Showing results by author "Gavin Esler" in All Categories

How Britain Ends is a book about history, but also about the strange, complicated identity of Britishness. In the past, it was possible to live with delightful confusion: one could be English, or British, Scottish or Irish and a citizen/subject of the United Kingdom (or Great Britain). For years that state has been what Gavin Esler calls a 'secret federation', but without the explicit federal arrangements that allow Germany or the USA to survive. Now the archaic state, which doesn't have a written constitution, is coming under terrible strain. 

For centuries, British identity has been shaped by ideas of exceptionalism, grandeur and competence. Yet British democracy is failing. Governments supported by a minority of voters are elected with enormous majorities under a deeply unrepresentative first-past-the-post system. The result has been failed leaders delivering wounding blows to the country's economy, prosperity and international image. Britain Is Better Than This explores what lies beneath this sense of malaise, revealing the structural and constitutional failures at the heart of a sclerotic political system.

The broadcaster and journalist Gavin Esler sets out how the most momentous change in Britain for decades will change everyday life. In 7 succinct chapters, he reveals the profound impact of leaving the European Union on: Food and diet, Health and the NHS, Jobs and industry, Education, Travel to Europe. From the food markets of Kent to NHS operating theatres to the boardrooms of big employers, Brexit throws up many surprises. Brexit Without the Bullshit is not about the Brexit you were told you were getting. It's about the one that is arriving.