Do we need these vicious cuts by Tory led government? Read this book for the answer

Heard about this book called "Who needs the Cuts" written by my colleague Professor Saville Kushner and his brother Barry. They started their research a few years back at the start of the current economic crisis and did a lot of work comparing the economic conditions of post WWII Britain and now. The main question they set out to answer is if the circumstances where so much worse in the 50s  coming out of a massively expensive war on top of other factors, how come we could afford to spend so much building up the welfare state and why we are now told that we need austerity and dismantling of what the working class has worked hard for decades to build to achieve prosperity again. Their answer is, of course, we don't! Instead, we need a comprehensive growth policy to improve our economic conditions. The book produces plenty of evidence to back this up.

The preliminary findings of Prof Kushner's research was used quite extensively by major trade unions, including Unite and Unison in training their officials and reps. to give them confidence to deal with queries from members and counter the propaganda rained upon us by the government and the management that without the pain of austerity, we will all be out of a job, the economy will decline and there will be no future for the country.

In "Who Needs the Cuts?" Saville and Barry Kushner argue "there is an alternative story that is not being told. There is a view of the economic events of the past five years that does not see the UK in debt crisis. It offers choice, differences of opinion, uncertainty and hope. It takes us on a different voyage, one beyond economics into politics and visions of society, our expectations and ambitions. Unfortunately, it’s a story that is been ignored in the face of phantom risks and delusional hopes." http://www.writingonthewall.org.uk/wow-news/145-cuts-book-launch.html

More on this book once I've finished it!