In a sign of how our desparate age of austerity is pitching ordinary working people against each other, we spoke with a man, currently of no fixed abode. We'll call him David.
David, 46, comes originally from Oxfordshire. In a sign of tragic difficulties he would face later in life, though, he had to move about the Home Counties throughout his formative years. Indeed, his final years of secondary school were spent in Berkshire.
David's working life has been no less difficult. Counting himself lucky to be in a job still, he is required to work demanding hours and travel constantly around the country, staying for a few nights at a time in accommodation provided by his employer in central London and Buckinghamshire, only occasionally managing to make it back to either of his family homes in Oxfordshire and West London.
David despairs at other people who, though perhaps less fortunate than himself and not in employment, claim their entitlement of state benefits to put a roof over their heads and over their family's heads.
When we spoke with David, he put his position starkly. 'Look,' he told us, 'I know what it's like to struggle. I know what's it's like to find yourself on the wrong side of the rules when you're desperate. I know how disempowering it can be to live of state hand-ours. When I claimed £82,450 over five years from the taxpayer to help me keep a house in London and a second home in Oxfordshire, I felt wretched. By the end, my life felt empty, wasted. I couldn't live with myself. It got so bad, I even returned £680 of it that I'd spent on DIY.'
When we asked how he'd managed to turn his life around after that difficult period came to an end in 2010, David's broke down in tears. 'It's been tough - a real personal hell. They've been times I've slipped back into the old ways. I mean, the £30,000 kitchen in the new works place above the shop - sometimes I don't know how I can sleep at night. But deep down, I know I'm a better person when I'm not living off the taxpayer.'
Keeping David strong is his personal belief in family. 'At the end of the day, we can't go on living off the taxpayer. Families need to look out for each other. Without a strong family backing you every step of the way, life's so much tougher. That's a lesson my multi-millionnaire father taught me, and I hold on to that thought every day.'
