Welcome to Austeria – a nation robbing its poor to pay for the next big crash | Aditya Chakrabortty
A familiar dance begins on Wednesday, as soon as George Osborne reveals his blueprint for Britain. The analysts immediately begin poring over his plans for the next five years. They tell us how deep are the cuts in neighbourhood policing, how tight the squeeze for your local school - and the knock-on effect for the Tory leadership hopes of George and Theresa and Boris.
But many will miss the backdrop forming right behind them. Britain is now halfway through a transformative decade: staggering out of a historic crash, reeling through the sharpest spending cuts since the 1920s, and being driven by David Cameron towards a smaller state than Margaret Thatcher ever managed. None of this is accidental. While much commentary still treats the Tories as merely muddling through a mess they inherited, Osborne proudly promises a "permanent change" and "a new settlement" for the UK.
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Austeria is a place where the past is honoured while the future is ignored
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