In June, we presented a paper at the Modern British Studies Conference in Birmingham that examined how individuals interpreted and gave meaning to crises over the life course. Focusing on cohort effects, the paper engaged with theories of political socialisation, which emphasise the durability of early‑life values. It showed how moral frameworks formed in childhood—particularly around thrift, restraint, and self‑reliance—continued to shape how people understood contemporary political and economic events.

We looked at responses to the 2007–08 financial crisis. Many older respondents were sceptical of the language of “crisis” and “austerity”, often comparing it unfavourably with the more severe hardships they had experienced in their youth. Rather than viewing the crisis primarily as a structural failure, they tended to interpret it through a moral lens, drawing on long‑standing beliefs about discipline, responsibility, and deferred gratification.

We highlighted how one panellist’s working‑class upbringing, marked by austerity and strong moral expectations, informed her later support for spending cuts and Conservative economic policies. Her interpretation of the financial crisis centred on individual irresponsibility and a perceived decline in social values, rather than systemic economic factors.

We argued that a life‑course approach helped explain the persistence of right‑leaning political attitudes among older voters. By tracing how early socialisation produced enduring moral interpretations that were repeatedly reapplied in new contexts, it showed why policies such as austerity could resonate, even when the language used to describe contemporary hardship was rejected.