Appeasing bond markets has caused instability, not solved it — a critique of UK austerity politics

Should politics always be dominated by economics?

In an anxious capitalist democracy such as Britain, with a modern history of patchy economic success and intermittent but recurring crises over public debt, the answer may seem obvious: governments and voters always need to behave in ways that fit with the market forces that shape our economy.

Austerity has benefitted bond traders but impoverished UK society and led to the rise of populism.