The Rotten State of Britain: Who Is Causing the Crisis and How to Solve It [Paperback]

'Britain has become bureaucratic and authoritative state watched over by a quarter of the world's CCTV cameras.' Daily Telegraph --1

'Most illuminating...so much packed into it that it's hard to know where to start.' Brian Monteith Scotsman --1

'This jaw-dropping book.' Catholic Herald --1

'Suicide may be the only answer.' Austin Mitchell Labour MP, Mail on Sunday --1

'This jaw-dropping book.' Catholic Herald --1

'Suicide may be the only answer.' Austin Mitchell Labour MP, Mail on Sunday --1

In 1997 voters agreed that Britain was in such a poor state that a government with new ideas was needed. The Rotten State of Britain is the first deeply-researched entirely factual account how, 12 years after the Brown-Blair government took office, their policies worked out and what became of its aims to repair Britain. The Rotten State of Britain reveals the state of our political system, the low standards in public life, the justice system, the draconian powers the police and public officials have been given, the surveillance and nanny state, public service bureaucracy and spending, the economy and how we urgently need new checks and balances to restrain our political leaders and the unelected advisors who actually control our lives. As an economist, psychologist and Westminster insider, Eamonn Butler initially thought New Labour seemed purposeful and businesslike. They promised an open kind of government and so as the Head of the Adam Smith Institute he decided to work with them. Two years later, though, he had become deeply troubled by the fact that words were not backed up by deeds. From his vantage point at the Adam Smith Institute, he started over 9 years to gather the material that is the basis of this book.

Eamonn Butler is the head of the London-based Adam Smith think tank and the author of several books. He frequently writes for the Guardian, Times, Daily Telegraph and Independent.