Just Managing? What it Means for the Families of Austerity Britain - cover image

Book Series

Copyright

Mark O'Brien; Paul Kyprianou

Published On

2017-05-29

ISBN

Paperback978-1-78374-323-0
Hardback978-1-78374-324-7
PDF978-1-78374-325-4
HTML978-1-80064-531-8
XML978-1-78374-417-6
EPUB978-1-78374-326-1
MOBI978-1-78374-327-8

Language

  • English

Print Length

245 pages (viii + 237)

Dimensions

Paperback156 x 13 x 234 mm(6.14" x 0.52" x 9.21")
Hardback156 x 16 x 234 mm(6.14" x 0.63" x 9.21")

Weight

Paperback775g (27.34oz)
Hardback1155g (40.74oz)

Media

Illustrations24
Tables20

OCLC Number

1089438578

LCCN

2019452601

BIC

  • KCR
  • KCP
  • JHBC
  • JHBL

BISAC

  • SOC045000
  • SOC053000
  • POL024000
  • POL029000
  • SOC050000

LCC

  • HC260.P6

Keywords

  • Britain
  • British politics
  • austerity
  • statistics
  • Liverpool
  • National Minimun Wage
  • low income
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Just Managing?

What it Means for the Families of Austerity Britain

  • Mark O'Brien (author)
  • Paul Kyprianou (author)
The 'just about managing'. 'Hardworking families'. 'Alarm-clock Britain'. In recent years British political discourse has been filled with these slogans, as politicians claim to speak on behalf of families who are in work, but struggling to get by. This book allows us to hear from some of these families directly.

At a time when the impact of austerity is more relevant than ever, Just Managing? cuts through the debates and sloganeering to give some of the real people behind the headlines and statistics a chance to tell their stories. It tracks the lives of thirty working families in Liverpool over one year, as they struggle to manage on incomes at or around the National Minimum Wage. Their accounts are placed within the economic and political context that has shaped their experiences and that of millions of other working families across the country.

This book is required reading for anyone seeking to understand what life is like at the sharp end of 'austerity Britain’.

Endorsements

These are the stories that bring the statistics of austerity and inequality to life. The dignity, work ethic and stoicism of the families in this book should haunt every politician and media commentator who has painted the false picture of a 'benefits culture' and 'shirkers and scroungers'; this illuminating book should be required reading for them.

Kate Pickett

author (with Richard Wilkinson) of The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone

Additional Resources

The life experiences reported in Just Managing? were told to community researchers as part of the 2014-15 Getting By? project, which was supported by the Liverpool City Council Action Group on Poverty. The study, conducted over one year, captured the experiences of thirty Liverpool families in which one or both parents were in low-paid employment. Using weekly diaries to track their income and spending, and giving regular in-depth interviews, they revealed the challenges they faced as they struggled to cope in their day-to-day lives.

The Getting By? project culminated in the creation of the gettingby.org.uk website (now archived), a dedicated YouTube channel, and in the publication of this report.

[website]Getting By website
[website]Getting By Youtube channel
[document]Getting By Report
[video]Families talk about their experiences of working poverty (short version)
[blog]Mark O'Brien's introductory blog and a follow-up post about this book

Contents

1. Understanding Poverty: Then and Now

(pp. 3–18)
  • Mark O’Brien
  • Paul Kyprianou
https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0112.01

2. The Getting By? Study

(pp. 19–23)
  • Mark O’Brien
  • Paul Kyprianou
https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0112.02

3. Money Matters

(pp. 27–55)
  • Mark O’Brien
  • Paul Kyprianou
https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0112.03

4. Working Life

(pp. 57–75)
  • Mark O’Brien
  • Paul Kyprianou
https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0112.04

5. Meeting Basic Needs

(pp. 77–120)
  • Mark O’Brien
  • Paul Kyprianou
https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0112.05

6. Home and Family Life

(pp. 121–174)
  • Mark O’Brien
  • Paul Kyprianou
https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0112.06

7. Family Views: ‘Who’s to Blame?’

(pp. 177–187)
  • Mark O’Brien
  • Paul Kyprianou
https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0112.07

8. Liars, Thieves and Honest Scousers

(pp. 189–195)
  • Mark O’Brien
  • Paul Kyprianou
https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0112.08

Appendix I: How the Research Was Conducted

(pp. 197–199)
  • Mark O’Brien
  • Paul Kyprianou
https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0112.09

Appendix II: Family Circumstances and Spending

(pp. 201–223)
  • Mark O’Brien
  • Paul Kyprianou
https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0112.10

Contributors

Mark O'Brien

(author)

Paul Kyprianou

(author)