The throne was golden and the lectern was golden and the speech was very clear: austerity will not be temporary policy in Tory Britain. It will last forever. Addressing a roomful of diplomats and business leaders who had just dined lavishly at the Lord Mayor’s banquet, the Prime Minister this week promised a “leaner, more efficient state”. “We need to do more with less,” said David Cameron, looking comfy in his white tie and tails. “Not just now, but permanently.”
But he hadn’t counted on Ruth Hardy, a journalism student, who was working as a waitress that night. “The contrast of the two worlds was striking; someone said it was like a scene from Downton Abbey,” wrote Hardy in a viral piece for the Guardian. “Maybe Cameron didn’t see the irony; perhaps he forgot about the army of waiting staff, cleaners, chefs and porters who were also present at the banquet. Perhaps he thought he was in a room of similarly rich people, who understood the necessity for austerity. Perhaps it didn’t occur to him that this message might not be as easily comprehended by those who hadn’t just enjoyed a four-course meal. Perhaps he forgot about those of us, disabled or unemployed or on the minimum wage, for whom austerity has had a catastrophic and wounding effect.”
Content from our partners
