Breadline Britain: The Rise of Mass Poverty

by Stewart Lansley, Joanna Mack

Poverty in Britain is at post-war highs and - even with economic growth - is set to increase yet further. Food bank queues are growing, levels of severe deprivation have been rising, and increasing numbers of children are left with their most basic needs unmet.

Based on exclusive access to the largest ever survey of poverty in the UK, and its predecessor surveys in the 1980s and 1990s, Stewart Lansley and Joanna Mack track changes in deprivation and paint a devastating picture of the reality of poverty today and its causes. Shattering the myth that poverty is the fault of the poor and a generous benefit system, they show that the blame lies with the massive social and economic upheaval that has shifted power from the workforce to corporations and swelled the ranks of the working poor, a group increasingly at the mercy of low-pay, zero-hour contracts and downward social mobility.

The high levels of poverty in the UK are not ordained but can be traced directly to the political choices taken by successive governments. Lansley and Mack outline an alternative economic and social strategy that is both perfectly feasible and urgently necessary if we are to reverse the course of the last three decades.

Genres: Nonfiction, Economics, Politics, Sociology, British Literature

352 pages, Paperback

First published February 16, 2015

Reviews

[Liam89 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-researched to the point of being water-tight, 'Breadline Britain' challenges the long-held belief that a rising tide carries all boats. Over the past thirty years national income in Britain has doubled. So has the poverty rate. Why? It is simple: successive governments, both Labour and Conservative, have accepted the results of the neo-liberal revolution of the 1970s which defined poverty not as a condition relative to higher earners or ability to function and partake in society fully, but as an absolute position compared to the condition of the poor of the previous generation. This was accompanied by a resurgence in the Victorian values that poverty is a result, not of failures of society and government, but poor choices and immoral behaviour. Consequently, Britain has gotten richer, while more and more people are living in appalling poverty. This book is a direct challenge to that consensus, and a demand that we reverse the Thatcherite reforms of the 1980s, and demand a gentler, kinder society that not only offers hope to the vulnerable, but dignity in work and a real stake in society.

[Camilo Klinge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een compleet en duidelijk overzicht van arbeid en armoede in het verenigd koninkrijk. Ondanks dat het boek zich met name op één land focust geeft het een weergave van een globale trend in de economische markten en politieke werelden. Op deze manier voegt dit boek zich met een uitgebreide onderbouwing bij recente ontwikkelingen en ideeën over toekomstige samenlevingen waarvoor radicale en structurele veranderingen nodig zijn.
Over het algemeen een erg interessant boek over hoe de samenleving is ingericht en wat de gevolgen hiervan zijn.

[Henriette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just read it!

[Chris Jerrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Poor are a misunderstood group. They are villified as scroungers in the gutter press but this book draws on academic research to bust the myths and help us understand people who are struggling. A very humane and necessary book.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

READ THIS BOOK! Devastating and shocking, but also very well written. Down with the Tories!

[Harry · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

It can be quite interesting to read slightly_ outdated pieces of social research, like this, to see that not only have things got worse, but they have got worse from a position of weakness

The text makes a strong case for a number of indicators leading to worse outcomes, as well as health problems as a secondary outcome

This text was written at a time when Amazon was in the process of becoming the monolith it is today, with zero hour contracts being a more pressing concern than the gig economy that has become embedded at Amazon

There is another disturbingly prescient point to do with planning permission, an issue with a death toll attached to it, most notably at Grenfell

The recommendations in the final book seem sensible, if not particularly radical, and would go a good way to fix some of the problems endemic in Britain

There's a lot that can be gleaned from comparing this book to the current day's context, but for a more rounded view it is probably worth reaching for a more contemporary account

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Food for thought.

I tried to disregard the politician bashing because it's not an area in which I feel adequately informed to accept/refute his arguments.

The solution is unlikely to gain traction. Something along the lines of 'looking a gift horse in the mouth' would take a level of integrity and courage I'm yet to believe a politician possesses. Perhaps a 'jury duty' style approach to being a politician would be more appropriate than as a career choice... Those 'serving' know that their term is so short that they'll likely not achieve anything for their own benefit so they serve only to benefit generations onward?

[Eric Clifford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The type of depressing shit that makes scuba diving in concrete seem appealing. Page after page of testimony to the failure of my green and pleasant land to look after it's people. Periodic spelling errors and some stuff that superficially seems somewhat off - they reference a male/female pay gap that I know can be interpreted a number of ways without specifying what they mean by it for example - drag it down a touch, and it's always gonna feel weird rating books highly when they leave you feeling despondent, but even so this maudlin tome is worthy of your time.

[Aparna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly researched overview of the rising level of poverty in the UK and what's causing it, from the Thatcherite reforms of the 1980s to 2015. Slightly outdated, as we know the economy has shifted massively since Brexit and Covid-19, and poverty has only gotten worse, but interesting nonetheless.

[Max Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only book one needs to read to be disgusted at the current state of our country.

[Peter Timson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One should read - definitely before forming a view based on what is push by some of the press and an increasingly influential cadre of "don't bother me with the facts" politicians.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY important . This is a little heavy on statistics but a MUST Read for insight into what is going on in the UK right now.

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling, stark analysis of poverty in Britain (mainly England), exploring from Thatcher-the Coalition Government.