Now What?: On a Mission to Fix Broken Britain

by Carol Vorderman

'I'm just an old bird with an iPhone who's been on the telly for over forty years. Sixty-three and post-menopause, I hate bullies and charlatans, and I don't give a flying fig for what those people say about me.'

Amidst a landscape of economic turmoil, eroding freedoms and deepening societal fractures, one thing is Britain is in a mess. Instead of serving the common good, our politicians seem fixated on personal gain, while certain segments of the media only seek to divide us further. But who is responsible for this descent into chaos? And how can we hold these people to account?

With her characteristic outspokenness and irrepressible sense of humour, Carol Vorderman here reveals the intricate web of influence responsible for our nation's unravelling. Part diary, part political manifesto, this is the story of how an old bird with an iPhone exposed the incompetence and lies of the Tory establishment, and inspired countless others to find their voice and stand up for what they believe in.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Politics

398 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 12, 2024

About the author

Carol Vorderman is one of Britain's best-loved TV personalities. Dubbed 'the Queen of Detox', her bestselling detox titles, including Detox for Life and Summer Detox, have sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, although by the way it is presented, slightly repetitive.

Useful summing up of the, especially, Tory governments and how the ethical standards of that party have dropped/crashed over the years, until we reached peak Boris/Truss.

I worked for the Coal Board and we had our in house repair workshops, but there was always people wanting to give work to private companies, naively I asked why. Our ones don’t give hospitality and Christmas gifts. E could usually plot where the reps had visited by the urgent requests for equipment.

Carol highlights the major scandals over the years. I worked on the “Deafness” section of the Coal Board for a year or so and the policy was to take as long as possible to process the claim hoping the claimant would die before it was completed. The NUM used to submit the claims and deal with them free or at a low cost, but this was moved to using solicitors, who usually got as much for processing the claim as the miners

My minor rant finished.

The 10 changes required is good, especially PR, e are becoming an outlier in the Democratic world with America, not a good companion.

My major gripe was, to my aging mind, was that it was too “Twitter/X” speak, too many “obvs”, but if it makes it more accessible then that’s 🆗.

[Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and very informative. This should be compulsory reading in schools etc.

Thank you for writing this book, Carol! 👌

[Colin Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carol Vorderman was for a.long time known for her TV roles most notably as the number crunching genius on the quiz show Countdown for many years.

In more recent years she has gained a reputation for an outspoken political commentator, largely critical of the former Tory government, something that has often ruffled the feathers of certain people.

In this book she presents a diary of her clashes and criticism of the previous government, often via her frequent political tweets. She reminds us just how much corruption there is in Parliment, the billions of pounds of dodgy deals done by the "political elete" are eye watering, as is the incompetence of successive PMs such a Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

The problem with the book however isn't the fault of the author. The book ends on an optimistic note after 14 years of Tory rule when Labour won the general election with a landslide.

However the optimistic outlook was misplaced as the Labour government had squandered the landslide result by abandoning socialist principles and giving us more of what the Tories gave us for 14 years. As a result Labours popularity has tanked and we face the very real possibility that at the next election we could have a far right government for the first time in our history. She says in the book that she hopes that Labour will be different, sadly they have proved that they aren't.

The book ends with a section giving her plan for change. Her personal manifesto for change and seeing politicians working for ordinary people rather than the rich and powerful. The suggestions she makes are really very good even if the chances of them being taken notice of are slim.

A good book, and it's good to see someone like Carol take on the corruption we've seen in recent years (and she's received a lot of flak for it). It's just sad to look back and see that despite a change of government things haven't really changed.

The edition I read was the hardback. Since that was published the paperback has now been released with an additional chapter looking at what has happened under Labour since the book was first published. I'd be interested to read that updated chapter when I get the chance. In interviews Carol has said that she'd give the current government a mark of 3 out of 10 but she'd give the previous government negative numbers. Hopefully the new chapter does tackle the numerous problems with the current Labour government. I hope to check it out at some point.

[amycw · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an American, I had never heard of Carol Vorderman before picking up this book, but it sounded interesting. The book is very well-written and fast-paced. The examples of government corruption are disheartening (much as they are in the U.S.), and her plan to fix Britain definitely had merit.

I didn't love the organization of the book, though. The diary-style entries felt like Vorderman was just rehashing headlines from the past two years with some commentary added (and this is the largest part of the book). I would have preferred specific topics with well thought out arguments instead of "This person did this, so I tweeted this."

