Faber signs Ramsay’s ‘piercing’ examination of the UK’s democratic crisis

Faber has signed a book by Scottish journalist and editor Adam Ramsay on the democratic crisis faced by the UK and its institutions.

Commissioning editor Mo Hafeez acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada rights and audio rights, to Abolish Westminster! from Caro Clarke at Portobello Literary. Publication is currently scheduled for spring 2026.  

"There is a crisis plaguing the UK, one that makes it the country with some of the lowest levels of trust in its institutions in the Western world," the synopsis says. "Adam Ramsay reveals to readers that this democratic deficit is not a recent phenomenon but rather one that is baked into the very foundations of the union itself. Examining how both the UK’s perception of itself and its institutions are no longer fit for purpose, Abolish Westminster! will offer a bold alternative to our failing governmental systems, injecting hope and optimism into a political landscape so often defined by fatalism."

Ramsay is special correspondent at openDemocracy, having been an editor of and leading contributor to the platform in various roles since 2013. He has covered the democratic crisis in Britain for over a decade, and his investigative work, which was shortlisted for a Press Gazette Media Award, has helped expose the role of dark money and lobby groups in shaping British politics. 

He commented: "Go to any street in the UK and ask people what they think about politics. Most will tell you that it is broken, that they ‘don’t trust any of them’ – that, in other words, our system doesn’t work, or works only for elites. Abolish Westminster! will make the radical argument that most people are right. The British state bends power back to the powerful. Too often, reactionaries manage to exploit distrust in that system, while progressives defend it. Those of us who believe in democracy must instead set out to build it."

Hafeez added: "The context of the UK’s political climate leads many of us to feel as though any attempt to understand it is a task bound to fail, and our discussions of the state of British politics and democracy are so often defined by cynicism. How refreshing, then, to read something so energetic and spurring in the face of this. Ramsay’s analysis of our ailing institutions is piercing, his defence of democracy potent and inspiring."