I'm not convinced by the direct link to austerity. I like this site, it calls out a lot of claims on both sides!
https://fullfact.org/health/130000-preventable-deaths-austerity/
Tory Policy has directly put more money in my back pocket through lower taxes. And it is has (shock horror) also been the raising of the personal tax allowance threshold that has directly helped the less privileged.
Lower taxes, record numbers of people employed has been two advantages for me.
It is not just in favour of the rich. The less well off have been directly helped by Tory tax cuts.
It is clear that the poorest have not seen income rise in real terms.
https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/scale-economic-inequality-uk
Even if they had, it entirely depends on your definition of helps and this is ideologically based.
The gap between rich and poor continues to grow, the social support network continues to collapse impacting the most vulnerable, ideologically driven monthly benefits payments based on a concept of thrift and budgeting continue to fail in the practical real world environment. Redistribution of wealth is not a position that the Tory party support. This is to the detriment of society as a whole, irrespective of income.
I believe in redistribution of wealth (and say this from a high tax bracket) and vote accordingly (my country has higher income tax on higher earners than England). This puts me fundamentally at odds with the Tory party (and this is but one reason). There are those who believe that low tax and small government is good. I consider the latter anti-society and the former pro-society.
Tories would disagree with my position no doubt. Some do so on genuine principle (disagreeable principle to me, but principle nonetheless), some do so because they care about short term fiscal gain. Irrespective, there is certainly no evidence to support the claim that the Tories are a more economically successful party...at least not for those who are not wealthy (see Brexit) and I consider their social policy, at best, reckless.