Failed State: Why Britain Doesn't Work and How We Fix It

by Sam Freedman

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

Published April 3, 2025

Reviews

[Martin Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

very readable. I've not seem central government from the inside, but what he says certainly makes sense from my outside view, and from where I work. seems a very good book.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was well-written and easy to follow but it was a touch too broad compared to what I'd hoped for as it stuck to widely reported political stories for many of the topics. This was an account of the structural issues of politics in the UK, with a touch of personality, and some proposed solutions.

Freedman's argument was that the UK could be doing better and we are reaching a point of significant change, akin to Thatcher or the rolling out of the welfare state post-WWII, following a relative decline compared to other countries. He doesn't believe it is one single thing that needs to be rectified, but a combination of issues with the political system, which could broadly be summarised as centralisation and short-termism. He is also of the belief that changing personnel will make little difference, and is fairly sympathetic towards Blair's governing in the face of the structural issues.

The most interesting bit for me was the discussion on the inner workings of number 10, and how the PM's office is organised. This was not because it was incredibly exciting, but offered a perspective I haven't seen discussed too often and with a more distant analysis of how it succeeded or failed, missing from most political coverage. Other discussions were quite broad so that I didn't really get much of an impression of how ministers and civil servants interacted beyond the vaguest ideas - Rory Stewart's much longer book was better at this, for example. Freedman generally opted for brief, wide perspectives, but while it didn't get bogged down in minutiae I felt it could have done with a few more case studies as useful examples of his points.

He did give a few examples of bizarre issues that made it to ministers' office to highlight the extent of centralisation, and his argument was that this took up time that could be better spent making longer term decisions, but that decisions would also be better judged locally. It wasn't overtly idealogical in terms of local being best, but rather there is a time for central joined up decisions, and a time for local autonomy. It would nontheless have been good to list some of the triumphs of local mayors, beyond very vague statements and the increased national profile of some of them.

The other issue was short-termism in order to meet artificial constraints, such as accounting chicanery in order to present a balanced budget, by passing the cost on later down the line to obtain worse value for money. This also meant government was reliant on general large service providing companies like Capita, who in turn become so dominant that Government is afraid to let them fall into insolvency, and get generous contracts as a result. Short termism also meant that ambitious politicians prioritised self-promotion in a fickle media over the best outcomes for citizens, in order to get ahead and become a minister, where there is at least some power.

Freedman covered a lot, but mainly as a summary of other sources despite a lot of interviews that informed the book. Perhaps his original material was just similar to arguments others have made, but I had come across a lot of this through Guardian articles, Tim Shipman books and Isobel Hardman's book on politicians. It's why the number 10 machine stood out as different, and while the writing was relatively engaging and personal, for someone clued up on politics I suspect a lot is preaching to the choir.

I liked his attempts to judge different governments and provide more than just theory, but overall it still didn't feel like there was enough evidence or examples of his points, and many of them have been made elsewhere. If you wanted one generalist book on modern British politics it was reasonable, but there was not enough that was new to me and didn't match some of the dramatic style of the introduction, that the UK is to face a decisive choice over its future for the next few decades.

[William Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freedman points to successive centralisation, the politicisation of the civil service, the deprivation of local resources despite increasing service responsibilities, the demonic 'grid' 24-hour media cycle, and the stream of 'no talent people' (to quote Charles Walker) for the UK's modern failure. When not resting on rhetoric, there are times when Freedman points to interesting historical analysis of UK history (e.g., Civil Service Act of 1846) and points to some remedies, but such is lacklustre and milk toast. On the whole, an interesting but shallow overview of the current UK political scene.

[Andy Ritchie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much in the vein of Ian Dunt's excellent 'How Westminster Works (and Why It Doesn't)', Failed State seeks to explain why so many of our governmental institutions are so ineffectual...and he does a pretty good job of it!
Very much worth a read, although *spoiler* it won't lift your mood!!

[Daniel McGrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m now converted to clever clogs centrist tinkering. Well, almost.

[Joe Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good in depth and unbiased view. Doesn't offer many solutions but a good insight into why things are as they are today.