My book will be published tomorrow! A short thread about it...

First of all, what the book isn't. "Underdogs" does not argue that white working-class Britons are exceptionally downtrodden or ill-treated:

I know that many politicians and commentators have argued, more or less explicitly, that white working-class Britons' problems can be blamed on liberalism, wokeness, metropolitan elites etc. My considered response to that account of modern Britain:

I do think white working-class Britons face large challenges, and are faring especially badly in certain ways, notably when it comes to education. Many of these challenges are the result of history and geography.

But in general I am quite optimistic. I have little time for the view that white working-class Britons are left behind, stuck in the past, unable to change, etc. People who make such arguments have, I think, not looked closely enough at Britain:

I also think too much attention has been paid to a certain sort of grumpy middle-aged or old man (yes, almost always a man). This man does not represent the entire white working class. And others have bigger problems than he does:

"Underdogs" finds examples of change and adaptation in many places, including a big council estate in Leicester, among mothers in Cumbria, and in Lincolnshire, where Lithuanian migrants and their children are creating a hybrid working-class culture.

I also see lots of change in the modified-car scene, which was once overwhelmingly white, working-class and male but isn't today. Do you want a close reading of Max Power, a defunct magazine for car modifiers? You are in luck:

My book has been reviewed or written about in various places, including the Telegraph, the Times, the Guardian and the Observer. It was the BBC's Book of the Week a few weeks ago: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand...