Shorts

The first hand stories in this book, collected through The Children's Society's campaign The Debt Trap, offer a unique understanding of life for families and children fighting a daily battle against poverty and debt.

Written by an expert in political science and straddling finance, economics and political science, this entry-level summary demystifies global finance and puts the financial crisis in its historical context. It also outlines the policy responses of Western governments to the crash and the ensuing recession and turn to austerity.

Reclaiming Social Democracy is the first major reappraisal of social democracy on the centre-left since the election of Jeremy Corbyn. With a foreword by Lord Hain, it examines its foundational principles and identifies the values needed to find a route back to political credibility for Labour.

Takes a long term view on the range of institutional and operational options available to the UK, EU and other international institutions seeking to influence Brexit negotiations and outcomes.

A Sharing Economy proposes radical new ways to close the UK’s growing income gap and spread social opportunities. A new social wealth fund would boost economic and social investment and simultaneously strengthen the public finances and offer a powerful antidote to austerity.

Custody visitors are volunteers who make unannounced visits to police custody blocks to check on the welfare of detainees. However, there is a fundamental power imbalance between the police and these visitors. This timely book offers detailed proposals for radically reforming custody visiting to make it an effective regulator of police behaviour.

Throughout history there has always been an ‘other’, often based on culture, race, gender or class, that has been demonised by the majority. Whitehead challenges the idea that this is an inevitable fact of life. This important book offers a resolution that benefits society as a whole rather than just the powerful few.

Providing a comprehensive account of prison populations worldwide, this new work links prison statistics from the last 15 years with considerations of how prisons and prison populations are managed. It is a major contribution to the knowledge of those currently debating prisons and the use of imprisonment.

Ainley explains how English education is now driven by the economy and politics, having failed to deliver upward social mobility and a brighter future. Concludes with suggestions for positive change.

This controversial book argues that concepts such as ‘successful’ and ‘active’ ageing are potentially dangerous paradigms that reflect and exacerbate inequalities in older populations. Essential reading for anyone seeking to make sense of social constructions of ageing in contemporary societies.

This provocative short book is a valuable introduction to social security in Britain and the potential for its reform.

Bringing 25 years of research and teaching in the sociology of death and dying to this important book, Tony Walter engages critically with key questions around this universal fact.