‘We’re on the edge’: Cultures of care and Universal Credit

Abstract

Austerity and welfare reforms – such as Universal Credit (UC) – are changing the ways in which care is delivered in the UK, increasing the precarity of individuals and the organisations who care for them. New cultures of care are emerging as a result. We show how an emplaced affect of ‘edgy-ness’ shaped a culture of care within third-sector organisations and housing associations working in Cornwall, UK. Drawing on a collaborative project consisting of four housing associations and four VCSOs, we explore ‘edgy-ness’ as one specific affect of precarity through an analysis of practitioners’ narratives of the project and its success.