Nasty, brutish and (possibly) short(-lived): Putting the UK recovery in context

Talk of recovery has a hollow ring while many millions of people are suffering real hardships in their lives, writes David Spencer. But as we approach 2014 it is important to keep alive the idea that things can be different. The positive counter-narrative is that somehow the existing consumption-led, debt-fuelled growth model in the UK can be challenged and an alternative put in its place. Different policy choices can and must be made.