Worst of slump 'yet to come' The pain of austerity measures will be felt for years to come owing to some of the worst falls in living standards since World War II, a leading economic research body warned on Monday.

With the government trying to rein in Britain's record deficit, household incomes will suffer as public spending reductions and tax rises begin to bite, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said in a report.

The government had only been able to soften the blow of the recession until now through "unusually generous" increases in financial support, it added.

"The current economic downturn began more than three years ago, and may seem like old news," said Robert Joyce, a research economist at IFS and a contributor to the report.

"But, as in other developed countries, the most severe consequences of the recession on UK living standards have only just begun to be felt, and will continue to be felt for years to come."

The report said: "As governments attempt to repair their public finances, household incomes now look set to be squeezed for a considerable length of time.

"It seems much of the impact of the 'Great Recession' was not felt until after the economy had stopped contracting, but that the pain was delayed rather than avoided.

"This would mean the UK had experienced one of the worst decades for changes in living standards since at least World War Two.

"The 'Great Recession' looks set to cast a very long shadow."

Household incomes in Britain grew slightly after the 2007 economic crisis and through the 2009 recession, the IFS said.

However, in the last financial year, earnings, tax credits and state welfare handouts all fell in real terms.

A 3.5-percent fall in median net household income in the year to April, the largest drop since 1981, is estimated by the IFS, showing that much of the impact of the recession was delayed.

The institute also found that Britain's six-percent drop in economic growth from peak to trough during the recession was "somewhere in the middle" of other countries' experiences.

Japan, Ireland and Sweden witnessed sharper plunges while Canada saw a smaller drop.

Trade unions are set to call for a rethink on the government's spending cuts programme at their annual conference this week.

However, government ministers have insisted they will stick with their programme.

A spokesman for the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, one of Britain's biggest debt advisers, told The Daily Mail newspaper: "It is all the little pressures that are adding up to hurt families and other households, and erode their income.

"This is not necessarily about people who are unemployed. Even if you didn't lose your job last year, people are really struggling," he added.

33 comments

Republic 3 hours ago Report Abuse

'We're all in this together' becomes a sicker and sicker joke each time there is any economic news. The bankers, the bosses, the politicians are not in it at all. The rest of us are paying for capitalism's inherent greed.

Jim 3 hours ago Report Abuse

The government had only been able to soften the blow of the recession until now through "unusually generous" increases in financial support. I would like to know how they work this one out!

frankobserver 3 hours ago Report Abuse

Sad but true. Many people will have spent their lifes savings just trying to get through this mess. Interest rates close to zero (for savers) but still not cheap for borrowers will ensure that. Raging inflation courtesy of the flawed policy of the MPC has hit economic growth. Austerity measures wiere unfotunately necessary because of the previous administrations incompetence but they must be applied fairly and based on ability to pay. Some benefits are still too generous whlst some are inadequate and those in jobs on high incomes should think themselves fortunate rather than complaining about tax levels.

Rose 52 minutes ago Report Abuse

Might it help our country if we stop giving aid to others while we are in dire straits ??

NO WIN NO FEE 58 minutes ago Report Abuse

for economic reasons , the light at the end of the tunnel has been switched off

id 1 hour ago Report Abuse

who chose a picture of the police holding a man down on the floor as they arrest him....for this artical?.....@#$% morons

TRISTAN 3 hours ago Report Abuse

Doom and gloom ..............

peter 3 hours ago Report Abuse

Spot on observation, they have been "unusually generous" to their friends in the city, the idle rich, the bankers and to themselves, meanwhile, the man in the street has been systematically robbed to fund it, nice one George, you're a credit to the tory party, and just what the country needs, you'll reap your just reward at the ballot boxes.

Replies (2)

Claire 1 hour ago Report Abuse

It was labour who did that you numpty.

peter 59 minutes ago Report Abuse

Claire why are you so terminally stupid? Did Gordon Brown collapse the western worlds economy, or was it the result of an institutionally corrupt, greedy, and unregulated international banking system? I'll give you a clue, since you obviously haven't got one, 'google Bernie Madoff' and find out why he's imprisoned in the USA. Gordon Brown didn't exactly cover himself in glory, but he most certainly wasn't the architect of the collapse. Ironically, the electorates short sighted response in voting for the cameron and Pinocchio clegg, has resulted in the countries descent into an even bigger black hole of unemployment, poverty, and despair for the masses, while the rich and powerful carry on as before, with your tacit support, apparantly

Nippy pippet 58 minutes ago Report Abuse

I am sick of Government Ministers still blaming the previous administration. How,who and why it happened has been done to death. It doesn't serve any purpose. What counts is what this Goverment is doing about it. To date their chosen methods have been toxic to low/middle income groups, bringing many decent hard working people to the brink of despair, whilst simultaneously having no impact whatsoever on the overall national debt, much less their obscenely high "earning" cronies. So far, so bad!

K R 38 minutes ago Report Abuse

Hopefully we will see a fall in the ammount of cars per family, with a return of public transport, as the more passengers they have the cheaper the fares.

