Vicky Spratt – författare

Were our young adults mis-sold a future? In 1980s Britain, the line was that anything was possible if you worked hard enough, whether that be owning a home or going to university. Now, house prices are exorbitant and both student loans and childcare costs have skyrocketed. Birth rates are falling, social mobility is in reverse, and living standards are tanking because even basic needs are becoming unaffordable. Not just for those on low incomes, but for people earning what were once decent salaries too.Combining her own experience and the stories of women she’s met over the last ten years whilst travelling around Britain as a journalist, Vicky Spratt’s crucial and remarkable new book will be a deep exploration of how the economic context of the last thirty years has shaped the lives of Millennials and Generation Z – their finances, relationships and perception of what a good life looks like. Both empathetic and urgent, Spratt’s work is a holistic examination of the problems facing young adults today, for which she then outlines the solutions – if only there was the political will to implement them.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2022, METRO, EVENING STANDARD, REFINERY29, COSMOPOLITAN'Tenants should be compulsory reading for every politician' - Pandora Sykes'Important heartbreaking and shocking ... it forces you to step back, look at the whole wretched system and think: "Why do we put up with this?" Whether you are a tenant or a landlord, or indeed a government minister, this is a vital read.' The Times'A major new book on the history and politics of renting' Evening StandardA WATERSTONES BEST POLITICS BOOK OF 2022A TIMES BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF 2022Tony is facing eviction instead of enjoying retirement; Limarra isn't 'homeless enough' to get help from the council; and for Kelly and her asthmatic son Morgan, another new rented house is a matter of life and death. This is twenty-first century Britain, where millions are trying to build lives in privately rented accommodation, which creates profit for landlords but not safe and stable homes for tenants.This fierce and moving account tells their stories, and the story of how we built a housing system where homelessness is a constant threat. Award-winning housing journalist Vicky Spratt traces decades of bad decisions to show how and why the British dream of homeownership has withered and the safety net of social housing has unravelled. She has spent years talking with those on the frontline all around the country. Here, she illuminates the ways this national emergency cuts across generations, class and education and is devastating our health, destroying communities and transforming the social, economic and political landscape beyond recognition. But it is not irreversible. The Covid-19 pandemic showed that radical action is possible, and there are real steps we can take to give everyone the chance of a good home. This urgent, ground breaking book leads the way.