Of the Duality of Crises

Abstract

Economic crises unravel both on the economic and the discursive levels. Politically, these two dimensions coalesce in budget speeches, which amount both to defining and justifying governments’ economic policies. In the United Kingdom, the 2008 Global Financial Crisis was first dealt with by Gordon Brown’s Labour government (2008–2010), and then by David Cameron’s Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition (2010–2015). In terms of economics, these two governments used two approaches whose combination reinforced the neoliberal order. In terms of discourse, however, they framed their crisis management as divergent. The 2008 crisis in the British context is therefore characterised by a discrepancy between consensual economics and divergent discourses, which this chapter exposes through policy and discourse analysis based on budgetary reports. The chapter ultimately assesses the political effects of this discrepancy.

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