Listen free for 30 days
-
How Westminster Works...and Why It Doesn't
- Narrated by: Ian Dunt
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
How Westminster Works...and Why It Doesn't
Buy Now for £24.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
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)
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about How Westminster Works...and Why It Doesn't
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 02-06-23
Clear-eyed, yet hopeful
Clear-eyed, yet hopeful analysis of how our democracy can be and has been corrupted - but how we can fix it. Accesible to those without a degree in politics - recommended
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- MAH
- 20-06-23
required reading
good analysis of our current political system and why it's failing us all. ideas for change that is long overdue. we need a parliament fit for the twenty first century and not an old boys club of the past
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- D Lumb
- 19-06-23
A very unsettling analysis of our past and future.
This book provides answers to so many of the reasons why we are slowly failing as a nation and as a society. I am a long term believer of the principles of the first past the post system of electing representatives, this book has shown how deceived I and many others have been over many years.
It also explains the issues caused by the deceptions played out by our elected representatives. The truth is that we get the politicians we deserve and unless we wake up and demand more we will continue to be deceived.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- R. SCOTT
- 10-06-23
Superb analysis and storytelling
Ian Dunt is one of the UK’s leading and most insightful political journalists.
In this excellent book, Dunt dissects the UK’s political system into its component parts (MP selection process, committees, the House of Lords, the media etc) and lays bare the dysfunctions and possibilities for each one. He identifies only elements of our system as functional as fit for purpose - these may surprise you.
If you would like to know more about our political system, how it is repeatedly failing; and what we can do to fix it, then I strongly recommend this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-06-23
A brilliant book
This is a brilliant book… well articulated, clearly laid out, incisive and thorough. I can’t recommend it enough.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Catarina
- 03-06-23
Sensible
Challenges of democracy. Sensible overview. A close look at the institutions of political power in Britain today
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris Hammond
- 30-05-23
Eye-opening
Very clear, well-written and researched. This book has completely changed my perspective of UK politics!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- NW
- 28-09-23
Very insightful!
A great book. Definitely worth a listen.
Ian explains how politics actually works in the UK, in great depth and detail. He then highlights the flaws, and provided alternative solutions.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- M Singh
- 13-09-23
Deeply informative
Brilliantly removes the veil from the often arcane world of Westminster and politics in the UK
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Simon Flack
- 10-09-23
Engaging, depressing, but hopeful
UK politics in recent years has been thoroughly depressing and now I understand why - with a few small exceptions, Westminster is broken from the ground up.
A highly engaging listen of the structural failings of our political system.
While recounting the events of UK withdrawal from Afghanistan, Dunt lays bare some of the dysfunction that is rife in our elected leaders..
To be honest, some of this made me angry. Some of it is just sad. Thankfully there are some bright spots and Dunt does offer some solutions. We can change this situation - but will we? Will we reject culture wars and raise our voices to demand reforms? Perhaps, only if more people read “How Westminster Works… and Why It Doesn’t” by Ian Dunt.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 23-08-23
The Master of British Politics
Wow Ians insight is brilliant the trouble is we the majority keep voting in the dumbest so we need him to keep us from going over the edge which is very close.......keep it up....
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!