Cunning narrative behind the cuts

When author J.K. Rowling speaks, people listen. The creator of Harry Potter and former unemployed single mother is one of those rare individuals who went on to accumulate great wealth after having lived on the bread line, yet never lost sight of her previous status, using her own experience to highlight the ongoing difficulties of others by speaking out. In September 2013 Rowling harnessed her fame and her platform as president of Gingerbread, a charity that campaigns for the rights of lone parents, to launch a stinging riposte to what had turned out to be one of the most contentious issues associated with austerity: the propagation of the idea – the myth – that a person who isn’t in work is not just jobless, but worthless.

With understated eloquence Rowling was able to get straight to the heart of the matter. Referring to a disparaging comment by the welfare minister and former investment banker, Lord Freud, suggesting those on benefits needed to take more risks to remove themselves from welfare dependency (the minister said, “people who are poor should be prepared to take the biggest risks – they’ve got least to lose”.) Rowling responded that such statements spoke “to a profound disconnect with people struggling to keep their heads above water”.

That the government (and mainstream politicians generally) were guilty of a kind of ‘profound disconnect’ was a sentiment shared by people at the sharp end of austerity all over the UK.