The Dumbing Down of Britain (LBC Leading Britain's Conversation) - Hardcover

If they could see us today, our forefathers would be spluttering into their pint glasses, wondering where it all went wrong. Happy to be spoon-fed on a diet of blandness, buzzwords and uniformity, in the last 20 years our society has become more insular, selfish and ignorant than ever before. Welcome to the new super-sized, dumbed-down Britain. Covering topics that will resonate across the UK, including: voter apathy; the growth of social media; the smoking ban; ignorance of the food we eat; the rise of the NIMBY; the inability to debate; the demise of the real man; obsession with celebrity; identikit high streets; the rise of management-speak and neglect of the elderly, in this enjoyable diatribe Barkes pulls no punches in putting modern Britain to rights. As you've probably worked out for yourself, it is a pretty grumpy book.

Duncan Barkes is a broadcaster, journalist and social commentator. He is also a former political media consultant. He has worked in talk radio for many years and also appears on various TV programmes and writes for the national press. Away from the microphone, he enjoys jazz and classic rock music, red wine, big cigars, biographies, pubs, cooking and being near the sea. He hates beetroot and lazy thinking.