MARK TURNER holds on tight for a mesmerising display of Neath-born ragtime virtuosity
Not in it together
PAUL DONOVAN appreciates a candid analysis of the the inequality of today’s UK
Demonstrators during a march from Trafalgar Square to Westminster in central London to raise awareness of the level of child poverty in the UK
ALAN MORRISON introduces a UK poet whose despised daytime occupation provides the subject for his writing
MARK TURNER wallows in the virtuosity of Swansea Jazz Festival openers, Simon Spillett and Pete Long
PAUL DONOVAN recommends three new books that explore the human relationship with nature
Doomed adolescents, when the missing person is you, classic whodunnit, and an anti-capitalist eco-thriller
WILL STONE takes a ticket to indie disco heaven, but misses the rarely performed tunes
Shattered Nation
Danny Dorling, Verso, £14.99
THIS excellent book from Danny Dorling provides a comprehensive picture of the way in which the UK has effectively shattered as a functioning country.
Education, health, welfare, transport and the utilities have all been destroyed by the neoliberal creed of the market knows best, making it “a society that knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.”
The central thesis of Shattered Nation is how Britain has become one of the most unequal countries in the world. In Europe, it is second only to Bulgaria when it comes to inequality. Not that it was always thus — Britain was one of the most equal countries back in the 1970s. Income disparities were at their lowest in 1974.
More from this author
PAUL DONOVAN recommends three new books that explore the human relationship with nature
PAUL DONOVAN recommends an excellent stage adaptation of Stephen King’s classic portrayal of the the injustice of the US prison system
Labour councillor PAUL DONOVAN wonders why the right-wing party gets so much more media attention than it seems to merit
PAUL DONOVAN relishes the spectacle of a 1950s detective in pursuit of a 500-year-old murder mystery
