Thatcher’s Children is a landmark documentary project by Craig Easton that investigates the chronic nature of intergenerational poverty in the North of England. The work began in 1992 when Easton photographed the Williams family—two parents and six children—living in a Blackpool hostel for homeless families. Decades later, Easton reconnected with the family to find that the cycle had repeated; those children now have nearly 30 of their own, facing similar systemic barriers. By juxtaposing 1990s monochrome reportage with contemporary color portraits and first-hand testimony, Easton challenges the “underclass” rhetoric of the Thatcher era. The book serves as a powerful critique of decades of social policy, illustrating how the “something-for-nothing” stigma has masked the reality of working poverty and state neglect.
