Shadow State: Inside the Secret Companies that Run Britain

by Alan White

Every year the British government spends £80 billion outsourcing public services. Today, private companies are responsible for fulfilling some of the most sensitive and important roles of the state – running prisons and providing healthcare, transport, legal aid, even child protection. These organizations have been handed enormous amounts of power and yet for the most part they operate with no transparency or accountability.

From deportations to NHS cutbacks, Alan White exposes what goes wrong when the invisible hand of the market is introduced into public services. Informed by exclusive interviews with senior managers, campaigners and whistle-blowers, Shadow State is the first book to examine the controversial phenomenon of government outsourcing. Not only does White provide the full story behind scandals involving G4S, Serco and ATOS, but he also reveals previously unknown cases of system failure in areas such as social care, welfare and justice. The picture that develops is deeply troubling.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Journalism

320 pages, Paperback

Published July 12, 2016

Reviews

[Steve Gillway · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know how you see an odd story about G4s or Serco in the paper/ online, well this book joins up the dots between those stories and explains what has been going on in key areas over the last 10 years or so. The writer does not attack outsourcing on an ideological basis he just points out the issues with accountability and transparency and questions the "value for money" of private contracting. It is an uncomfortable, but necessary read.

[John Levon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free market competition was supposed to deliver public services cheaper and better than the bloated, inefficient public sector. As the myriad examples in this book make obvious, it hasn't worked out like that. Both shocking and unsurprising.

[Jonny Brick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cogently argued and with plenty of case studies of fiascos (Olympics, disability rights, court interpreters) and the importance of accountability and transparency when private companies are given state contracts. They should not be too big to fail.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worrying picture of the power of private companies in the UK. To be honest, I didn't read every word, as (a) some of it had already been well-publicised; and (b) it was, almost by definition, somewhat repetitive. But the important thing for me is to know where I can find the details, and there is a good index. Worrying as it was, however, it didn't, for me, go sufficiently deeply into the philosophy and ideology behind it all, and the extent of regulatory capture in the UK.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

hahahah we're all going to die to boost profit margins aren't we