Great Britain?
Great Britain?
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Great Britain? by Torsten Bell
*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER* An essential blueprint for a better future, from the leading economist & Labour rising star ‘Stellar: brilliant, incredibly pragmatic’ Rory Stewart ‘Refreshingly optimistic’ The Times ‘No one has done more to re-inject sanity into our national policy’ Emily Maitlis There are few who are better placed to investigate Britain’s plight than Torsten Bell, Labour MP for Swansea West and former Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation. In Great Britain? he offers both a clear-eyed diagnosis of the problems facing our country – a uniquely toxic combination of huge inequality and stagnant economic growth – and a bold vision for the alternative. This is a book bursting with ideas and infectious hope. In his treasure trove of enlightening and original analysis, Torsten Bell argues that our era of chaos and cynicism needs neither utopianism nor nostalgia, but a practical patriotism to raise living standards and create a more equal country. He passionately points us towards a Britain that we can actually build – a future worth fighting for. ‘A roadmap to the new normal’ Observer 'Pretty cool … the think tank work I raved about on The Rest Is Politics has morphed into a book' Alastair Campbell ‘A dose of Torstenomics is the only thing that can give us hope’ Amol Rajan ‘Spiced with wit, masterful, fact-packed’ Polly Toynbee
A roadmap to the new normal … surprisingly hopeful … required reading for the new intake … this is an incisive, upbeat vision of how a Labour government could turn things around even in difficult times -- Gaby Hinsliff * Observer *
An economic blueprint for a Starmer administration * New Statesman *
An incisive, challenging and brilliantly researched agenda to deliver what Britain needs: inclusive and sustainable growth -- Gordon Brown
Bell is an excellent writer with a talent for putting things so clearly and crisply that they lodge easily in the brain ... Although Bell is pretty bleak about Britain’s condition, he is refreshingly optimistic about our chances of catching up with our peers -- Emma Duncan * The Times *
No one has done more to re-inject sanity into our national policy debates – Torsten Bell writes with optimism and clarity about the things we are getting right, as well as the stuff we should be desperate to improve. Authoritative, forensic and humane – a critical voice for our troubled times. -- Emily Maitlis
This is stellar: brilliant, incredibly pragmatic and serious about the country we are. It presents a wonderful opportunity for an incoming government. -- Rory Stewart
Spiced with wit, this is a masterful, fact-packed indictment of modern Britain after its decade of decline. But there is also hope and optimism in its practical prescription for a great social and economic restoration. -- Polly Toynbee
Torsten Bell has produced a brilliant analysis of the politics of pessimism in which the UK is currently mired and shows us how we can begin to arrest, then reverse, our dispiriting torpor. He is also that rare thing – an economist who can write for non-experts. The country must cherish him – and ask for more. -- Peter Hennessy
A dose of Torstenomics is the only thing that can give us hope -- Amol Rajan
A forensic, sometimes merciless, critique of what lies behind Britain’s headlong economic decline – and hopeful, feasible proposals for turning it around. One of the most impressive and readable books in a growing body of work that together is arguing for a radical change of direction. We can’t go on like this. -- Will Hutton, author of * This Time No Mistakes: How to Remake Britain *
Finally – an exciting, positive agenda to restore growth, reduce inequality and rebuild the social contract in Britain. -- Minouche Shafik
Torsten Bell is an extraordinarily accomplished economist and thinker who not only speaks lucidly about what ails the British economy, but also offers upbeat, relentlessly sensible ideas for making things better. -- Stephanie Flanders * Head of Economics and Government, Bloomberg *
This is a sobering but optimistic book. It paints a brutally honest portrait of Britain’s decline, but wisely shows us how to take action and get our future back. -- Professor Dame Diane Coyle * University of Cambridge *
How and why did the British economy become both stagnant and unequal? What must be done to transform its current plight for the better? This book gives thoughtful and provocative answers to both questions. Anybody interested in securing a better future for the country should read it. -- Martin Wolf * Chief Economist, Financial Times *
Compelling, engaging and meticulously researched. Excellent stuff. -- Tatton Spiller * Simple Politics *
Bell[’s]… a creative thinker whose ideas are often ahead of his time and focus on those others overlook: low and middle-income earners, not the wealthier middle classes, and renters, not homeowners … required reading for the new intake … its real achievement is in creating what he calls some “hardheaded believable hope” of better days ahead … There are original ideas here for everything from helping the low-paid build up emergency savings to making shiftwork less precarious, and perhaps most radically, for shifting the burden of tax from income to wealth. -- Gaby Hinsliff * Observer *
