The Social Distance Between Us: How Remote Politics Wrecked Britain

by Darren McGarvey

Overview

*A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION*
*LONGLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE*

'An Orwell for today's poor' - The Times
'The standout, authentic voice of a generation' Herald
'McGarvey is a rarity: a working-class writer who has fought to make the middle-class world hear what he has to say' Nick Cohen, Guardian

Why are the rich getting richer while the poor only get poorer? How is it possible that in a wealthy, civilised democracy cruelty and inequality are perpetuated by our own public services? And how come, if all the best people are in all the top jobs, Britain is such an unmitigated bin fire?

Join Darren McGarvey on a journey through a divided Britain in search of answers. Here, our latter-day Orwell exposes the true scale of Britain's social ills and reveals why our current political class, those tasked with bringing solutions, are so distanced from our lived experience that they are the last people you'd want fighting your corner.

Praise for Darren McGarvey:

'Utterly compelling' Ian Rankin, New Statesman

'Brilliant' Russell Brand

'An absolutely fascinating individual' Owen Jones

'Offer[s] an antidote to populist anger that transcends left and right... articulate and emotional' Financial Times

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473566811
Publisher:	Ebury Publishing
Publication date:	06/16/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Darren McGarvey grew up in Pollok, Glasgow. He is a writer, hip-hop artist, broadcaster and campaigner. His bestselling and acclaimed first book Poverty Safari was awarded the Orwell Prize for political writing in 2018.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Act 1 Proximity Warning

1 Not in the Same Class 13

2 Second Class Citizens 28

3 Arrested Development 55

4 The Law of the Landlords 79

5 The Shame of Homelessness 99

6 Addiction 122

7 Health 142

8 Welfare Reform 154

9 I Don't Like to Be Beside the Seaside 178

10 A Deferent Class 193

11 Speak Properly 207

12 Low Connectivity 222

13 He Who Pays the Piper Calls the Tune 235

14 The Goldilocks Zone 255

Interlude 266

Act 2 Fucked Left, Right and Centre

15 Putting the House in Order 277

16 The Right 290

17 The Radical Left 304

18 Populism 322

19 Everything in Moderation 332

Coda 345

Acknowledgements 369

A Note on Sources and Further Reading 375

Index 379