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How Westminster Works...and Why It Doesn't
- Narrated by: Ian Dunt
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
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How Westminster Works...and Why It Doesn't
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Summary
Features and Audio exclusive interview with Dorian Lynskey
British politics is broken.
Anyone sitting down to watch the news will get the sense that something has gone terribly wrong. We have prime ministers who detonate the economy, secretaries of state who are intellectually incapable of doing the job and MPs who seem temperamentally unsuited to the role. Expertise is denigrated. Lies are rewarded. And deep-seated, long-lasting national problems go permanently unresolved. Most of us have a sense that the system doesn't work, but we struggle to articulate exactly why. Our political and financial system is cloaked in secrecy, archaic terminology, ancient custom and impenetrable technical jargon.
Lifting the lid on British politics, How Westminster Works...and Why It Doesn't exposes every aspect of the system in a way that can be understood and challenged, from the heights of Downing Street to the depths of the nation's newsrooms, from the hallways of the civil service to the green benches of the Commons.
Based on interviews with some of the leading voices in politics, from former occupants of No.10 to key figures in Whitehall, Westminster and Fleet Street, Ian Dunt provides exactly what people in power have always tried to avoid: a full description of the mechanisms of British government. And a vision of how we can fix it.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Critic reviews
"In clear, reasonable tones Ian Dunt lays out why we should all be bloody furious at how badly British politics serves us. Parliament, parties, the media, the civil service and the law are all shatteringly exposed as rusted vehicles of inactivity, where long-term thinking is a dirty idea. How Westminster Works is both an articulate wail of lament and a rousing call to arms" (ARMANDO IANNUCCI)
"With typical incision, wit and flair, Ian Dunt masterfully deconstructs and skewers our corrosive political culture. An indispensable analysis of how we got into this mess" (THE SECRET BARRISTER)
"A devastating diagnosis of how Britain's political engine has broken down. Everyone in Westminster should read it"(OLIVER BULLOUGH)
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What listeners say about How Westminster Works...and Why It Doesn't
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Chris Hammond
- 30-05-23
Eye-opening
Very clear, well-written and researched. This book has completely changed my perspective of UK politics!
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- Anonymous User
- 18-04-23
Brilliant
Interesting, educational, well written, well narrated and such a useful book. Brilliant book. Highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ízaro
- 25-04-23
Informative and well read
I enjoyed Ian’s book and his reading style. The subject matter is really brought to relevance and made clear and accessible by this book.
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- NICK DE SOUZA
- 24-07-23
Essential for A Level Politics teachers!
And everyone else interested in democracy. Dunt’s work is detailed yet accessible yet engaging, taking us through the various institutions of government. His critique of how Westminster works chimes very much with my own - absolute power corrupts absolutely. A really fascinating read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mike burton
- 21-12-23
Fascinating insight into our politics
Brilliant book - so interesting to understand how the political system actually functions, whilst also being absolutely terrifying!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Murray Leitch
- 11-06-23
Fantastic analysis, superbly structured. Politicians should listen.
This was a really enjoyable listen. The issues and ideas discussed here are both maddening and inspiring in equal measure. You can feel the way that if our governments incentives were modified the improvements that we could get to the way we are governed. Glad Ian read it himself.
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1 person found this helpful
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- D. Cottam
- 17-04-23
The Diagnosis of our malaise
If you think politics and our arcane system of government is boring this will change your mind. Ian Dunt is eloquent, insightful, fair minded , brilliant and savage. I think this book deserves to be the defining text on the reasons we have become a bewildered & declining state. Never a dull paragraph. This is well read by the author at a blistering pace with all his customary passion but surprisingly, without the usual expletives!
A revelation!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Glanville Bentley
- 16-04-23
A must read/listen
Enjoyed the exploration of our political system it's deficiencies and what appears to be accidental strengths.
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- Daisy Welham
- 25-05-23
Essential reading for every Brit
Our political system is fundamentally broken, and Dunt explains how and why this has happened, and gives viable solutions on how to fix it. I consider this essential reading for every Brit.
I would have liked some further commentary on the devolved administrations and on government-run organisations such as the NHS and DVLA, but I can see why these may have been out of the scope of this book.
Perhaps a second book of this kind is in order?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jane V
- 20-10-23
Eye opening and forensic exposition
This is an informative analysis of our government's working practices, and is quite shocking in places. If a business were run on these lines it would soon cease trading. The way government works (or doesn't!) should be part of our school syllabus - we really need to have an understanding of how we are governed, particularly how laws are promulgated, and thus be better informed when called upon to vote.
Ian Dunt's explanations are unbiased and set out in a way that holds the interest. I would have given the performance 5 stars if Ian had not descended into the irritating Americanism of pronouncing twenty as 'twenny' - as most of the book concentrates on the 2000s, this sloppy rendition became a distraction and let down what was otherwise an excellent delivery.
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