Event

Failed State: The bestselling investigation of why Britain is struggling

10 February 2025, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Location: IEA 2 Lord North Street ( entrance on Great Peter Street) London SW1 3LB

Think tank: Institute of Economic Affairs

At this event hosted by UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs Sam Freedman will discuss his book ‘Failed State’.

The IEA Book Club will be hosting an upcoming event with Sam Freedman on his latest book, “Failed State”. This event will take place on Monday 10th February from 18:00 – 20:30 at the IEA Westminster offices. Tom Clougherty (Executive Director and Ralph Harris Fellow) will chair this event.

 In Failed State, Sam Freedman, one of Britain’s leading policy experts, offers a devastating analysis of where we’ve gone wrong. With historical depth and plenty of infuriating examples, he explains why British governance has fallen so far behind. Speaking to politicians of all stripes, civil servants and workers on the frontline, this book bursts with insight on the real problems that are so often hidden from the front pages. The result is a witty, landmark book that paves the way for a fairer and more prosperous Britain.

Sam Freedman is a senior fellow at the Institute for Government and a senior advisor to Ark Schools. He writes about policy and politics for numerous outlets including the Financial Times, Sunday Times, Guardian and New Statesman. With his father, he runs ‘Comment is Freed’, Britain’s most popular politics Substack. He has a following of over 140,000 on X/Twitter.

He has spent his career working in different policy-focused roles around Westminster, including as an adviser to the leader of the opposition and three years at the Department of Education as a senior policy advisor.