Rage against the cruelty of so-called austerity | Letters

Letters: Readers on the visit to the UK by Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, to examine rising levels of poverty and hardship across the UK after a decade of cuts to public services

Outrage, anger, despair, shame, impotence: the feelings aroused by Aditya Chakrabortty's article (It took a UN envoy to hear how austerity is destroying lives, 14 November). The truths consequent on the savage, unnecessary, uncaring cuts to public services are not hidden away but confront us daily. Welfare benefits slashed, millions dependent on food banks. Libraries, museums, childcare centres, youth clubs, swimming pools consigned to the scrapheap; road repairs and park budgets cut, bus routes terminated. In Darley Dale a helpful notice tells us that the lavatory is closed and the nearest one is 2.1 miles away.

The true story is that of a government that has chosen private profit over civic services, while it wreaks an assault on the services that make towns and communities good places to live. In a 2015 Guardian article about benefits, sanctions and food banks, Ken Loach called for "public rage" and spoke about "conscious cruelty".

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