
Cut Out
Living Without Welfare
Jeremy Seabrook(Author)
Pluto Press
Published on 20. June 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-0-7453-3618-3 (ISBN)
Description
Britain's welfare state, one of the greatest achievements of our post-war reconstruction, was regarded as the cornerstone of modern society. Today, that cornerstone is wilfully being dismantled by a succession of governments, with horrifying consequences. The establishment paints pictures of so-called 'benefit scroungers', the disabled, the sickly and the old.
In Cut Out: Living Without Welfare, Jeremy Seabrook speaks to people whose support from the state - for whatever reason - is now being withdrawn, rendering their lives unsustainable. In turns disturbing, eye-opening, and ultimately humanistic, these accounts reveal the reality behind the headlines, and the true nature of British politics today.
Published in partnership with the Left Book Club.
In Cut Out: Living Without Welfare, Jeremy Seabrook speaks to people whose support from the state - for whatever reason - is now being withdrawn, rendering their lives unsustainable. In turns disturbing, eye-opening, and ultimately humanistic, these accounts reveal the reality behind the headlines, and the true nature of British politics today.
Published in partnership with the Left Book Club.
Reviews / Votes
'For half a century, in one delicately textured study after another, Seabrook has established himself as perhaps Britain's finest anatomist of class, deindustrialisation, migration and the spiritual consequences of neoliberalism' -- Sukhdev Sandhu, Guardian 'Giving a voice to the many people who have become increasingly isolated and unsupported in their struggle to survive, this is a useful resource for activists campaigning for social justice and against the government's cuts' -- Peace NewsMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
295 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7453-3618-3 (9780745336183)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2016
1st Edition
Pluto Press
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Jeremy Seabrook (1939-2024) wrote on inequality, poverty and the oppressed in Britain and across the Global South for over half a century. His articles were featured in the Guardian, The Times and the Independent. He has written plays for stage, TV and the theatre, some in collaboration with his close friend, Michael O'Neill. His many books include The Song of the Shirt and Cut Out: Living Without Welfare. In 2023 he published his memoirs, Private Worlds.
Content
Series Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Welfare Cuts: The Wider Context
2. Being There: A Sense of Place
3. The Fall of Industrial Male Labour
4. Benefit Fraud
5. A Fate Foretold
6. Sheltered Accommodation
7. Zubeida
8. Azma
9. Kareema
10. Born at the Wrong Time
11. Abigail
12. Adele and Clifford
13. Graham Chinnery: Zero Hours
14. Andrea
15. Carl Hendricks
16. Arif Hossein
17. The Idea of Reform
18. People with Disability
10. Amanda
20. Belfort: Survival
21. Lorraine: In the Benefits Labyrinth
22. Jayne Durham
23. Paula
24. Violence against Women
25. Faraji
26. 'Doing the Right Thing'
27. Grace and Richard
28. 'It Can Happen to Anyone'
29. Andrew
30. Lazy Categories
31. The Secret World of 'Welfare'
32. Self-Employment as a Refuge
33. Joshua Ademola
34. Dayanne: The Right Thing and the Wrong Result
35. The Roots of Alienation
36. Imran Noorzai
37. Farida: The Duty of Young Women
38. Welfare and Mental Health
39. Alison: The Loneliness of Being on Benefit
40. Kenneth Lennox
41. Marie Fullerton
42. Gus: A Heroic Life
43. Stolen Identities: Epitaph for a Working Class
Conclusion
Further Reading
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Welfare Cuts: The Wider Context
2. Being There: A Sense of Place
3. The Fall of Industrial Male Labour
4. Benefit Fraud
5. A Fate Foretold
6. Sheltered Accommodation
7. Zubeida
8. Azma
9. Kareema
10. Born at the Wrong Time
11. Abigail
12. Adele and Clifford
13. Graham Chinnery: Zero Hours
14. Andrea
15. Carl Hendricks
16. Arif Hossein
17. The Idea of Reform
18. People with Disability
10. Amanda
20. Belfort: Survival
21. Lorraine: In the Benefits Labyrinth
22. Jayne Durham
23. Paula
24. Violence against Women
25. Faraji
26. 'Doing the Right Thing'
27. Grace and Richard
28. 'It Can Happen to Anyone'
29. Andrew
30. Lazy Categories
31. The Secret World of 'Welfare'
32. Self-Employment as a Refuge
33. Joshua Ademola
34. Dayanne: The Right Thing and the Wrong Result
35. The Roots of Alienation
36. Imran Noorzai
37. Farida: The Duty of Young Women
38. Welfare and Mental Health
39. Alison: The Loneliness of Being on Benefit
40. Kenneth Lennox
41. Marie Fullerton
42. Gus: A Heroic Life
43. Stolen Identities: Epitaph for a Working Class
Conclusion
Further Reading