Well austerity was sold to the public as cutting waste. I agree with should be doing that but when you look back at what has been cut it is clear that this wasn't the motivation.
The deficit became unmanageable because of a contraction in the economy and not, as it is claimed, we were spending too much. Labour made the mistake of not being honest about the cost of implementing their programme.
I suppose if I was to use my very own facile, but more appropriate, household budget comparison. If you had your hours cut at work a reasonable reaction would be to stop eating expensive food (cut waste) and maybe retrain in order to look for full time work (invest in growth). It wouldn't be a good idea to stop eating entirely or get rid of your car - that isn't cutting waste and it will harm your chances of 'recovery'.