The scales never seem to balance’

Exploring the lived realities of poverty during the UK ‘cost-of-living crisis’ through participatory research

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12937604
AutoresUisce Jordan (0000-0002-9603-1236, Universities UK), Ruth Patrick (0000-0002-3284-6313, Universities UK), Maddy Power (0000-0002-9571-1782, Universities UK), Katie Pybus (0000-0002-9990-125X, Universities UK), Jim Kaufman (0000-0002-8610-7719, University of Salford)
Ano2025
Volume33
Fascículo2
Páginas199-220
Data de publicação2025-05-14
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Poverty and Social Justice (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1759-8273 • E-ISSN: 1759-8281
EditoraPolicy Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1332/17598273y2025d000000041
OpenAlexW4410353116
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas21

Since late 2021, the term ‘cost-of-living crisis’, indicating decreased disposable incomes, has gained prominence in the UK. This study draws on the long-running online participatory research project Changing Realities, involving over 100 low-income parents and caregivers across the UK, to provide deeper insights into cost-of-living challenges. Focusing on transcriptions of spoken testimonies and written diary entries between February and June 2023, findings highlight the normalised struggle to meet living costs irrespective of a crisis, emphasising effects on low-income families and the inability to make further sacrifices. The study sheds light on the broader ramifications on family life, prompting an exploration of its enduring nature and temporal support. The article concludes by setting out co-produced policy recommendations, which urge the government to rethink social security as an investment in the future, rather than as a temporary safety net that leaves families exposed to a permanent state of crisis

Balance (ability · Citizen journalism · Economic growth · Economics · Lived experience · Participatory action research · Political science · Poverty · Psychotherapist · Sociology · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Psychology