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Darren McGarvey

The Social Distance Between Us: How Remote Politics Wrecked Britain Hardcover – 16 Jun. 2022

by Darren McGarvey (Author)

51 ratings

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*A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK*

'An Orwell for today's poor' - The Times
'This is McGarvey at his best' - Observer
'Breaks your heart and boils your blood' - Big Issue

If all the best people are in all the top jobs, then why is Britain such a fucking bin fire?

Britain is in a long-distance relationship with reality. A ravine cuts through it, partitioning the powerful from the powerless, the vocal from the voiceless, the fortunate from those too often forgotten. This distance dictates how we identify and relate to society's biggest issues - from homelessness and poverty to policing and overrun prisons - ultimately determining how, and whether, we strive to resolve them. So why, for generations, has a select group of people with very limited experience of social inequality been charged with discussing and debating it?

I've sat on cold pavements with beggars, asking them why they would rather wander the streets than live in supported accommodation. I've pleaded with alcoholics to give sobriety one last shot before they end up dead - and read their obituaries in the paper weeks later. I've sat with youth workers at their wits' end as diversionary services are cut amid a surge in gang and knife violence. Too many people remain so far from this nightmarish social reality that even when they would earnestly wish to bring about change, they don't know where to start. So start here.

Praise for Darren McGarvey:

'The standout, authentic voice of a generation' Herald

'Utterly compelling' Ian Rankin, New Statesman

'Brilliant' Russell Brand

'An absolutely fascinating individual' Owen Jones

'Offer[s] an antidote to populist anger that transcends left and right... articulate and emotional' Financial Times

'McGarvey is a rarity: a working-class writer who has fought to make the middle-class world hear what he has to say' Nick Cohen, Guardian

Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Ebury Press
Publication date

16 Jun. 2022
Dimensions

13.79 x 22.2 cm
ISBN-10

1529104084
ISBN-13

978-1529104080
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Product description

Review

Breaks your heart and boils your blood ― The Big Issue

This is McGarvey at his best, asking discomfiting questions of many-most?-of his readers and also pointing out that class inequality is endlessly reproduced by people who either do well out of it or are too institutionalised to see what is in front of them. The quality of McGarvey's reporting and storytelling is first-rate... he makes no end of astute points ― John Harris, Observer (Book of the Week)

An Orwell for today's poor... By the end readers will be left in no doubt about the fact that our society is still riven by class inequality ― The Times

Vital and indispensable. Documents how we succeeded in creating a 21st century ruling class who - in their complacency, their lack of engagement, their blinkered ideology and dead-hand managerialism - are themselves, now, the principal source of the social problems they so confidently locate elsewhere, and which they therefore cannot even begin to solve ― Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman

An essential read for every politician, civil servant, councillor, charity worker, police officer and teacher. [An] angry, but controlled, expose of the wide gap between Britain's decision-makers and those most affected by their thoughtless, stupid or selfish actions. ― Susan Dalgety, The Scotsman

About the Author

Darren McGarvey grew up in Pollok, Glasgow. He is a writer, hip-hop artist, broadcaster and campaigner. His bestselling and acclaimed first book Poverty Safari was awarded the Orwell Prize for political writing in 2018.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ebury Press (16 Jun. 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1529104084
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529104080
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.79 x 22.2 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 10,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 316 in Philosophy (Books)
- 495 in Government & Politics
- 1,589 in Social Sciences (Books)

Customer reviews:
51 ratings

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Darren McGarvey

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DARREN McGARVEY aka LOKI grew up in Pollok. He is a writer, performer, community activist and columnist, and former rapper-in-residence at Police Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit. He was part of the Poverty Truth Commission that was hosted in Glasgow in 2009 and has presented eight programmes for BBC Scotland exploring the root causes of anti-social behaviour and social deprivation.

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4 star		18%
3 star		11%
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1 star		5%

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Frances

Walking in one another's shoes

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 July 2022

Verified Purchase

Darren McGarvey looks at the many reasons why those who make decisions that affect disadvantaged people don't understand their lives and their difficulties. Borrowing from the language of covid, he refers to this as the social distance that exists between us. Because of lockdown restrictions, most of his research took place in Scotland, but everything can be applied equally to post-industrial and other deprived communities in the rest of the UK.

