After fourteen years of Conservative government – combined with Brexit, a global pandemic, the rise of a populist far right and the existential threat of climate change – many see Britain as undergoing serious social, economic and cultural decline. This is the context in which Labour have taken office at Westminster after a decade and a half in opposition. With recent ways of doing politics, government and statecraft in crisis, how can a serious, humane alternative emerge? What scale and type of change is coming, and will it be for the better?
All this raises serious questions about the future of the UK and its constituent nations, Labour's ability to govern progressively, and the incoming government's confidence and capacity to take on the entrenched vested interests of present-day Britain while also having an honest, mature conversation with the public and its own supporters about the nature of these challenges.
In Britain Needs Change, some of our best thinkers and commentators dissect the challenges facing the new government in a series of wide-ranging, penetrative essays. Featuring contributions from Helena Kennedy, John Curtice, Mariana Mazzucato, Neal Lawson, Aditya Chakrabortty, Ann Pettifor, Gavin Esler, Hilary Cottam, Sunder Katwala, Savitri Hensman, Fintan O'Toole and Andrew Gamble among others, this is required reading for anyone interested in the future of our country.