Along with this immigrants will have nothing to gain from arriving here for the purpose of our benefit and welfare system.

People will also have to make do with what they have instead of buying something new every five minutes.

No pre-cooked or prepared foods that are not good for us and cost more will be off menu and back will come our own cooking skills, which in turn have more nutrition, and value for money.

Children too will have to develop their own amusements instead of parents having to spend large ammounts out on computers and all the rest of the electronic devices.

All should be aware though that buying cheap and shoddy goods from some countries is false economy when they do not last five minutes.

Perhaps we will see a return of well made UK products made in the UK in turn this will get people off the benefit system, and made to work for their living.

phillip 1 hour ago Report Abuse

Come on cheer up now it's not all doom n gloom, as long as we've got a few billion left in the kitty to bail out the untouchables .....I mean banks when next they got @#$%-up ........and of course we need to keep some dosh aside for those very banksters I mean bankers bonuses,......we have to look after them dont we ? I mean after all it was them that started all this off ........ok after 3 all together now, WE LOVE THE BANKERS .....WE LOVE THE BANKERS........COS THEY

RULE THE WORLD.......COS THEY RULE THE WORLD.......THEY REALLY ARE UNTOUCHABLE ..... BLESS THEIR COTTON SOCKS..

Simon 41 minutes ago Report Abuse

Personally I don't know what else to cut back on. After spending money on all of the essentials I have none left. Thumbs up if you in the same boat.,.

joni 2 hours ago Report Abuse

I did not agree to the Uk joining the Common Market and neither did the majority of the population. It is time to get out - only then can the British work towards bringing the country back on its feet with the pride they have. But it won't happen! The leadership has hidden agenda's - it will take more than thirty years before we see any real turnaround. Abandon Ship!

Replies (2)

CB 30 minutes ago Report Abuse

There was never a referendum before joining the Common Market but there was one a few years later to determine if the UK should remain a member. The majority of the electorate who bothered to vote were in favour of staying in. Now that was when the Common Market was simply a trading concept. This has slowly changed over the years with more and more legislation we don't want coming from Europe, until now we are verging on becoming part of a "United States of Europe" with our Parliament becoming more and more insignificant. I suspect, had we known 40 years ago that this would happen, people would have voted to get out of Eorope.

CB 29 minutes ago Report Abuse

danny Mc`cann 1 hour ago Report Abuse

Tell us something we don`t know? Except for the bankers,government,gas companies etc etc They screwed the country up and as normal the normal people are being screwed. Maybe Leinn and co weren`t wrong after all.

MARY 1 hour ago Report Abuse

Perhaps if we stopped paying umpteen millions to ther EU every day, stopped giving the "oooo-I-can't-work-because-I've-got-a-bad-back" brigade another few millions a week, and removed the tax on low earners so it's actually more profitable to work than claim benefits, we might get somewhere? Or is that too revolutionary? Or too intelligent?

IM D 17 minutes ago Report Abuse

Many of us could see this coming as soon as the results were announced at the last general election!! Why has it taken everyone else so long to see the impending doom?

Westvaler 2 hours ago Report Abuse

Doom And Gloom Surely Not ? :- source This Government Says Things Are Rosy !

Prisoner in my own home 3 hours ago Report Abuse

and long since have they turned the screws by signing off on hundreds of so called fines at any one sitting

handing out free passes to the court run bailiffs who rob everything only for the "goodies" to end up in unscrupulous hands (for want of a better name)

All well and good if you've overspent stupidly.....but IF YOUVE NEVER been in debt and lost everything to a corrupt system that chooses to cover up rather than admit they near brought about deaths with their inaction ...but to go after disabled (because of police) who simply cant keep their heads above water due to no help being forthcoming....

typical of UK hierarchy... fill your pockets and let the next in line worry about mending fences

nailed 1 hour ago Report Abuse

imagine our government is still unable to act.

all they need to do is reduce vat and the fuel tax. then ask the bank to slash the interest they pin us with.

WILLIAM 1 hour ago Report Abuse

The poorer people in our society are the ones who are feeling the pinch. The better paid and the wealthy are not enduring the pain that exists in so many parts of the UK and I can foresee an urban rebellion over this coming winter. This government could well suffer a 'winter of discontent' as higher food and power bills really @#$%. Pople cannot understand how at a time of severe austerity so many of our wealthier citizens are living more confortably than ever and especially some of our football stars who living like kings when the suppoters of their clubs are scraping to buy for tickets to see the games. There is a financial imorality that is pervading this country and unless something is done to sort it out there will mounting hostility against the people running it and the wealthy who are laughing at the rest of us.

Monty 57 minutes ago Report Abuse

There used to be light at the end of the tunnel , now they have even turned that off to save money .

