"Before that rupture, they had clung to the idea that a huge chunk of the public was made up of contented consumers and property owners. Now, though, any such certainties were being shaken something highlighted by the Labour conference speech given in 2009 by Gordon Brown, which contained two particularly eye-catching words: When markets falter and banks fail, he said, it's the jobs and the homes and the security of the squeezed middle that are hit the hardest."
"But the relevant stats definitely speak volumes about anxiety and uncertainty eating into lives that would once have been considered secure, and what that means for a country now brimming with a seething resentment that mainstream politicians seem unable or unwilling to do anything about. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, after years of wage stagnation, between now and 2030, households' average disposable income is set to grow by only 0.5% a year."
Since the 2008 financial crash, an outwardly comfortable portion of society has experienced growing insecurity as wage stagnation and rising costs erode living standards. Politicians' prior assumptions about contented consumers and property owners have been undermined, and many middle households now face anxiety over jobs, homes and financial security. Statistical projections show households' average disposable income growing only 0.5% annually to 2030, intensifying pressures at the supermarket, limiting leisure and increasing the perceived competitiveness for children. The result is widespread resentment toward mainstream politicians and a deepening sense that once-secure lives are becoming precarious.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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