For me so called immigration anxieties are projections and pretexts that would take some other form if it were not for immigration. As the author put it in plain speak 'a political red herring '. Having now had over 20 years of direct Scottish control over virtually every issue that the author raises, his silence on any aspect of Scottish administration speaks more loudly than any of the other words in the book. At the end of the book, he makes a number of quite radical recommendations as to how we could close the distance between us. I learnt a lot from many of the stories that he told throughout the book, You can buy The Social Distance Between Us from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.

My main issue is this. As an immigrant myself and from own experience Britain's concept of poverty seems to be through the a capitalist lense, excessive materialism and consumerism.This was an angrily written book in the best way possible. Many books about social inequality and poverty appear to have a sort of detached viewpoint and write it as a matter of fact - Darren McGarvey is seething and bitter in his exposure of the systemic issues of a multitude of facets like health, housing, and class. All this autobiography is trotted out because I (rather like George Orwell, I suppose) grew up with middle-class attitudes and had to shed them one by one. I had that choice. I have had "the poor" (alcoholic, hopeless, queer) in my house, and I have seen how humiliated they are - and how frightened of every agency of the state. Northern Ireland had a Dole and Remittance Economy (with almost 25% unemployment weighted against Catholics), and I bore no stigma for being designated Unemployable - probably because I was "well-spoken"! found there were four times more prescriptions for strong opioids dispensed to people in the most deprived areas, than those in the most affluent areas."

This distance multiplies over time, as those who pass laws and oversee programmes to support the most vulnerable often live the kinds of lives that rarely interact with those who they are aiming to support. I've sat on cold pavements with beggars, asking them why they would rather wander the streets than live in supported accommodation. I've pleaded with alcoholics to give sobriety one last shot before they end up dead - and read their obituaries in the paper weeks later. I've sat with youth workers at their wits' end as diversionary services are cut amid a surge in gang and knife violence. Too many people remain so far from this nightmarish social reality that even when they would earnestly wish to bring about change, they don't know where to start. So start here. The book covers topics such as unequal health outcomes, addiction, aspiration, class and much more, using this lens to show how inured many people's lives are from seeing the reality around them. Although I don't agree with everything Darren McGarvey says in "The Social Distance Between Us", I do think he is spot on locating where the major problems in Britain reside. Early in the book, he introduces the concept of "Proximity", which he uses to refer to the distance (politically, geographically, economically, etc) between those with the power in society and those who are either powerless or have little power. And yet. As with Poverty Safari, the book that won him one of 2018’s Orwell prizes, the quality of McGarvey’s reporting and storytelling is first-rate. And with the direct encounters and personal experiences underpinning his arguments, he makes no end of astute points. A big problem with 21st-century attitudes to childhood, he says, is that “belts have just been replaced with time-outs, naughty steps and shame culture”. There is a wealth of material about the “over-policing” of deprived people and places and its overlooked consequences for the ways that lots of people – young men, mostly – understand power and their relation to it. McGarvey also asks potent questions about the links between our school systems and a low-end labour market millions of us are only too happy to take advantage of, with barely a thought for the iniquities it perpetuates: “If young people from poorer communities didn’t drop out of school early or fail to achieve high enough grades to go straight to university,” he asks, “then who would do those low-paid, precarious jobs? Who would be there to answer your call about your car insurance at 11pm? Who would be working the drive-throughs when late-night hunger strikes?”

But I was able to be downwardly mobile precisely because of my education. Although I hated school, I loved learning, and was good at English, French, Biology and German. This meant that I could sustain myself morally and intellectually. Darren ‘Loki’ McGarvey is a legend. I love his opinion’s in this book that I’ve read so far, and from having him as a Facebook friend I see his opinions on different subjects daily so I really am enjoying this book.

It all boils down to education. I moved to France because of Brexit, being ineluctably middle-class, and the blessed Irish Nationality which, being a middle-class protestant, I had to claim. (When Thatcher sold off council houses I tore up my imperialist British passport.) I was ashamed to be British and to be white, as well as ashamed of my class. France has a terrible education system based on rote - but not based on class. Class is a much more simple and honest thing in France : it's the small élite versus the rest, just as it was before the Revolution. Funder reveals how O’Shaughnessy Blair self-effacingly supported Orwell intellectually, emotionally, medically and financially ... why didn’t Orwell do the same for his wife in her equally serious time of need?’Too simplistic and down with the people for my liking. However did have several points which I believe could be expanded on in separate chapters or as stand alone books. For myself the American Corporatization of Britain. The book has it's merits and touched a lot of ground.

this move to digitisation reveals perhaps the greatest absurdity of austerity Britain - you cannot own a phone if you’re poor but you can’t access benefits without the internet." Sadly, in my lifetime (or what is left of it) that is never going to happen. Career politicians, opportunists, the rich and the already powerful are never going to give up without a fight and right now, they make the rules to suit themselves as we see in parliament on an all too regular basis. Join Orwell prize-winning author, BAFTA nominated broadcaster and celebrated hip-hop artist Darren McGarvey for his new show centred on his recent book, The Social Distance Between Us. In it Darren confronts the scandal of class inequality with passion, humility and a dose of humour. If this book doesn’t make you angry, you need to have a good look at yourself. I was seething, crying, astonished, flabbergasted… Mr McGarvey tells the story of Britain and inequality by slapping you round the face with research, statistics, anecdotes, and personal stories. But this is not a polemic. He doesn’t ‘hate’ rich people and they do feature in the book. He just shows us very clearly why we are in our current mess. And why if you have a system that can profit from misery, then the system won’t really want it to stop. During those ten years, I was paid shitty wages to form a bridge between the people I’d grown up amongst, and the people I wanted to become. I had aspirations of management, of rising within the industry and getting a decent wage. But I couldn’t lose sight of the fact that I was quite literally the only person who “got” where the more difficult tenants were coming from. I was promoted to the point that all I was used for was sorting out conflict and complaint for every contract across the region. Every time, I was seen by both parties as the representative of the “other” side.

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