From Personal Experience to the Social Workers Union
My gran was part of the Greenham Women’s Peace Camp, and my family’s relationship with politics was personal – they felt the direct impact of political decisions in their daily lives. Growing up, I watched my mum track the constant changes to benefits and support systems, changes that would later shape my own life.
The gap between me and my sister’s childhood tells a story of rapid change. I was born in the late 80s, she in the mid-90s. By the time my sister finished college, support for single parents had changed dramatically. What began as income support that helped families until their children finished education transformed through the 90s. Most parents moved to tax credits, then income support became limited until your youngest child turned three. Finally came Universal Credit and the two-child cap.
At 25, as a single mum with a six-year-old, I got my first chance at university thanks to tax credits. I can map my life against welfare system changes, pinpointing reforms by remembering where I was when each one hit.
Valuing lived experience
After university, I landed my first job. Coming from a family where regular employment wasn’t common, I was lucky to work for an MP who valued lived experience. He understood that people who’ve had to navigate complex systems to survive often understand them best.
As a caseworker, and later senior caseworker specialising in social welfare, I saw the bigger picture of austerity for the first time. The short-term thinking behind these cuts put people under enormous stress. When people can’t feed their families properly or plan beyond the next week, it creates a domino effect. Hungry children struggle to learn. High social housing thresholds break down community support networks. People can’t access medical care for illnesses that prevent them from working.
These measures aren’t just cruel – they don’t make economic sense. In Stroud, where I worked, we fought against the Universal Credit’s rollout and people with lived experience from unemployed workers’ unions joined forces with disabled activists, showing the power of centring lived experience and getting organised. Together, we achieved something significant – we delayed the full rollout until the major problems being discovered in real-time could be fixed.
The power of Collective Action
This is why it makes sense for the Social Workers Union (SWU) to lead the campaign against austerity. Social workers see these impacts firsthand in people’s homes. They witness how housing problems, benefit caps, and service cuts affect real families. When people can’t heat their homes or feed themselves properly, social workers are often the first to notice. At the same time, a recent SWU survey shows that unmanageable caseloads are a huge concern for social workers – a direct result of the massive cuts to local authority budgets over the last 14 years.
The impact of austerity goes beyond just cutting services – it makes people feel powerless over their own lives. This is where social workers play a vital role. They listen to people’s stories, provide support when it’s most needed, and help people regain control. And when government politics fails to give people any real power or choice, trade unions become even more important. The Social Workers Union doesn’t just fight for better working conditions – it stands up for both its members and the communities they serve.
As SWU’s National Organiser and Union Contact Manager, I’m looking forward to developing our activist members’ confidence, skills, and networks. Now more than ever we need members to play an active part in their union so consider becoming a SWU Union Contact in your workplace, university, or placement. I’ll be there to support you every step of the way!
By joining together in the SWU, social workers become stronger advocates for both their profession and the people they support. In these times of growing inequality, having a united voice matters more than ever. Together, social workers can push for the big changes needed to create a fairer society for everyone.