The Bodley Head pre-empts Bell's 'clear-eyed and rigorous diagnosis' of Britain today

The Bodley Head has scooped Torsten Bell’s book on the British economy and society, described as "both a clear-eyed and rigorous diagnosis of the problems facing our country".

In one of her first commissions for The Bodley Head, commissioning editor Alice Skinner pre-empted world all-language rights to Great Britain? How to Get Our Future Back from Robert Caskie at Robert Caskie Limited. The book will be published in hardback, e-book and audiobook formats in June 2024.

Bell is the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, a research charity working to raise the living standards of households on low to middle incomes. His focus is on the areas where "economics meets the real world", including jobs and affordable housing. Previously, he worked in HM Treasury, as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers and as director of policy for the Labour Party.

The book’s synopsis says: "Great Britain? is a much-needed antidote to the pervading sense that Britain is going backwards rather than forwards […] In this treasure trove of analysis, Bell argues that our era of crisis and cynicism needs neither utopia nor nostalgia, but a practical patriotism of radical incrementalism to raise the living standards of middle- and lower-income households. He expertly and passionately points us towards a Britain that we can actually build – and a future worth fighting for."

Bell commented: "All elections are choices, not all are major moments for the country. Next year will surely be one. After more than a decade of stagnation, the British people want a debate on how we’ve got here and whether Britain can really do any better. More than anything they want their future back. Reclaiming our future amid political cynicism requires not nostalgic or utopian vision, but the hard yards of understanding our country as it is today and how we use those raw materials to build a better Britain for tomorrow."

Skinner added: "This is exactly the sort of book I’m looking to publish, and I couldn’t be more delighted to be bringing one of the most influential voices on the British economy and one of our most profound thinkers about British society to Vintage."