'A passionately reasoned and compelling account of
the avoidable cruelties still embedded in the underside
of British life - by a writer who has literally worn the
clothes, lived in the flats and done the jobs of the
poor. Every member of the cabinet should be required to
read it, apologise and then act'. - Will Hutton. A frank
and breathtaking book, this is journalist and
broadcaster Polly Toynbee's account of her courageous
intention to live and work on the minimum wage. The
'decent living' wage set by the Council of Europe is set
at GBP7.39. The minimum wage in Britain is currently
GBP4.10 per hour. And often, people are working for
less, their voices unheard, their faces unnoticed. The
low-paid are caught in an economic double bind that
victimises them and shames the rest of us. Toynbee took
whatever jobs she could find, often offered for less
than the official minimum wage.Living on an estate in
Clapham, she started from scratch and found that if she
were truly unemployed, she would not even be able to
afford a new job, and that faced with starvation, it's
impossible not to sink into debt. In this powerful and
compelling book, Polly Toynbee journeys to the inside of
Britain today and uncovers that world which is invisible
to most. This is a damning portrait of social justice in
Britain.
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