ANDREW 1 hour ago Report Abuse

Will the last person to leave Britain please switch off the lights. That is assuming that there are any utility companies still around to generate electricity or even consumers able to pay the vastly inflated electricity bills! May the farce be with you!

mike 1 hour ago Report Abuse

Britain is certainly finished as a nation state. It will never come out of recession and neither will America. Both countries have been run by maniacs for the past 100 years, squandering the lives and wealth of the European peoples in useless wars. Scotland may have a chance of survival if it can unshackle itself from the rotting corpse that is modern day England. Certainly it must nationalise North Sea oil and keep the revenue from the drinks industry in Scottish coffers. See how fast England goes down the tubes then. The riots would soon become a daily event.

MRMAGIC1968 2 hours ago Report Abuse

I think the best way to get people back to work is for England to leave the EU,that way the jobs which are avilible can go to the people here rather than to the ones who have come over from the Eastern EU. They say that we are all in this together but people just want jobs,and do not want to complete with half a billion people for it,and please nobody start telling that these people work hard and they do more than everyone else,nonsense as far a I can remember,bus drivers,teachers,doctors,nurses,builders,were all here way before half of the EU headed here. This whole thing is not right everyone says look at those young men and woman not working,well you bright sparks how can they get a job when every where you go the jobs are now been taken by people from the EU. It is time for the country to get away from the sinking ship,British jobs must be protected for the good of the nation and to give the children some kind of future...Please.

Hesperus 2 hours ago Report Abuse

Why isn't Gorgon Brown being tried for treason?, the blame for the UK's financial mess falls squarely upon his shoulders. A finance director in the private sector would have been summarily dismissed for such a mess.

joni 1 hour ago Report Abuse

I did not agree to the Uk joining the Common Market and neither did the majority of the population. It is time to get out - only then can the British work towards bringing the country back on its feet with the pride they have. But it won't happen! The leadership has hidden agenda's - it will take more than thirty years before we see any real turnaround. Abandon Ship!

Bladder 1 hour ago Report Abuse

This country has been in Recession' for years , The reason for all this is down to past goverments, LIEBOUR,Take us into war with everybody,Chuck money at everything hope it will go away,Let everybody in this country PARTY ! CON you out of everything,Blame everyone else,We are allright jack,Cut everybodies income while we all have a good style of life SERVATIVES. This Country will never be as it was or should be ever again ! The worst is yet to come, at the end of the day your on your own !

brian 3 hours ago Report Abuse

will the last person to leave the UK please switch off the lights

up theirs! 3 hours ago Report Abuse

Probably best to hibernate for about 10 years.......then wake up and everything will be rosy..... .......... I don't think.......

K R 1 hour ago Report Abuse

Hopefully we will see a fall in the ammount of cars per family, with a return of public transport, as the more passengers they have the cheaper the fares.

Along with this immigrants will have nothing to gain from arriving here for the purpose of our benefit and welfare system.

People will also have to make do with what they have instead of buying something new every five minutes.

No pre-cooked or prepared foods that are not good for us and cost more will be off menu and back will come our own cooking skills, which in turn have more nutrition, and value for money.

Children too will have to develop their own amusements instead of parents having to spend large ammounts out on computers and all the rest of the electronic devices.

All should be aware though that buying cheap and shoddy goods from some countries is false economy when they do not last five minutes.

Perhaps we will see a return of well made UK products made in the UK in turn this will get people off the benefit system, and made to work for their living.

THEO 1 hour ago Report Abuse

Ladies and Gentlemen: Its pay back TIME!!! We are now getting the bill presented for 13 years off mal investment and extravagance Spending! , and gross miss management !!

IM D 55 minutes ago Report Abuse

Many of us could see this coming as soon as the results were announced at the last general election!! Why has it taken everyone else so long to see the impending doom?

kevin 25 minutes ago Report Abuse

Just remember folks on voting day in a few years time same flag different colour.Politicians are all the same.

nic 54 minutes ago Report Abuse

There's not gonna be any "recovery". Not in our lifetimes. Compound interest never goes away. The only solution is to do the obvious..

I'M HARD MUMMY! 2 hours ago Report Abuse

Did you know that Carmon ,

is worth more than 20million pounds,

Are yes I havent felt this united since (sir Paul McCartney frog song

Way back in 81, bom,bombom, iei, bom,bombom ieiwe all stand together iei

Lorem Ipsum 4 hours ago Report Abuse

its all good as long as we have the internet, imaging a world without yahoo? lol

Jack Jack 3 hours ago Report Abuse

rubbish. we are the best in the world, our government looks after everyone - not just The City and Friedman's economics, banks are for people - not people for banks, manufacturing is here and we slowly stop buying "made in China", illegal immigration has stopped, food,oil and energy prices drop all the time, we are pulling out our troops from oil wars.. future looks bright!

Comment hidden due to low rating. Show Comment

Devilinred 6 minutes ago Report Abuse

And will the coalition government and the bankers and big bussiness moguls stand shoulder to shoulder with us, of coarse they will not. They will protect themselves as they are doing to the bankers that we had to dip into our pockets to get them out of the hole that they dug for themselves whilst still living the high life. Hesperus - Don't only blame Brown, other governments as well as this one were in the same boat. Don't trust an MP, Banker or Bussiness man, they are all out to fix for themselves.