Britain feels increasingly broken. It's harder than ever to get a GP appointment. Burglaries go unpunished. Wages have been stagnant for years, even as the cost of housing rises inexorably. There are lots of candidates for blame: Boris Johnson; Rishi Sunak; the last Labour government; Brexit. But it's not really due to any individual. Politicians can make things better or worse, but even the best are constrained by our state institutions.
These core foundations - No. 10 Downing Street, the Treasury, Parliament, the Civil Service, local government - were never designed for the job. Once able to adapt to a smaller, less centralized state, they now cannot cope with the big problems we face. Only by digging below the surface, understanding the history and failure of these institutions, can we get a grip on the difficulties facing Britain today.
In Failed State, Sam Freedman offers an uncompromising and well-sourced analysis of where we've gone wrong. Speaking to politicians of all stripes, civil servants, workers on the frontline and key thinkers across the world, this book bursts at the seams with insight and data on the real problems we face that are so often hidden from the front pages. The result is a thoughtful manifesto that paves the way for a fairer and more prosperous society.
