The NHS devastated without so much as a by-your-leave; Gen Y hung out to dry; legal aid cut for the vulnerable; social housing on the brink of collapse... Cameron has been busy. Margaret Thatcher sold off the nationalised industries, her political heirs are intent on leaving an even more radical legacy - selling off the state itself.

An incisive and damning journey around the country to see first-hand the effects of the coalition on Britain. Blending analysis and numbers with moving human stories from Sydenham and Sheffield, they Toynbee and Walker argue that the government is creating a harsher, meaner Britain.