How Britain Really Works

  • Author Stig Abell
  • Narrator Stig Abell
  • Publisher John Murray Press
  • Run Time 10 hours and 47 minutes
  • Format Audio
  • Genre Politics and government.
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What to expect

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

'Wry and readable' Guardian

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

Critics Review

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

    Sunday Times

  • Wry and readable . . . a smart execution of an idea that is more important than it sounds – in a world convulsed by polarising ideologies and white-hot feelings, there is a lot to be said for writing that is cool and fact-based

    Guardian

  • Delightfully readable

    Daily Mirror

  • Stig Abell is an urbane, and often jaunty guide to modern Britain, in the mould of Bill Bryson . . . he provides thoughtful explorations of each subject throughout

    Irish Times

  • Vivid, funny, and full of interesting glimpses of the way Britain works, viewed from angles I hadn’t seen before

    Philip Pullman

  • If you fear Britain’s going slightly Brexit bonkers, then this will explain why. An excellent, incisive and witty analysis of how this country works, or as so often . . . doesn’t!

    Piers Morgan

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