Economic growth is expected to sputter to a halt: welcome to a new era of breakdown that will affect us all
Far from the madding jubilee crowds, I spent the May half-term holiday doing a long sponsored walk in Cumbria with my two kids. I intentionally tuned out of the news, but even so, reminders of politics and the state of the country were sometimes unavoidable.
In the crowded town of Keswick, I discovered that the cash-strapped council had closed the local swimming pool. There were also clear signs of post-Brexit labour shortages in the hospitality trade. And when we finally began our journey back home, the inevitable happened: our first train was delayed in Crewe by a “mechanical issue”, and on the second leg of the journey, the collision of hordes of weekend travellers with a measly number of carriages meant whole families squatting in corridors. Here, yet again, was proof of what all the flags and mad parades couldn’t cover up: a country in the grip of an increasingly deep malaise, where life seems to regularly hit the buffers, to the sound of that very British apology: “Sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
John Harris is a Guardian columnist. To listen to his podcast Politics Weekly UK, search for Politics Weekly UK wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday
