Posted by Popel Vooje 20th June 2017ce 19:51 |
An end to austerity in the UK? (grufty jim, Jun 18, 2017, 21:44)- Re: An end to austerity in the UK? (Robot Emperor, Jun 18, 2017, 22:13)
- Re: An end to austerity in the UK? (Howburn Digger, Jun 18, 2017, 23:22)
- Re: An end to austerity in the UK? (Popel Vooje, Jun 20, 2017, 19:51)
- Re: An end to austerity in the UK? (Sueno, Jun 29, 2017, 21:33)
- Just sayin' .... (nigelswift, Jun 30, 2017, 08:25)
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