My understanding of austerity is deficit reduciton. It could be achieved by increasing tax revenues, but as this approach is often unpopular, austerity usually means reducing government spending. Do you have a different understanding of the term? Wikipedia also says the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_government_austerity_programme](U.K. austerity) was "a deficit reduction programme" according to the Conservative-led government, but alludes to a sinister "primary, largely unstated aim." Whatever the aim, it is fair to ask the empirical question of whether spending was, in fact, reduced. Wikipedia claims that "between 2010 and 2019 more than £30 billion in spending reductions have been made to welfare payments, housing subsidies and social services" citing the NYT article "What Is Austerity and How Has It Affected British Society?" The NYT does not say that reductions were "made," merely that reductions were "announced," adding that "The British government disputed those findings". NYT, alas, provides no source, but the UK provides budget data. At reputable-looking gov.uk sources I find only annual statements, so I'll rely on statista.com for a historical summary. Welfare Payments I can't be sure how well these budget categories match what NYT mentioned, but we see a clear increase from £100 billion to over £200 billion over two decades. Housing Subsidies This much smaller category shows increase from £11 billion to £24 billion in 2014, then reduction to £16 billion in 2021. The NYT range of 2010 to 2019 shows a 15% reduction from £21.4B to £18.4B. Three billion over a decade is less than the increase in most single years in the previous chart. "Sure, spending has been moved around a bit; some areas have gotten more money and others less." Social Services Inflation-adjusted spending has increased every year since 2007, smoothing over the pandemic spike. Do enlighten me as to how I have misunderstood the definition of austerity. Or perhaps inflation, or population growth, or something else, means that these charts misrepresent reality.
If you assert a strong opinion, try to back it up with facts, or an insightful rationale.