Selling Austerity to the Public
Analysing the Rhetoric of the UK Government on its Welfare Cuts
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8239127 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alice Tihelková (0000-0002-3367-4525) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Pages | 47-58 |
| Publication date | 2023-12-05 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American & British Studies Annual (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1803-6058 • E-ISSN: 2788-2233 |
| Publisher | Univerzita Pardubice (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.46585/absa.2023.16.2501 |
| OpenAlex | W4389326965 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 2 |
Over the past twelve years, the UK has seen a marked increase in poverty and economic inequality. While numerous factors have contributed to this situation, an undisputedly important role has been played by the continuous program of welfare spending cuts designed and executed by a series of Conservative governments. To alleviate the potential for the unpopularity of austerity measures, the Conservatives have attempted to put a positive spin on their policies by making a series of core claims emphasizing the beneficial effects of the welfare reform. Using the method of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this paper examines these claims and offers a critique of each of them. In doing so, the research seeks to expose the use of traditional stereotypes (especially that of the “deserving” and “undeserving” poor) in the government’s rhetoric. The paper draws on a corpus of political speeches and media appearances of Conservative politicians, as well as on sociological reports and newspaper coverage. The analysis is principally focused on the two governments led by David Cameron, although some attention is also devoted to subsequent Conservative administrations
Austerity · Coalition government · Conservative government · Economics · Government (linguistics · Inequality · Newspaper · Political economy · Political rhetoric · Political science · Politics · Poverty · Rhetoric · Sociology · Welfare · Welfare reform · Welfare state · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Law
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |