Episode #10: Two stories of poverty in the UK – Daniel Edmiston

There is a splintering among those living in poverty with those in ‘deep poverty’ having lost the most in the last 10 years. However, the reliance on poverty rates allows for maintaining the story of relatively stable poverty while at the same timing hiding the deepening of poverty in the UK. A more pluralistic approach to measuring poverty is necessary to provide a more accurate picture and to provide people with adequate support.

In this episode, Daniel Edmiston talks about the two stories of poverty in the UK. Dan is Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds. He has done widespread research on issues of poverty and inequality, welfare and social citizenship, particularly in the UK.

In his most recent work, Dan explores the disconnect between relatively stable statistics on poverty in the UK and an increase in experiences of acute financial hardship around the country. He argues for a more pluralistic approach to measuring and understanding poverty as well as the effects of welfare, tax and other policies.

In this episode, Dan refers to various other studies on gendered and raced dimensions of austerity. This includes:

• Bassel, L. & Emejulu, A. (2017) Minority women and austerity: Survival and resistance in France and Britain: Policy Press. (unfortunately this is not freely accessible)
• Hall, S., Mcintosh, K., Neitzert, E., et al. (2017) ‘Intersecting inequalities: The impact of austerity on Black and Minority Ethnic women in the UK’, London: Runnymede and Women’s Budget Group.

You can also read more about this topic in a blog post that Dan has written previously.