Mike Tomlinson is engaged in a major research project on living standards which could have profound implications on the way the disadvantaged are viewed.
With £3.8m funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK is a collaboration with six universities across the UK. Two major surveys are involved, followed by an analysis phase.
As Professor of Social Policy at Queen’s, Mike is acknowledged as an authoritative voice on economic and social marginalization. Much of his research and published work has focused on this area and he was a key member of the team which completed the first-ever Poverty and Social Exclusion study in Northern Ireland, funded by the Treasury and the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister ten years ago.
He says, ‘The importance of doing a piece of work like this at the present time should be clear. For many in the UK living standards are declining under the twin pressures of high inflation and public policy responses to sovereign debt management. Whether it’s the billions of pounds taken out of the welfare system, the rise in unemployment or blocked opportunities for young people – all are taking their toll. We’re trying to capture the everyday experience of poverty and social exclusion.
‘The surveys are large-scale quantitative work but in addition we’re doing supplementary work involving in-depth interviews with people in low income households. In the Northern Ireland context we’re interested in family life. Many believe the family is stronger here than in other parts of the UK, enabling people to cope better with the recession. We’re looking at patterns of family life to see what family resources, if any, people have to draw on when they’re under pressure.
‘It’s important"We’re trying to capture the everyday experience of poverty and social exclusion." to know how financial and social stress impact on the way families behave. We think we’re a very sociable community – but is it true? Do current pressures bring families together or push them apart?’
He explains, ‘The main objectives of the study are to improve the measurement of living standards, deprivation and social exclusion, and to use the data we collect to carry out policy-relevant analysis.
‘A defined income isn’t the only measure of poverty. We need to consider the extent to which people are in deprivation. But who defines deprivation? Our approach is to research what people say are the basic necessities of life and to use this consensus to establish which items and activities are critical for the measurement of disadvantage. We believe that the science we’re developing from this particular approach has the potential to influence the way the poverty line is drawn across the European Union.’
Mike came to Queen’s in the late 70s. ‘Before going to university I had a gap year working with street homeless people in Birmingham which opened my eyes to the private issue of humiliation and to the public issue of failing welfare systems.’
Of Northern Ireland today, he says, ‘We need to understand that violent conflicts are imprinted on the social fabric, from patterns of physical and mental health to participation in the labour market and a whole range of social activities. Peace-building is as much about social and economic reconstruction as it is about workable political institutions.’
Mike believes the current project ‘will illustrate and define where the squeeze is really being felt and what the significant issues are. One of those we know already – the complex policy question of people keeping warm. The problem in this instance is three-fold – income, lack of insulated homes and energy costs.’
He says, ‘We’ve established a Northern Ireland network of organizations and people who are concerned with what’s being researched. We’re also working with local communities to discuss the questions and findings and to discuss policies and locally-relevant strategies.
‘People on low incomes, people on fixed incomes, people who aren’t working are often the scapegoats of politicians who need to turn attention away from their own difficulties in managing economic and political realities by blaming the victims. My task is to produce evidence that counters some of the wilder claims that are made and to illuminate what life is really like for the quarter of the population of Northern Ireland living below the EU income poverty threshold.’
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