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U.K.’s Decade of Austerity
London’s glamour masks an underclass that can’t afford the basics
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London is the richest region in northern Europe, yet the wealth and glamour mask a struggling underclass in jobs that don’t pay enough to afford the basics and force employed people to line up for food handouts. Their plight has been made worse by almost a decade of austerity. Public spending in Britain has fallen to about 38 percent of gross domestic product from 45 percent in 2010.