Just over 15 years ago, a realisation began to dawn on British politicians, triggered by the financial crash of 2008 and its effects on millions of ordinary lives.

Before that rupture, they had clung to the idea that a huge chunk of the public was made up of contented consumers and property owners. Now, though, any such certainties were being shaken – something highlighted by the Labour conference speech given in 2009 by Gordon Brown, which contained two particularly eye-catching words: “When markets falter and banks fail,” he said, “it’s the jobs and the homes and the security of the squeezed middle that are hit the hardest.”

All these years later, the idea of an outwardly comfortable part of society anxiously feeling the pinch seems even more relevant. That is not, of course, to suggest that there are not millions of people living in much more precarious circumstances, nor that a Labour government should not prioritise their needs. Contrary to what you might read in certain news outlets, the squeezing of the middle has nothing to do with VAT on private school fees or the hourly rate charged by nannies. But the relevant stats definitely speak volumes about anxiety and uncertainty eating into lives that would once have been considered secure, and what that means for a country now brimming with a seething resentment that mainstream politicians seem unable – or unwilling – to do anything about.

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, after years of wage stagnation, between now and 2030, households’ average disposable income is set to grow by only 0.5% a year. We all know what that means: the sudden pang of worry at the supermarket checkout, summers spent at home, the prohibitive expense of family visits to restaurants that fall north of £100, and people’s understanding that their children are growing up in an even more harshly competitive economy and society than they did. That last point, moreover, highlights that as new generations come of age, the squeezed middle is only expanding.

The tale of last week’s budget is now curdling into

© The Guardian