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In the second chapter, counter-arguments for austerity being a flawed economic policy (for example, Mark Blyth) or a deliberate act of capitalist crisis management (Clara Mattei) and class warfare from above are considered. The author finds the latter more convincing and, drawing on the work of Mattei, takes a detour through mainland Europe and Britain after the First World War when revolution was in the air. He shows how austerity came to the rescue of capitalism, as explained by Mattei’s analysis of fiscal and industrial austerity. Marxism is then presented as a theory in direct contrast to austerity theory. Towards the end of the chapter, a statement by a multimillionaire is analysed that encapsulates the thinking of an entire social class and adds weight to the conclusions the author has come to. The chapter concludes by noting that from a Marxist perspective, the (immediate) solution is to tax the rich instead of imposing austerity on the working class.
The introduction to Chapter 4 notes how, during May’s premiership, Home Secretary Sajid Javid unsuccessfully tried to replace the term ‘hostile environment’ with ‘compliant environment’. The chapter proper begins with a discussion of Johnson’s own up-front colour-coded colonialist and imperialist racism when a journalist and as Foreign Secretary. He made derogatory comments about Black people and published an article by a scientific racist. His infamous Islamophobic comments about Muslim women is also addressed. His premiership saw the end of free movement to the UK from the European Union and the European Economic Area, and, with the hardline right-wing Priti Patel as his Home Secretary, the intensification of the hostile environment. This included the Nationality and Borders Act and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act that had implications for both colour-coded and non-colour-coded racism. Johnson’s time as Prime Minister also saw the fomenting of the plan to offshore people seeking asylum to Rwanda. The chapter also provides updates on the Grenfell Tower disaster and the Windrush scandal.
In Chapter 7 ’s introduction, it is pointed out that, once again, Keynesian policies were briefly enacted, this time to deal with COVID-19. The UK’s ability to utilize its welfare state, however, was constrained by the effects of the ‘age of austerity’. After a brief discussion of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s first budget, the chapter turns to the increase in inequality during COVID-19 and Boris Johnson’s premiership, focusing on Tory patronage with respect to personal protective equipment and VIP lanes. Items from the latter were much more expensive and Tory donors and associates were given preferential treatment. At the same time the ‘test and trace’ system was a failure, despite an eye-watering budget. Johnson’s demise was largely because of ‘Partygate’. The chapter concludes with Liz Truss’ brief time as Prime Minister, which included her disastrous mini budget that led to higher mortgage interest rates, higher rents and homelessness.
The Conclusion examines the interrelationship between hostility and austerity, giving examples from the book of how this has panned out in practice. This is done with respect to the ways in which the hostile environment has exacerbated the effects of the Tories’ implementation of austerity and how austerity has worsened the lives of those already impacted by the hostile environment. With respect to the former, the focus is on the Windrush scandal and detention centres; and to the latter, its general impact, including the increase in inequality among minority ethnic communities and an upsurge in racism. A specific example is the Grenfell Tower fire disaster. As far as solutions are concerned, some immediate solutions are to stop all austerity measures; to provide safe routes to claim asylum and ensure citizenship for those who need asylum; and to provide further compensation to end the Windrush scandal. A longer-term solution is socialism. What this means is briefly addressed. Only socialism, it is suggested, has the potential to end poverty, deprivation and despair for good. In the meantime, it is essential to immediately and urgently address the needs of the working class in general who have most felt the brunt of 14 years plus of the effects of Tory austerity.
In the introduction to Chapter 6 , a timeline of the global economic crisis of 2007–2008 is provided. After the crisis a brief resurgence of Keynesian economics ensued in an attempt to stabilize the financial system. However, when Britain entered recession, austerity came to the rescue, with the ruling class claiming there was no alternative and David Cameron, then Tory Leader of the Opposition, popularized a new ‘age of austerity’. Cameron became leader of the Coalition between Tories and Liberal Democrats, after a hung Parliament, following the 2010 General Election. An extreme and callous fiscal austerity was unleashed. The following year there were uprisings in London and elsewhere, sparked by the killing by police of Mark Duggan, a Black man in his twenties. The impact of austerity entailed widespread poverty and misery and the Government tried to get people into wage labour at all costs. Austerity’s impact on health is addressed, including its effect on life expectancy with respect to social class. Austerity also involved dismantling the broader social safety net. The chapter concludes that the rich got richer in the decade after 2010, and the poorest, women and minority ethnic communities bore the brunt.
The Introduction begins with an explanation of the use of endnotes, where it is pointed out that while these may be required reading for some students and researchers in the field, the book can be understood by the general reader without reading all of them. There is then a consideration of why the book is needed. The next section addresses the use of Marxism as an explanatory theory, where it is pointed out that such theory has been thoroughly misunderstood and deliberately manipulated and discredited by those with wealth and privilege who feel threatened by it. This is followed by a summary of the chapters that appear in the book. The Introduction concludes with a note on the use of language.
Chapter 1 challenges the view that racism is just a ‘Black and White’ issue; instead, it is multifaceted, and includes non-colour-coded and hybridist forms, and it can be unintentional, direct or indirect, covert as well as overt. Racism serves the ‘divide-and-rule’ tactics of capitalism. Some key definitions around ‘asylum’ are provided, such as ‘refugee’ and ‘asylum seeker’, and it is argued that ‘irregular immigrants’ are not ‘illegal’. In addition, derived from the work of Italian Marxist, Antonio Gramsci, ‘common sense’ is distinguished from ‘good sense’. Finally, the Marxist concept of racialization, it is suggested, is the ideological process whereby people are falsely categorized into the scientifically defunct notion of distinct ‘races’. Analysing the plethora of different forms of racism in the UK is important because it shows that anyone can be racist to anyone; and that ‘racial’ and cultural identities are interrelated rather than discreet. Lastly, relating racism to historical and contemporary changes in capitalism and accompanying economic and political processes and practices, not just to physical appearance, gives us a much clearer understanding of racism and how to combat it. The chapter concludes with some detailed historical snapshots of endemic Tory racism dating back to the 19th century, thus exemplifying the long history of multifaceted racism in the UK and providing a backdrop to Part II of the book.
The Postscript begins with the July 2024 General Election that resulted in the defeat of the Sunak Government in a landslide victory for the Labour Party, with Keir Starmer becoming the first Labour Prime Minister in 14 years. This is followed by a London rally held by far-right activist, Tommy Robinson. Then there were far-right riots that occurred in a number of UK cities and went on for seven days. They were organized outside the UK, which left-wing social democrat MP John McDonnell described as classic fascist mobilization, having demagogues at the pinnacle of the pyramid, active fascists in the middle, and a mass of disgruntled and impoverished working-class people at the base. There were then antiracist responses, also across the UK. The Starmer Government responded robustly to the far-right riots and the terror and damage to communities that they caused. Lengthy prison sentences were rapidly imposed by the courts. The Postscript concludes with an assessment of the Tories’ choice of a leader to replace Rishi Sunak. Way to the right of Rishi Sunak, Kemi Badenoch is a culture wars warrior who has been accused of Islamophobia, who supports the Sewell Report that denied institutional racism, and whose hero is an American fiscal conservative economist. Badenoch immediately appointed Robert Jenrick, advocate of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, as Shadow Justice Secretary.
