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‘The kind of brilliantly written polemic that Toynbee’s many fans have come to know and love…a terrific book’ Stephen Bush, Financial Times

Labour have won their most decisive victory in decades.
But what damage has been done to the country and how do Labour fix it?

Political change has arrived. But the new Westminster government’s inheritance looks grim. We’re all in it together, the Tories used to claim, but they left behind sharper social divisions and vastly greater inequality with widening gaps in class, wealth and income. Collapsing public services at home, coupled with threats from a scorching earth and war in Europe, have left our country with gaping unfulfilled commitments.

The Only Way is Up gives us a ready reckoner on how to repair the damage and set the UK on the path to sustainable growth. Combining the latest data with expert analysis across health, children’s services, the economy, environment, policing and defence, Polly Toynbee and David Walker tell the story of what went wrong during the Tories’ wild ride and what must now be remedied.

Publisher Review

From dentistry to sweatshops, from the gig economy to childcare, the darker corners of the criminal justice system to the lives of the richest, this is an essential and impassioned account of where Britain had arrived by the election. Keir Starmer says he will have “a mountain to climb”; this is a minutely researched guide to just how jagged and unforgiving the path will be — Andrew Marr A stirring analysis of the dubious causes and harsh consequences of austerity Britain revisited — David Kynaston on CAMERON’S COUP Toynbee and Walker at their forensic, polemical best — Will Hutton on CAMERON’S COUP