Feeling blue: reflections on the Conservatives’ economic mismanagement

It would be an understatement to call the past fourteen years of economic change and development in the UK deeply chaotic. However, within all of this upheaval and uncertainty, there has been some continuity – but this continuity hasn’t been stability, it has been a continuity of economic decline. Whilst graphs may say one thing, nothing serves as a better indicator of living standards and quality of life than the ordinary experiences of the people who call the UK home. From the Conservative-instigated austerity to the uncertainty and now clearly visible and tangible unfolding impacts of Brexit, and recently the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, there has always been a cost-of-living crisis, going on a lot longer than just over two years. For millions, their memories of the Conservative governments of the 2010s and early 2020s will not be of proclaimed ‘Brexit freedoms’ but of a systematic collapse in their own economic security.

When David Cameron was sworn into office, he promised tough decisions on economic policy, including welfare and health reforms. This notion of ‘tough’ reforms has become a catchphrase of many governments but none more so than over the past fourteen years. This concept of ‘toughness’ has cemented an apparent necessity to live in adversity. However, for many impacted by the decisions of David Cameron, such policies didn’t prompt them to toughen up and adapt by making decisions like putting off buying a new car, it forced them to make decisions including sacrificing a meal or days out with their family.

If Cameron’s time in office showed us anything, it’s that for millions, austerity did not just hit them, it destroyed them. It laid the foundations for this generation to be in a worse position than their parents, with a rise in Victorian diseases, including scurvy and rickets, severely limiting the life chances of children already set back by cuts to welfare. A 2021 report by the New Economics Foundation found that changes to welfare since 2010 have pushed at least 1.5 million more people into poverty. In this regard, we can see how, for millions, government attempts to ‘balance the books’ have resulted in many not being able to afford books at all. The shocking rise in the number of food bank users also serves as a starting point for understanding the sheer economic impact of austerity, even before considering Brexit and Covid-19. Between 2008/09 and 2020/21, the number of foodbank users increased each year, from just under 26,000 to more than 2.56 million, with this number serving as a symbol of the societal impacts of austerity – which never solved the UK’s economic situation, despite those who claimed “we’re all in this together” saying it did.

Brexit promised sunlit uplands and a return to a more open economy, free from European bureaucracy. In reality, it was this eventual removal of proclaimed EU bureaucracy that destroyed the lives of many

If austerity was the needle, then Brexit was definitely the dagger. Whilst I don’t have the time to explore the links between austerity and Brexit, it would seem fair to claim, as Warwick Professor Thiemo Fetzer does, that there are links. Proponents of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union spoke of many benefits, including the professed “£350 million windfall for the NHS”. Brexit promised sunlit uplands and a return to a more open economy, free from European bureaucracy. In reality, it was this eventual removal of proclaimed EU bureaucracy that destroyed the lives of many – removing protections in agriculture, work, and other areas of life.

Take agriculture for example, where the halving of subsidies has had dramatic economic impacts for many dependent on farming in rural areas, as well as on urbanites dependent on such produce. Brexit has also had implications internationally for the UK and its citizens, with the exchange rate plummeting from one pound buying you 1.42 euros in November 2015, to an average of 1.14 euros last year. This has served to seriously impinge upon the purchasing power of Brits abroad, many of whom frequently holiday in the European Union. So, it is clear that Brexit merely served to exacerbate the impacts of austerity, holding millions back, and limiting effective continental opportunities for many of the UK’s most innovative entrepreneurs – as well as those simply wishing to have a break from the economic doom and gloom.

Lastly, the most noticeable impact on people’s livelihoods in the last fourteen years has arguably been that of the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 arguably had the largest socioeconomic impact on our lives in our lifetimes to date, both in terms of our economic positioning but also regarding our lifestyle changes. The increase in working from home, as well as the introduction of the word ‘furlough’, demonstrates the long-lasting economic impact of this event. The decline in GDP and the rise in the wealth divide both emerged in the pandemic’s wake. Whilst I have focused on those hardest hit, it would be remorseful of me not to consider those who have profited economically from the Covid pandemic. Pharmaceutical companies made over $130 billion in 2021, with little to no profit sharing. This illustrates how whilst millions have suffered from the combined economic impacts of austerity, Brexit, and the Covid-19 pandemic, many have done very well, increasing their share of national wealth.

Whoever wins the general election in July faces a very simple choice, replicate the austerity measures of 2010, or seek new and innovative ways to create a UK economy fit for the 21^st century

When looking back at the UK economy over the past fourteen years, what is most clear is the necessity to look at the impact on all parts of society. Austerity has shown us economic policy is not just something that impacts those in the metropolises – it has a genuine impact on those all over the country. Brexit has shown how economic promises have left many disillusioned and working in now unprofitable industries due to the cutting of subsidies. Meanwhile, the Covid pandemic has merely served to reinforce the notion that over the past fourteen years, we have all been living through a cost-of-living crisis. Whoever wins the general election in July faces a very simple choice, replicate the austerity measures of 2010, or seek new and innovative ways to create a UK economy fit for the 21^st century.