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How They Broke Britain

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How They Broke Britain

By: James O'Brien
Narrated by: James O'Brien
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

‘Made me so angry I had to stop listening to it while driving. Superb’ THE SECRET BARRISTER

Something has gone really wrong in Britain.

Our economy has tanked, our freedoms are shrinking, and social divisions are growing. Our politicians seem most interested in their own careers, and much of the media only make things worse. We are living in a country almost unrecognisable from the one that existed a decade ago. But whose fault is it really? Who broke Britain and how did they do it?

Bold and incisive as ever, James O'Brien reveals the shady network of influence that has created a broken Britain of strikes, shortages and scandals. He maps the web connecting dark think tanks to Downing Street, the journalists complicit in selling it to the public and the media bosses pushing their own agendas. Over ten chapters, each focusing on a particular person complicit in the downfall, James O'Brien reveals how a select few have conspired - sometimes by incompetence, sometimes by design - to bring Britain to its knees.

©2023 James O'Brien (P)2023 Penguin Audio

 Corruption & Misconduct Elections & Political Process Europe Politics & Government World Thought-Provoking Funny

Critic reviews

How They Broke Britain made me so angry I had to stop listening to it while driving. Superb work (The Secret Barrister)
A damning account of how the country ended up in the current mess . . . O’Brien’s scathing voice provides a thorough record of the self-serving actions and pronouncements of those who have held power in Britain (Tim Jonze)
The most important political book of the year and a fascinating must-read for anyone who cares about Britain. Eye-opening, jaw-dropping, heart-breaking (Carol Vorderman)
O'Brien is a punchy and compelling writer. The book is fluent, engaging and thoroughly researched . . . O'Brien eviscerates all of his targets
A compelling, thought-provoking and illuminating read. O’Brien doesn’t hold any punches . . . It is a book that will make you gasp in shock, shake your head in bewilderment and wonder how any of this was allowed to take place in 21st-century Britain
[A] brilliant exposé of those who deliberately turned a once admired country into an economically poorer, lamentable parody of its former self: the Brexiteer neoliberal right, their Tory MPs, journalists and think tanks who inflicted such massive self-harm (Peter Hain)
O'Brien's new book confirms that not only are our politicians and their backers as corrupt and incompetent as you suspected they were, it's actually worse than that. And it's packed full of facts about Brexit, Think Tanks and Tory sleaze that will help you win argument after argument with your irritating relatives (Stewart Lee)
Excoriating (Jon Sopel)
It’s essential. It should make you angry. Fuming
Intelligent, forensic, devastating and shocking – How They broke Britain is as terrifying as it is brilliant (Peter Stefanovic)
All stars
Most relevant
I didn’t learn a lot of important new stuff but the book is greater than the sum of its parts. The compelling narrative and the background details paint an unflinching picture of the degradation and manipulation of our politics. I fear the damage inflicted by Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak and their enablers are life changing injuries. We must strengthen our laws and institutions against a possible return of these Dark Ages. It will also be necessary to hold some malefactors to account as an example to others.

Pulling it all together

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This is Mr O’Brien’s best book by far. Each chapter takes a different person of interest and details each of the litany of crimes they have committed against the UK. It makes you very angry, but for once directed at the right people.

James’ Best Work

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If you’ve ever listened to one of O’Brien’s 20 minute ranty monologues and thought to yourself “this is ok but what would be really good is if it was 30 times longer” this is the book for you.

On brand

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James very accurately pins down and summarizes the corruption and contempt the right wing media and political class holds for the uk. We have been conned and lied to and it will take more than a generation to undo the damage

Very accurate but depressing description of the corrupt power webs

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If you’re a fan of O’Brien’s radio show, not sure many people who aren’t will listen to this, a lot of what he covers here has been well documented by him over the years.

However, this doesn’t detract from his impassioned take down of the charlatans that have damaged Britain over the last decade. It’s also convenient to have all of their misdeeds documented in one place.

Charlatans Slammed

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