Stanley, L. M. (2016) Legitimacy gaps, taxpayer conflict, and the politics of austerity in the UK. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 18 (2). pp. 389-406. ISSN 1369-1481
Abstract
Following the 2008 financial crisis, fiscal deficit reduction has become the name of the game for many Western states. This article uses focus group data to explore the legitimation of austerity in the United Kingdom. It is argued that fiscal consolidation speaks to real concerns citizens have over unfair redistribution to supposed ‘undeserving’ groups. The undeserving rich and poor are stigmatised during times of austerity since they are assumed to take more than they give from the public purse—leaving taxpayers, the assumption goes, to pick up the bill. By speaking to this legitimacy gap between prudent normative expectations and the lived experiences of state profligacy, fiscal consolidation can appear to speak to the interests of ‘the taxpayer’—a group conceptualised as a sense of group position that arises from collective sense-making rather than a pre-given constituency.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2016. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in British Journal of Politics and International Relations. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Austerity; tax; welfare; focus group |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 22 Sep 2015 14:13 |
Last Modified: | 11 Nov 2016 17:20 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1369148115615031 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/1369148115615031 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:88642 |