At the time of writing, in April 2020, the phrase ‘We’re all in this together’ has returned to popular discourse. Once deployed with respect to post-‘Global Financial Crisis’ austerity, the trope has re-emerged with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to convey a sense of common suffering. However, evidence of the uneven social and economic impacts of COVID-19 has been quick to emerge, much as it was in relation to austerity. The in it together trope is clearly a fallacy, therefore. However, its re-emergence at this time is a signal that we would be wise to reflect on continuities between the two crises. The aim of the chapter is to begin this process of reflection. Responding to the book's themes, the chapter focuses on how the 2010–20 decade of austerity in the UK and the COVID-19 pandemic highlight common issues in relation to the unevenness of impacts on social groups, public services and civil society.

It is no surprise that the early evidence on who is affected most by the COVID-19 crisis mirrors pre-existing inequalities. The first evidence on death rates showed them to be twice as high in the most deprived places compared to the least deprived places (ONS, 2020) and much of the research on the effects of lockdown points to the vulnerability of those on low incomes, in precarious employment or inadequately housed. Three groups severely affected by austerity and COVID-19 – young people, women and front-line public sector workers – deserve attention.

Young people under 25 were acutely affected by the decade of austerity. Many will have experienced the impacts of budget cuts on children's centres, youth centres, libraries, schools and further education colleges. If they or their households did not directly experience the privations of welfare state retrenchment, they will nonetheless have witnessed growing levels of destitution and will assume that food banks are integral to the social safety net. The ‘crisis cohort’ that entered the labour market during the 2009 financial crisis have – a decade later – higher unemployment rates, lower pay and damaged career prospects compared to other youth cohorts (Clarke, 2019). The indications are that they have been hit hard by the COVID-19 economic lockdown and are highly vulnerable to its aftermath.