He describes how inequalities in education, housing, jobs - in fact just about everything - make it extremely difficult for those born into poverty to escape. Because the majority of people in local and national government, the criminal justice system, social services, and all the others who make decisions about the lives of poor people haven't experienced the same problems, their "solutions" often only make things worse. He also examines different political positions - literally left, right and centre - and how they have all failed the poorest and most vulnerable. He is fair in his assessment of how some actions have been well meaning but have not achieved their aims, while others may have been based on inflexible and outdated beliefs.

At the end of the book, he makes a number of quite radical recommendations as to how we could close the distance between us. I learnt a lot from many of the stories that he told throughout the book,
and agreed with much of what he said. However there are many questions that I would love to ask him, and things about which I'm sure we would disagree. I'd certainly recommend this book to anyone who truly wants a deeper understanding of how we got to the situation we're in now, and who wishes that we could make society in the UK more equal.

One person found this helpful

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Lunababymoonchild

What happened to the man who wrote Poverty Safari?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 August 2022

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I read nearly all of this before I gave up on it. Some 50 or so pages from the end I just could not go on. It felt too much like Darren whining and complaining a lot. I am middle class and don't feel privileged at all. Near the end of the book Darren asks - amongst other things - Have you ever signed on? Yes, Darren I have signed on (more than once) and being middle class did not do me (nor did I expect to get) any favours at all, I was subjected to the same abuses everyone else who signed on were. Although I do have to say I was not sexually abused, just to be clear. I've often entertained the thought of carrying a concealed camera into that particular Job Centre and broadcast that to the nation in a Panorama style documentary, not that it would make any difference, so I never did. I loved Poverty Safari, learned a lot and agreed with what was said. I've seen Darren McGarvey's other documentaries and learned a lot, this particular book just didn't sit right with me, for some reason.

2 people found this helpful

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Deano Mac

Extremely thought provoking

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 July 2022

Verified Purchase

Darren ‘Loki’ McGarvey is a legend. I love his opinion’s in this book that I’ve read so far, and from having him as a Facebook friend I see his opinions on different subjects daily so I really am enjoying this book.

Been a fan of his because of his music as he’s a bit of a legend in Scottish rap so to see all of his appearances on television and his books is really great! Go on Loki ma man!

One person found this helpful

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Ian Shearer

Eloquent, shocking, thought provoking

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 August 2022

Verified Purchase

A clear explanation of what is happening to the UK

Helpful

A book n brew 2

Insightful, detailed, well researched and thought provoking

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 June 2022

I’m going to start with the last chapter of the book, because in this chapter the author offers his suggestions and thoughts on what he would do if he was ever in charge of the country in order to turn around the fortunes of the working class. Ideas that would put society on a more equal footing. There are some excellent thoughts in that last chapter, they wouldn’t be unaffordable, much of it would be an investment in people – all people, giving everyone an equal chance of making it in life. He painted a wonderful picture of what life could be like for everyone, it’s a pity we can’t have someone with this kind of vision as Prime Minister, he would definitely get my vote.

Sadly, in my lifetime (or what is left of it) that is never going to happen. Career politicians, opportunists, the rich and the already powerful are never going to give up without a fight and right now, they make the rules to suit themselves as we see in parliament on an all too regular basis.

It has taken a lot of reading hours to get through this book, but it is never dry, always compelling. It’s nice to know I haven’t been alone in my thinking for all these years. Much of what is discussed in the book I already knew, or suspected, and definitely agreed with just about everything that’s said. However, to see it all written down in all it’s glaring unfairness can at times make for difficult reading. The man with severe Tourette’s at the hands of the DWP was truly shocking.

Everyone needs to read this book. I found it a complex book to read, there were many sentences and paragraphs I had to re-read to make things sink in, but the huge disparity in quality of life between those at the top who control the economy, who make the laws and are responsible for providing what few public services we have left and those on the receiving end of it is a complex matter, worthy of long and indepth explanation. Once you’ve read it, you will be in no doubt of the social distance between us.

9 people found this helpful

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jean

Well written and hard hitting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 June 2022

A well written and hard hitting book outlining the distance between those with power in the country and those with none. The latter often, for various reasons, become reliant on the State for an income and are then judged in a negative way. For anyone vaguely interested in the way the UK works none of this will be surprising but the author's use of statistics and interviews helps to ram home the facts and his solutions are food for thought.
It's a very long and quite dense book, but I did hear parts of it read by the author as book of the week on radio 4 which I really enjoyed and felt was easier to engage with. Hopefully his messages will reach a wider audience through this medium.
Thank you to netgalley and Ebury publishing for an advance copy of this book

6 people found this helpful

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