This year, household debt is set to be higher than ever before. TUC analysis finds that unsecured debt per household is set to reach £13,900 in 2017. In 2016, unsecured debt per household was already £13,200 – higher than at any other point since the financial crisis and only marginally below…Read more…
Credit debt blues
As millions of Britons settle back into the first few weeks of work following the festive season, we know all too well that the party’s over, the feasts have been eaten, the presents opened and we’re…Read more…
NHS students overburdened by extra work and rising debt, says UNISON
Two thirds of NHS students have been forced to take work on top of their studies to supplement their income, according to a new report from UNISON published today (Friday). Healthcare students are…Read more…
Tackling debt is about more than personal responsibility
In the latest edition of the ESRC’s Society Now journal, Victoria Boelman from the Young Foundation discusses the need for greater education in order to help households avoid becoming trapped in high-cost debt. Well-intentioned as such work may be, it ignores the role of structural forces on…Read more…
Drowning in debt
Young people may once have enjoyed a certain level of financial freedom before starting families, but now the so-called carefree youth is a thing of the past as generation austerity start their…Read more…
No-one should be forced to choose between paying the rent and feeding their kids
Over three million households (one in eight UK households) are paying more than 25% of their household income on repaying unsecured debts.
The article No-one should be forced to choose between…Read more…
More than a million families struggle with extreme debt
Stagnant wages make problem worse for families struggling with low pay
The article More than a million families struggle with extreme debt first appeared on the UNISON National site.Read more…
The way we think about debt is stopping us from solving the problem
As many as 3.2 million households, and more than 7 million people may be struggling with problem levels of debt, according to a new Centre for Responsible Credit study we commissioned with Unison. A large number of those households face debt levels that they may never clear. This debt leaves them…Read more…
Standstill wages mean over a million low-income families struggle with extreme debt
Today saw the publication of our (The Centre for Responsible Credit) final report from the joint TUC and Unison commissioned ‘Britain in the Red’ project. The project has been looking at available aggregate and household survey data to track the extent of household over-indebtedness: particularly…Read more…
Debt remains a bigger burden for the lowest paid
On Monday, the ONS released the latest instalment of their data on household debt inequalities between July 2012 and June 2014. The data indicates that the absolute and relative burden still falls disproportionately heavily on the lowest paid. For instance: “Twice as many individuals living in…Read more…
When a government’s response to debt is austerity, the impact is devastating
Today I’m speaking at a conference examining the impact of sovereign debt crises on public sector workers. As UNISON members know, when a government’s response to debt is austerity, the impact is…Read more…
#Budget2016: TUC reaction roundup
The Chancellor, George Osborne delivered the 2016 budget yesterday, here is a quick round up of reactions from our TUC bloggers: Public Service cuts £3.5bn worth of cuts to public services by 2020. The spending cuts will be identified through an ‘efficiency review’. Cuts and increased pressures on…Read more…
4 Ds that matter more than #Davos: Debt, Demand, Deflation and Denial
This week has seen global financial markets continuing to collapse. The UK FTSE entered so-called ‘bear market’ territory (falling at one point by over 20% from peak). Official figures showed the UK CPI was zero in 2015, the lowest annual figure since the great depression. In the policy arena,…Read more…
“Dealing with debt”, Osborne-style
Can someone please tell me just why the Tories have this reputation for economic competency? Hat tip Joel from Debt Resistance. Read more…
Food on credit
As UNITElive reported last week, unsecured debt – such as credit cards and payday loans – has grown exponentially in austerity Britain. A new survey released this week (October 22) has shown just…Read more…
Spiralling debt
As society benefits from continual progress in science and technology and other advances, the idea that you would be materially better off than your parents – and that your children would be better…Read more…
Number of families with problem debt up by more than a quarter since 2012, new report reveals
The number of households with problem debt has increased by 700,000 (28 per cent) since 2012, according to new TUC and UNISON-commissioned research published today (Tuesday). The report,…Read more…
Young people’s debts have doubled in five years and are now highest of all age groups
In many ways today’s ONS figures on household indebtedness are unremarkable, given we are increasingly accustomed to figures showing high levels of household debt. By and large the debt burden is continuing to increase. One in five households report financial (i.e. non-mortgage) debts are a ‘heavy’…Read more…
Greece after the referendum
I was pleased to be able to sponsor and speak at the Greece Solidarity Campaign/Jubilee Debt Campaign rally in solidarity with Greece at Congress House last night. Here’s what I said: Greece is…Read more…
Join the call to drop Greece’s debt
The government of Greece is in a battle with creditors to overturn austerity policies which have wreaked havoc on the country. Unemployment has been over 20% for four years. One-third of people now live in poverty. The debt cannot be paid and, for Gree…Read more…