How Britain Really Works: Understanding the Ideas and Institutions of a Nation

'Absorbing . . . an intelligent and clear-eyed account of much that goes on in our country' Sunday Times

Getting to grips with Great Britain is harder than ever. We are a nation that chose Brexit, rejects immigration but is dependent on it, is getting older but less healthy, is more demanding of public services but less willing to pay for them, is tired of intervention abroad but wants to remain a global authority. We have an over-stretched, free health service (an idea from the 1940s that may not survive the 2020s), overcrowded prisons, a military without an evident purpose, an education system the envy of none of the Western world.

How did we get here and where are we going?

How Britain Really Works is a guide to Britain and its institutions (the economy, the military, schools, hospitals, the media, and more), which explains just how we got to wherever it is we are. It will not tell you what opinions to have, but will give you the information to help you reach your own. By the end, you will know how Britain works - or doesn't.

'Stig Abell is an urbane, and often jaunty guide to modern Britain, in the mould of Bill Bryson' Irish Times

Stig Abell is the editor and publisher of the Times Literary Supplement, which he thinks is the most important literary publication in the world.

He presented a weekly radio programme on LBC for the last three years, in which he got the chance to talk about political and social issues with anybody who called in, and pops up as a commentator on Sky News and the BBC. He has written for almost every newspaper in Britain, and one or two in America as well. He now presents Front Row on Radio 4.

Previously, he had been the Director of the Press Complaints Commission and the Managing Editor of Britain's biggest newspaper (The Sun). He also worked in crisis communications, although not for very long. How Britain Really Works is his first book.