First published in Great Britain in 2017 by
Policy Press University of Bristol 1-9 Old Park Hill Bristol BS2 8BB UK Tel +44 (0)117 954 5940 e-mail
North American office: Policy Press c/o The University of Chicago Press 1427 East 60th Street Chicago, IL 60637, USA t: +1 773 702 7700 f: +1 773-702-9756 e:
Policy Press 2017
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ISBN 978-1-4473-3348-7 paperback
ISBN 978-1-4473-3346-3 hardcover
ISBN 978-1-4473-3349-4 ePub
ISBN 978-1-4473-3350-0 Mobi
ISBN 978-1-4473-3347-0 ePdf
The right of Ruth Patrick to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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Notes on author
Ruth Patrick is a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Law and Social Justice at the University of Liverpool. Her research interests include poverty, welfare reform, social citizenship, participatory research methodologies and qualitative longitudinal research. Recent publications include Living with and responding to the scrounger narrative in the UK: exploring everyday strategies of acceptance, resistance and deflection (Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 2016) and Working on welfare: findings from a qualitative longitudinal study into the lived experiences of welfare reform in the UK (Journal of Social Policy, 2014).
Acknowledgements
This book would be nothing without the contributions of the people I interviewed, who let me into their homes and lives with kindness, enthusiasm and a readiness to share their experiences. A very big thanks to each of you for giving up your time, so often on more than one occasion.
Over the five years spent researching and writing this book, I received invaluable advice and guidance from academic colleagues and friends. Special thanks here go to my three PhD supervisors Nick Ellison, Bren Neale and Simon Prideaux and to Ruth Lister and Tracy Shildrick for examining my thesis and being encouraging about its potential contribution. I would also like to say thank you to all those who read and commented on draft book chapters: Kim Allen, Kate Brown, Laura Cartwright, Stephen Crossley, John Hudson, Dan Silver, Mark Simpson and Emma Wincup. Further thanks are due to the (very) many family and friends who helped with proof reading, although I take full responsibility for any typos that still made it through!
Throughout the book-writing process, I received invaluable feedback from Adrian Sinfield, who painstakingly commented on the whole manuscript. Talking things through with Adrian and Dorothy Sinfield in Edinburgh over lunch or supper helped refine the books focus and proved a great tonic, and I am very grateful to them both for their continued support and friendship. A particular thanks is also due to Kayleigh Garthwaite, who read many chapters many times and was always on hand to provide enthusiasm and positivity much needed at times when my own was waning.
Thanks too to Policy Press (especially Jess Mitchell, Ali Shaw and Laura Vickers) for wanting to publish this book, and for keeping me on track during the submission and publication process.
The final period of writing has coincided with late pregnancy, and I have often worried and joked about which delivery would come first: the baby or the book. In working to get the book submitted before the new arrival (just), I have been a rather impatient, bad-tempered and absent mother and partner. My thanks and apologies in equal measure to Martin, Katie and Liam. It is your love, patience and humour that keeps me going. Thanks also to my parents Bruce and Hilary who provide me with a seemingly limitless supply of support. Special mention to the new arrival Nina who has been a constant and lovely companion in the final proof reading period.