The Return of the State: Restructuring Britain for the Common Good

Pushed by the Covid-19 crisis, the UK government has borrowed massively to save jobs, businesses and the economy from collapse, making a mockery of the austerity policies that it had championed for a decade. As a result, the role of the state is now in sharp focus. The contributors to this volume assess what that role should be and how it should be harnessed for the good of the British people in all four of its nations. Together they present policy proposals capable of generating a new social settlement and a long-term, equitable economic recovery post-pandemic. It offers both a vision of a future Britain and a roadmap to getting there.

Patrick Allen is chair and founder of the Progressive Economy Forum. He is also founder and senior partner at the law firm, Hodge Jones & Allen.


Suzanne J. Konzelmann is Reader in Management at Birkbeck, University of London. Her most recent book is Austerity (2019).


Jan Toporowski is Professor of Economics and Finance at SOAS, University of London.