Hard Work: Life in Low-pay Britain (Paperback)

This is remarkable honest, raw writing - Toynbee reveals a great deal about herself in this book - and this adds to its power. She is not a left-wing apologist - she confesses that she likes some aspects of globalisation - at least big businesses have minimum standards to adhere to, unlike small ones. She likes shopping for pleasure, and sees nothing wrong with consumerism (environmental damage aside). The main thrust of the book - that the minimum wage must be raised is argued rationally and sensibly throughout. She also points out that inequality is related to gender, class and race - it's the "women's" jobs that tend to be the lowest paid.

In addition - this is beautifully and thoughtfully written - some of Toynbee's phrases gave me goosebumps. As a working-class boy who worked in nursing homes to supplement his university grant - a lot of what she said resonated personally with me. Good on ya Polly!

I work a low paid job at a supermarket, and my educational opportunities are limited and would like my voice to be heard, not a middle class person taking it upon themselves to speak for me. Yes, I do not doubt her sympathy, but that is not what many poor want; it is instead the chance to express their opnions and further their lives in a less oppressive way. Part of the problem is middle class dominance of politics, and it's reporting of it in a social context. Whatever happened to communication? Let the poor have the opportunity to speak for themselves, I am sure they would have alot to say, and it would be from a genuine perspective. Toynbee can immerse herself in it (poverty) but she is not of it.

Another thing is the negative life she imposes upon working class experience, rather than also focusing on the economic realities. I have many happy times being working class, times where myself and others have found ways to cope with our siuations in a positive way. It is not just grim estates and horrible landlords, and soul destroying work. Tell us something we don't know already. Of course she was going to find it tough, she comes from a more comfortable world, and her senses and feelings being in alien situations are going to be picking up experiences and their consequences in a more intense way. But to put it another way- yes it is good journalism, but from an unskilled, manual worker doing low paid work, and having experienced some of the things she describes in her book, it seems a bit ridiculous when someone plays at poverty for a bit in order to tell other people what it is like to live in poverty. Ask the poor themselves! We aren't stupid you know!

She goes on about the voicless and invisible. Well, she is contributing to that condition of being powerless and impotent politically.

I was shocked to discover in London that not only is it difficult to come by even modestly paid work, the road to success is fraught with exploitative agencies, rouge employers, but also greedy private landlords and predatory moneylenders. While the book missed out on the harsh deal dealt out to those in private rented accomodation and under the scourge of door-to-door lenders (though the book does note one south London based hire purchase shop that mercilessly exploits vulnerable people on low incomes) the account of the employment based exploitation was hard hitting and accurate.

I liked the way the book talked to people face to face - for example the manager of the Care home, and the man from the DWP social fund. In fairness, the description of the Social Fund was much rosier than my experience of it.

Above all, the book points out the chilling fact that the situation is worsening. The lowest paid workers find it virtually impossible to obtain proper pay rises or greater rights, while the better off workers get huge pay hikes. Its a book that anybody involved in policy making or sociology should be forced to read.