In The Magic Money Tree, Kirsty Mackay gives people a platform to articulate the reality of poverty and the consequences of 14 years of social welfare decline.

Mackay was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and grew up in a working-class tenement block. Her neighbourhood was beside a more prosperous district, meaning she saw and experienced social inequality from a young age.

The Magic Money Tree is titled after Theresa May’s notorious quote that “there is no magic money tree” that we can shake to rescue the welfare state, pay nurses or provide services (but oddly there was one to bail out the banks). Across 200+ pages, Mackay traces a direct line from Westminster and the decisions made by May’s and other Conservative governments to their impact on four communities across the country.