‘No food and no money until Monday’: one family’s descent into poverty in squeezed Britain Gary and Natasha Waterhouse had combined income of £48,000 five years ago. Today, they and their children have found themselves using food banks
‘No food and no money until Monday’: one family’s descent into poverty in squeezed Britain Gary and Natasha Waterhouse had combined income of £48,000 five years ago. Today, they and their children have found themselves using food banks
13 comments
People deserve sympathy for the financial pressures they are under at the moment. It’s pretty grim, even in the context of the last couple of years.
However, I feel that the climate of ‘life’s getting tougher, bail me out government’ is too consistent. It’s expected in almost any adversity at present. What folk really mean is that current hardships should ALL be paid for by the future tax payers, via deficit spending. So again, deferring the problems to the young. As we have just seen through Covid.
At what point do we accept that we can’t always insulate ourselves from everything, by getting ‘someone else’ to pay? Most of these issues are global (oil and commodities, supply chain problems). Some are self inflicted via morally justified sanctions. These have a cost, and we all need to contribute.
Yes times are harder now, and of course those feeling real poverty should be helped. But – we are all still fortunate to live in the UK. Real hardship is what is playing out in Ukraine.
I feel this article doesn’t actually relate to people in more need. They say their two kids bring in 2200 combined, and the son is at uni so is only home short term. For the kids of 17 and 18 brining in 1100 each (if it’s even split) and living at home is very good money. Then they mention the husband isn’t working by choice, so they could be earning more. The husbands motive may be good to want to be there for his wife, but if they’re struggling because of it, then it’s silly. He was a taxi driver, and a civil servant. He could be earning decent change. They’ve got a carer, and carers allowance. I understand their situation, and I do sympathise, but it sounds like that house is earning over 3 grand a month (at least temporarily),and could be earning more. That’s not too bad.
I sympathise but this does feel a bit “now it happens to the middle classes its serious”
We’ve read/experienced or known people who’ve suffered this for decades. Benefits st came out in 2014 and that wasnt the first.
Is it that they were deserving and these are undeserving poor? The victorian classic.
For years we’ve read of people dying via illness or suicide caused by poverty and dwp fuckery. Its awful she had an illness ofc but im just not sure who this article is for if not “oh god it can happen to us”
I remember regularly going days without eating properly if those in my circle didn’t feed me when I was a teen on JSA living in Sheltered Housing. We could apply to use the charity’s own special food bank if needed and that was never great and especially frustrating when you knew that charity was scamming you which is part of why you had less money in the first place.
It has been years since was living on barely £50 a week and it took me a while to unlearn habits it gave me. A lot of people are going to discover the comfort of struggle meals and realise there’s a real lack of nutrition in them.
As a disabled man in england this is my life. I have to choose between heat or light and skip food for 2-3days a week. I have had to live like this for the last ten years. Fortunately summers coming because I can no longer afford gas. I don’t know wtf I’m going to do next winter.
I did manage to swing a deal with a local restaurant where I would repair anything and everything in exchange for food but the council found out and took away my rent and benefits. I did get it back with the explicit promise that I won’t ever do it again. But it’s so tempting when I’m sat here drooling because I’m so hungry.
I am not allowed to work, I was fully signed off after I broke my spine in an accident at work which uncovered a fairly severe disability at the same time. I get the absolute bare minimum benefit so I’m trapped in this situation and can’t better my life if I want to. £250 towards £550 rent and £400 to live on. Which leaves £100 for a months bills and food. I am screwed!
The main issue here is not one of class but of people ‘doing the right thing’, and the state betrayal of such people.
It is a betrayal and has been since 2010. While I understand all to well the desire to say ‘ha ha’ in the style of that Simpsons character I think it’s probably best to just point out that betrayal and leave it to the public to cogitate on.
Where is your leader? Does he, does the governing body not give a fig for the folks in the UK?
A lot of people are going to be in for a wake-up call, only then might they realise how bad other people have had it for the past decade. This is not a new way of life for many, we are just going to see more and more people forced into it as a result of the cost of living crisis. It might wake people up to the fact that the party who have been in power for the past twelve years might not actually care about them, nor do enough to help those in dire need.
To be fair, he does look like he could do with losing a few pounds anyway.
£48k is still not enough? That to me just sounds like they’re bad with their money.
After more than a decade of Tory austerity, the UK electorate deserves more austerity. Like turkeys voting for Christmas, they had it coming!
I’m emigrating. I’m privileged enough to work in tech and I can’t take this country anymore. Yes the problems are global but there are plenty of countries whose governments aren’t as incompetent and brutal as ours.
Fuck this place I’m leaving asap had enough
Headlines or rather titles-plus-subtitles from _The Independent_ **need punctuation**. Otherwise thousands of Reddit users need to expend gratuitous cognitive energy – more energy, even perhaps per head, than goes into each poorly written and barely proof-read ‘Indy’ article.