Ending or Never-Ending Austerity?

Chapter 6 explores the ongoing influence of austerity on society and policy, moving beyond its immediate effects. Building on the book’s analysis, it examines how temporal narratives shape public perceptions and limit political possibilities. The chapter dismantles the notion of a finite retrenchment period, initially envisioned, revealing a more permanent state of austerity. It analyses how governments frame austerity as a crisis response, potentially obfuscating its long-term consequences for life trajectories and social and geographical inequalities. This framing, the chapter argues, serves to deflect electoral punishment for austerity measures. Furthermore, the chapter highlights how recent events like Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic have reshaped the discourse surrounding austerity in the UK, with pronouncements of austerity’s ‘end’ demonstrably misleading. These pronouncements obscure the reality of continued austerity, fuelling resentment in ‘left-behind places’ where residents face increasingly limited opportunities for advancement. The book’s critical examination of austerity’s narratives and long-term consequences thus provides a compelling rationale for prioritizing alternative policy approaches that invest in social wellbeing and geographical equity. Because the long-term consequences of austerity cannot be permanently obscured, a shift towards alternative approaches becomes increasingly imperative.