Please allow me to introduce myself

I'm not a man, not of wealth, and of dubious taste (in films and food).

I am a 25 year old woman working in local government. I live in Cambridge, which in my view is the best place in the world. Being something of an idealist, and thus wanting to spend my career trying to make the world a better place, led me to the public sector when I graduated a few years ago. At that time, a government job was seen as secure choice; you wouldn't earn the big bucks of the City, but you'd get a comfortable living.

That security has now vanished. It is more than likely that this time next year I will have been handed redundancy, and given the scale of jobs being cut from the public sector, finding something new will probably be very difficult. Overall, I am ambivalent about this. But that's because I'm lucky enough to have no dependents and inexpensive habits. Part-time work, a masters degree and a life of crime are some of the options I'm thinking about.

I'm starting this blog to record my opinions and analysis of the 21st century Age of Austerity in which the UK now finds itself. I think that day to day life in the UK is going to be changed significantly over the next few years by the deficit-cutting policies of the coalition government, and am not sure that this has really entered the popular consciousness yet. This is partly because the cuts seem like a coup be grace - during the electioneering of Spring 2010 the main parties deliberately ignored the extent of cuts that would be needed.

A word on my politics. I don't support any specific party. According to Vote for Policies, the Green Party's policies fit my opinions best, which is fair. I consider that tackling climate change should be the top priority of any and all governments. A friend once accused me of being 'frighteningly left-wing', but then she's a great fan of Mrs. Thatcher. I'm an optimist, as being fatalistic never seems to achieve anything except spreading gloom.

I should also say that I'm not fundamentally anti-cuts. During my time in the public sector I've encountered much unnecessary bureacracy, although plenty of under-resourcing too. There are areas of public sector intervention that are historical relics and can't be justified. But the suddenness of the cuts seems very risky. Totally reconsidering the role of the public sector is not something to be worked out on the back on an envelope in five days (*ahem* coalition agreement *ahem*).

My intention therefore is to blog about the effects of the new Age of Austerity, as I observe them. I'd be very interested to hear your views too.