The British prime minister’s speech at the lord mayor’s banquet last
year was notable in part because its main message, that “we need to do
more with less. Not just now, but permanently,” was delivered from a throne bedecked in gold to
applause from members of the financial elite. But it’s the other less
commented upon aspects of last year’s speech that signal why the
government felt confident enough to reveal its true colours. David
Cameron’s claims simply don’t add up to a coherent explanation as to why
“more with less” – perma-austerity – is a policy worth pursuing.
First of all, he insisted that “the
biggest single threat to the cost of living in this country is if our
budget deficit and debts get out of control again”. Yet while the
deficit rose to 11.2% of GDP in 2010, the markets that fund British debt
never once thought the situation “out of control”.
Quite the contrary
occurred as the interest payments due on UK bonds have gone steadily
down since 2006, and have only risen now, when the UK is supposedly in
recovery. A much more likely culprit for the drop in living standards is
the fall in British real wages of over 5% since 2010 coupled with
relatively high price inflation, but that doesn’t fit with the story of
“out of control” spending needing to be reined in for the common good.
Read more: Mark Blyth: The Return Of Class Politics In The UK
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