Michael Burton is a longstanding commentator on British public policy and the author of two previous Palgrave Macmillan books on politics, The Politics of Public Sector Reform from Thatcher to the Coalition (2013) and The Politics of Austerity: A Recent History (2016). He is a former editor of the weekly business title The MJ (Municipal Journal) and currently editorial director of its publishers, the Hemming Group.

Offers a timely and accessible reflection on UK politics from 2010-2019

Examines the role of globalism, social media, income inequalities, and immigration in shaping the decade's politics

Focuses on the impact of austerity on economic and political problems, social divisions and tensions

Part I: The undercurrents.- Chapter 1 From boom to bust.- Chapter 2 'What has the EU ever done for us?'.- Chapter 3 The immigration debate.- Chapter 4 Globalism and 'the left behind'. Chapter 5 The great faultline: Europe and the Conservatives.- Part II: The catalysts.- Chapter 6: Austerity.- Chapter 7 Cameron opts for a referendum.- Chapter 8 Pulling up the drawbridge.- Chapter 9 The disrupters.- Chapter 10 The recovery that wasn't.- Chapter 11 Labour turns to populism.- Chapter 12 Dress rehearsal for the referendum.- Part III: The brave new world.- Chapter 13 Road map to the referendum.- Chapter 14 The referendum.- Chapter 15 The merry months of May.- Chapter 16: The gamble that failed.- Chapter 17 Brexit unravels.- Chapter 18 Boris and the Brexiteers.- Chapter 19 Aftermath.