Journal Articles

Risking peace in the ‘war against the poor’? Social exclusion and the legacies of the Northern Ireland conflict

---

Discourses around poverty, dependency and austerity take a particular form regarding Northern Ireland which is seen as ripe for economic ‘rebalancing’ and public sector reduction. The Welfare Reform Act 2012 is pivotal in that it provides the muscle for disciplining claimants for a low-waged, flexible labour market. But the Northern Ireland Assembly has not passed the Act or agreed a budget and the return of Direct Rule beckons as a result. The article sheds light on the stand-off over the Welfare Reform Act using data from the 2012 PSE Survey. It demonstrates that the impact of violent conflict is imprinted on the population in terms of high rates of deprivation, poor physical and mental health, and significant differences between those experiencing little or no conflict, and those with ‘high’ experience. In ignoring these legacies of the conflict, the Westminster government is risking peace in its ‘war against the poor’.

---

Availability

No copy data

Detail Information

Series Title

Critical Social Policy

Call Number

-

Publisher

Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publications., 2016

Collation

-

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

02610183

Classification

NONE

Content Type

-

Media Type

-

Carrier Type

-

Edition

Volume 36, Number 1, February 2016 p. 104-123

Subject(s)

Poverty
violence
Welfare reform
benefit

Specific Detail Info

-

Statement of Responsibility

-

Other version/related

File Attachment

Comments

---

You must be logged in to post a comment