Road to Somewhere

LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2018 SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH AND ECONOMIST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2017'A provocative take on the UK's new tribal divisions ... a book whose timing is pitch-perfect' Andrew MarrMany Remainers reported waking up the day after the Brexit vote feeling as if they were living in a foreign country. In fact, they were merely experiencing the same feeling that many British people have felt every day for years. Fifty years ago, people in leafy North London and people in working-class Northern towns could vote for a Labour party that broadly encompassed all of their interests. Today their priorities are poles apart. In this groundbreaking and timely book, Goodhart shows us how people have come to be divided into two camps: the 'Anywheres', who have 'achieved' identities, derived from their careers and education, and 'Somewheres', who get their identity from a sense of place and from the people around them, and who feel a sense of loss due to mass immigration and rapid social change. In a world increasingly divided by Brexit and Trump, Goodhart shows how Anywheres must come to understand and respect Somewhere values to stand a fighting chance against the rise of populism.

Goodhart offers an impeccably sensible and decent exposition of how the political elites have failed their societies ... The book makes compelling reading both for voters and those who want to get elected by them, [Goodhart] has written a book that is thoughtful, well argued and dangerously moderate. It may even be an incitement to independent thinking, [A] provocative take on the UK's new tribal divisions ... And it broadly works ... The Road to Somewhere has the feel of a book whose timing ... is pitch-perfect, Goodhart's exploration of this underlying divide -- and the question of what might be done -- is not only timely but also offers an accessible, evidence-based and direct account of how these conflicts are reshaping the political world around us, Goodhart has clarity of argument and courage. He has been making these points for a decade and urging the mainstream to engage with them. He does not do fads

David Goodhart is the founding editor of Prospect magazine and one of the most distinctive voices on British politics today. He is currently head of the Demography, Immigration and Integration Unit at the think tank Policy Exchange, and was previously director of the centre-left think tank Demos. His last book 'The British Dream: Successes and Failures of Post-War Immigration' (2013) was runner-up for the Orwell Prize in 2014 and was a finalist for Political Book of the Year in the Paddy Power Political Book Awards. David voted remain in the EU referendum and has been a mainly inactive member of the Labour Party since he was a student.