Before he entered Downing Street, David Cameron spent several years campaigning on the slogan “Broken Britain”. “The challenge for the modern Conservatives,” he said in 2008, “is reviving our society.”
Such language seems horribly ironic now. Britain had its problems in 2010 – not least the impact of the 2008 financial crash – but it had strong public services and a visibly improved public realm. In the same way, the Tory government that left office in 1997 may have presided over crumbling public services, but it could at least point to an economic boom. The government that looks set to lose office next month has failed on both counts. “Broken Britain”, it turns out, was a campaign promise.