An economic blueprint for a Starmer administration * New Statesman *
An incisive, challenging and brilliantly researched agenda to deliver what Britain needs: inclusive and sustainable growth -- Gordon Brown
Bell is an excellent writer with a talent for putting things so clearly and crisply that they lodge easily in the brain ... Although Bell is pretty bleak about Britain’s condition, he is refreshingly optimistic about our chances of catching up with our peers -- Emma Duncan * The Times *
No one has done more to re-inject sanity into our national policy debates – Torsten Bell writes with optimism and clarity about the things we are getting right, as well as the stuff we should be desperate to improve. Authoritative, forensic and humane – a critical voice for our troubled times. -- Emily Maitlis
This is stellar: brilliant, incredibly pragmatic and serious about the country we are. It presents a wonderful opportunity for an incoming government. -- Rory Stewart
Spiced with wit, this is a masterful, fact-packed indictment of modern Britain after its decade of decline. But there is also hope and optimism in its practical prescription for a great social and economic restoration. -- Polly Toynbee
Torsten Bell has produced a brilliant analysis of the politics of pessimism in which the UK is currently mired and shows us how we can begin to arrest, then reverse, our dispiriting torpor. He is also that rare thing – an economist who can write for non-experts. The country must cherish him – and ask for more. -- Peter Hennessy
A dose of Torstenomics is the only thing that can give us hope -- Amol Rajan
A forensic, sometimes merciless, critique of what lies behind Britain’s headlong economic decline – and hopeful, feasible proposals for turning it around. One of the most impressive and readable books in a growing body of work that together is arguing for a radical change of direction. We can’t go on like this. -- Will Hutton, author of * This Time No Mistakes: How to Remake Britain *
Finally – an exciting, positive agenda to restore growth, reduce inequality and rebuild the social contract in Britain. -- Minouche Shafik
Torsten Bell is an extraordinarily accomplished economist and thinker who not only speaks lucidly about what ails the British economy, but also offers upbeat, relentlessly sensible ideas for making things better. -- Stephanie Flanders * Head of Economics and Government, Bloomberg *
This is a sobering but optimistic book. It paints a brutally honest portrait of Britain’s decline, but wisely shows us how to take action and get our future back. -- Professor Dame Diane Coyle * University of Cambridge *
How and why did the British economy become both stagnant and unequal? What must be done to transform its current plight for the better? This book gives thoughtful and provocative answers to both questions. Anybody interested in securing a better future for the country should read it. -- Martin Wolf * Chief Economist, Financial Times *
Compelling, engaging and meticulously researched. Excellent stuff. -- Tatton Spiller * Simple Politics *
Bell[’s]… a creative thinker whose ideas are often ahead of his time and focus on those others overlook: low and middle-income earners, not the wealthier middle classes, and renters, not homeowners … required reading for the new intake … its real achievement is in creating what he calls some “hardheaded believable hope” of better days ahead … There are original ideas here for everything from helping the low-paid build up emergency savings to making shiftwork less precarious, and perhaps most radically, for shifting the burden of tax from income to wealth. -- Gaby Hinsliff * Observer *
Torsten Bell is the Labour candidate for Swansea West, and the former Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, an enormously respected and influential economic research charity working to raise the living standards of households on low to middle incomes. His focus is on where economics meets the real world – on better jobs, affordable housing and a more equal country. The Resolution Foundation heavily influenced two of the biggest government interventions in recent times: the Coronavirus Job Retention ‘Furlough’ Scheme and the Energy Price Guarantee.
Prior to leading the Resolution Foundation, Torsten worked in HM Treasury, as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers during the financial crisis, and as Director of Policy for the Labour Party. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, school governor, trustee of the Child Poverty Action Group and an Honorary Professor at UCL. He has a weekly column in The Observer, and writes regularly for The Guardian and Financial Times.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781847928146 |
| ISBN 10 | 1847928145 |
| Title | Great Britain? |
| Author | Torsten Bell |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2024-06-13 |
| Number of pages | 304 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |