Yes, and the conservatives have been clear on this from the beginning. I remember watching Question Time a decade ago when I was turning 18 and people obviously asked about austerity and the conservatives response was not "we need to stop spending in order to help the economy which will then help poor people", it was "the goal of our government is simply to grow the private sector".
Thatcher even said that the eventual goal of the UK was for all the labour to be highly skilled. The vision is a nation of software devs, engineers, financiers, lawyers, and managers driving their car to work or paying whatever for the expensive train ticket.
We even have a pipeline that takes you directly from university graduation to these high end jobs. These jobs then re-educate you with their own bespoke courses.
Basically, the point of austerity was always to try and starve all of the public aspects of the country. It is almost all by design.
Thatcher even said that the eventual goal of the UK was for all the labour to be highly skilled. The vision is a nation of software devs, engineers, financiers, lawyers, and managers driving their car to work or paying whatever for the expensive train ticket.
We even have a pipeline that takes you directly from university graduation to these high end jobs. These jobs then re-educate you with their own bespoke courses.
Basically, the point of austerity was always to try and starve all of the public aspects of the country. It is almost all by design.