While her anger at the Tories is justified in the situations she presents, she frames politicians as good and bad people based on their political affiliation, which comes across as naive (Tories are bad people, while Labour are good people). I am curious to see how Keir Starmer and the Labour Party do in making the changes that Vorderman wishes to see.

[Libby Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Carol Vorderman’s outspokenness against the inequality in the UK and the political corruption. This book is Carol’s rant about the political system and how she would fix this. She highlights how the political system functions in the UK and how biased it is with so many prime ministers coming from Eton school and how many politicians come from Oxford university. The reveal makes me sick at the Dickensian way the UK is run. Carol gives her key points to reform the UK with things like a Candor Committee to hold government and public sectors to account so that we never see another Hillsboro or Post Office cover up again. She also champions proportional representation and reform of the house of lords - if only I could believe that these things will get done - but here’s hoping…

[Cassandra Marie Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blind Tory voters should listen to this book and take opportunities to expand their knowledge on politics. Those who struggle with politics should listen and expand.

Really enjoyed this, Carol is an extremely intelligent woman who has a lot of facts and figures on the subject ready to get you into politics. I listened to this on audible which made it even better.

I will throw a disclaimer in that this is heavily opinionated and it leans heavily to the left and Labour. So be warned it is biased based on Carol's own political views.

This being said she is just trying to get the point over that you need to dig deeper into what is being done in this country and fact find before making your political opinions gospel.

[Matthew Mclane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic whistle-stop tour of the last eighteen months (and broadly the last fourteen years) of Tory sleaze, exposing the lies, simplifying the jargon, and holding the powerful to account.

This book was clearly meant to be published to coincide with an autumn election (hence the accompanying tour was cancelled) so it’s unfortunate that it had to be rewritten from the perspective of the UK having just got rid of the Tory government - which made the content pack slightly less of a punch - and it likely won’t stand up as well with future readers (being so based in 2023/2024) - but as a document of post-Covid politics and a clarion call for the future, it works brilliantly.

(Don’t believe the book’s review-bombed Amazon page!)

[Neil Fulwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

In which maths genius, TV presenter and self-described “old bird with an iPhone” Carol Vorderman gets her political activism funk on and goes to war against the Tory government for its corruption and incompetence, Jeremy Clarkson for his misogyny and general awfulness, Michelle Mone for profiteering from the COVID pandemic and basically being a lying piece of shit, and … well … pretty much anyone who deserves having their arse handed to them on a plate. Cracking stuff.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure whether to read yet another book about the depressing state of UK politics, but this was a revelation. Carol’s not scared to share her perspective, and what I found most interesting was her role in speaking out about corruption and wrong-doing, and the personal impact and repercussions when we’re supposed to have free speech. She’s values-led, a smart, feisty, passionate woman, and a true inspiration.

[Mrs Reddy Mallender-Katzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone Moaning About This Book Is Either Doing it To Stir Up Problems Or Expected It To Be More Complicated and Doesn't Realise That Its Not Aimed At THEM ...its Aimed At Beginners Like ME - its Aimed At The General Public To Encourage More Understanding & Interest In Voting & The Future If Britain !!
Awesome Read Thankyou Carol *

[Peter Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing person.
The Plan For Change doesn’t come across as especially ideological or idealistic, so lets “hope” that as much as possible of these come to fruition.
Unfortunately it seems that the hope that a Labour government would work to achieve these is looking disappointing unlikely- is the country really run by the media?

[Gareth Johnstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times this book made me so angry I swore aloud. Well done Carol for acting on the corruption that has poisoned British politics. A shame however that her holes in the Labour government are being destroyed, not by greed, but by their lack of courage, loss of principles, and abandonment of the working class.

[Shuggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book by CV, going in-depth in terms of how corrupt the Tories are and how they have ruined the country over the last 14 years. Wonderful to see her holding them to account and how she got under their skin. Alongside the changes she thinks are needed, which are agreeable.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read on Carol's social media mission of holding the Conservative government to account

[Jackie Utting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting read.

[Justin Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into our political climate and exposing just how far removed the average politician is while basking in their Westminster bubble.

[Ellen Hibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. So informative about the UK political system for somebody wanting to understand it more. CV is very brave, and also inspiring using her platform in this way 👌