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Fortress London

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What to expect

A vividly written and timely polemic tackling the burning injustices shaping British society today.

‘Intelligently written and powerfully argued.’ Paul Mason

‘Witty, scathing, and entertaining.’ Danny Dorling

Journalist Sam Bright is a Northerner living in London. He is just one of the millions of people clinging on to the coattails of the capital, sucked in by the prospect of opportunities that the rest of the United Kingdom does not enjoy.

Our capital is a vast melting pot of languages, cultures, and ideas, and rightly celebrated for it. For many, though, there is no other option. The only place to access the opportunities this country offers is London. Banking, law, politics, advertising, architecture, the arts and the media are all concentrated here. It is almost impossible to reach the heights of any profession without joining the grey hoards queuing for the next tube. As the economic, political, and cultural epicentre of the country, Fortress London acts more like a renaissance city-state like Florence or Venice than the capital of a modern nation-state. And the gluttony of London, compared to the malnourishment of our regions, dramatically affects life chances in Britain.

Fortress London argues that to address Britain’s manifold problems, we need first to end the hegemony of its capital. Enriched by a vast array of interviews and statistics, it will examine how our individual destinies, from childhood to death, are determined by the disproportionate power of London. It will explain why regional inequality has fallen off the Left’s radar, even as the Right pays lip service to it, and it will draw on international comparisons to show where we have gone wrong and, crucially, how we can fix it.

Sam Bright’s clear-eyed intervention will convince you that regional inequality is the problem — and that now is the time for change.

Featuring exclusive interviews with: Andy Burnham, Lisa Nandy, Steve Rotheram, Aditya Chakrabortty, David Blunkett, Jess Phillips, Andrew Adonis and more…

Critics Review

  • ‘A northerner’s blast against the bloated capital. … Successful books have good timing, and Bright’s challenge to Labour has a keener edge after local elections in which the party advanced further in London but stood still in many other places.’ The Times

    ‘Witty, scathing, and entertaining. Sam Bright sums up what it would take to begin to turn England from London and its hinterland, into a country where everyone matters.’ Danny Dorling, author of Inequality and the 1%

    ‘A well informed polemic from a new voice on the left. Bright deftly weaves together his own experience as a Northerner in the capital with a mass of useful data on Britain’s grotesque regional inequality.’ David Goodhart, author of Head Hand Heart

    ‘Intelligently written and powerfully argued, Fortress London is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how power and wealth has been amassed by Britain’s new oligarchy, and what we might do to solve it.’ Paul Mason, author of Postcapitalism

    ‘A passionately written tour of the damaging social and economic consequences of yawning regional inequalities and an over-dominant capital. Required reading for anyone wanting to understand how London divides us, and what we should do about it.’ Rob Ford, author of Brexitland

    ‘A brilliant book.’ Owen Jones

    ‘Sam Bright is one of the best reporters of his generation.’ John Sweeney

    ‘I’ve been really impressed by Sam’s work – persistently finding story after story exposing wrongdoing and hypocrisy at the highest level. A name to watch.’ Carole Cadwalladr

    ‘A new and vital force in journalism, Bright’s well-crafted investigations and political scoops have already won him plaudits. His reports have forced government ministers on to the defensive and left the mainstream media trailing in his wake, playing desperate catch up.’ Matthew Wright

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