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Orderly Britain

Hardcover / ISBN-13: 9781472137968

Price: £18.99

ON SALE: 4th August 2022

Genre: Society & Social Sciences

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How do British pavements remain free of dog mess? Why are paths not littered with cigarette butts or roads not lined with abandoned cars? What does the decline of the public lavatory say about us and is the national reputation for queuing still deserved today?

Orderly Britain takes a topical look at modern society, examining how it is governed and how it organises itself. It considers the rules of daily life, where they come from and why they exist. It asks whether citizens are generally compliant and uncomplaining or rebellious and defiant. This quirky social history takes a close look at shifting customs and practices, people’s expectations of each other and how rule-makers seek to shape everyone’s lives – even when ignoring some of those rules themselves.

Taking the reader on a journey that covers a range of topics – dog mess, smoking, drinking, parking, queuing, toilets – Orderly Britain examines the rapidly changing patterns of everyday life, from post-war to present day, and concludes with an extended look at the unparalleled shifts in social routines that resulted from the global COVID-19 pandemic. Asking whether it is the proliferation of rules and regulations in the UK or something else that keeps people in line, authors Tim Newburn and Andrew Ward offer a unique insight into what creates orderly Britons.

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Reviews

Highly entertaining and extremely thought-provoking
Herald Magazine
A cheerful and easy read, balancing German sociologists with amusing stories, on a topic that tells us much more about how the world has changed than many more high-falutin' political tomes.
The TImes