Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • How Britain Really Works

  • Understanding the Ideas and Institutions of a Nation
  • By: Stig Abell
  • Narrated by: Stig Abell
  • Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (242 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
How Britain Really Works cover art

How Britain Really Works

By: Stig Abell
Narrated by: Stig Abell
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Grand Tour: A Journey Through British Politics cover art
Abolish the Monarchy cover art
Who Owns England? cover art
How They Broke Britain cover art
How Westminster Works...and Why It Doesn't cover art
All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain's Political Class cover art
The Establishment cover art
Follow the Money cover art
Cowards cover art
The Abuse of Power cover art
The Right to Rule cover art
Government Zero cover art
Trump's War cover art
Fascism Versus Capitalism cover art
The Eighties cover art
Huddled Masses cover art

Summary

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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our Desktop Site.

©2018 Stig Abell (P)2018 John Murray Press
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

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

"Wry and readable." (Guardian)

"Stig Abell is an urbane, and often jaunty guide to modern Britain, in the mould of Bill Bryson." (Irish Times)

What listeners say about How Britain Really Works

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    149
  • 4 Stars
    64
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    113
  • 4 Stars
    59
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    128
  • 4 Stars
    57
  • 3 Stars
    17
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • MR
  • 10-09-18

Thorough and interesting

This is a really interesting, thoroughly researched and well presented book. The conclusions drawn in the final chapter jar somewhat but aren’t inconsistent with the body of the book (after chapters of telling the reader “How it is”, the author gives his view of “How it should be”).

I can’t recommend the audiobook however, because the author has chosen to narrate it himself and the results aren’t good. He seems to be in a hurry to get through it, reading fast and with an oddly hectoring tone. Points that could be emphasised for clarity are not l, for the sake of speed, and he seems to run out of breath and gasp every so often.

Rightly or wrongly the listener gets the impression that the narration was done in a hurry, which is a great shame as it undermines the very good work the author did in researching and writing this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Good.

Good content and delivery. would recommend this title to anyone as a crash course in British institutions.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Lacks originality

Maybe I've just read many similar books to the author; but it felt like a bland rehash of points made elsewhere without any thought-provoking ideas or analysis of his own.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

READ TOO QUICKLY

I was looking forward to listening to this book but I didn't even get a quarter of a way through it before giving up because Stig Abell's reading is far, far too fast. I was exhausted just listening to him at times. He reads as if he is trying to get to the end in the quickest time possible, and sometimes has to stop and catch his breath. I also struggled with understanding or taking in the information he was giving because he was going far too quickly.
Really disappointed with this audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Personal view of Britain.

This book is makes some good observations on Britain at the time of writing (2018) . Each section contains a brief history of how the various institutions that shape Britain got to where they are. The view is white cosmopolitan and London centric. It’s personal in its choices of institutions and somewhat rambling in exposition. I was struck at the omission of the Royal Family as it still controls this country and its institutions. I also struggled with the narration which I found was best listened at 0.9 speed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Insightful breakdown of a very British muddle

Well narrated with a great mix of facts and cutting insight on how modern Britain is where it is.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting but terrible production values

I really enjoyed this book. It's full of interesting and insightful stuff told in a straightforward way. However, the production values are dreadful.
Stig has read the book himself which is fine, but the producer has left in stumbles over words and mistakes, lip smacks, times when Stig ran out of breath mid-sentence etc. Baffling why they wouldn't make the effort on a book that is fairly well known.

Still, I listened to it all regardless, and took a lot from it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Stig - more than Abell!

I am a big fan of Stig Abell. His morning Times Radio show and centrist views make him an excellent interrogator and commentator on National and International events. As such, I am familiar and comfortable with his somewhat breathless delivery and political views. This is an excellent "Britain PLC - a beginners guide" and perfect for train journeys and walk. Well researched and very accessible. I'd recommend having the book to hand as well (for his perfect puntuation if nothing else) for reviewing the detail at a more leisurely pace. Stig would be a definite fantasy dinner party guest!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • em
  • 30-09-22

Really enjoyed it

Really enjoyed this overarching view on Britain. As it’s written by a former Sun employee, I assumed I would disagree with most of what I read but was surprised.

He should have got a professional to read it though in my view, I didn’t enjoy listening to him swallow, and had to slow it down to 0.8x to make it easier to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

informative, engaging, humane

Infortmative, engaging, humane. Great account of the muddle that is Britain and why muddle is what you will get in the future and why this is probably for the best.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful