Orderly Britain

How do British pavements remain free of dog mess? Why are paths not littered with cigarette butts or roads not lined with abandoned cars? What does the decline of the public lavatory say about us and is the national reputation for queuing still deserved today? Orderly Britain takes a topical look at modern society, examining how it is governed and how it organises itself. It considers the rules of daily life, where they come from and why they exist. It asks whether citizens are generally compliant and uncomplaining or rebellious and defiant. This quirky social history takes a close look at shifting customs and practices, people's expectations of each other and how rule-makers seek to shape everyone's lives - even when ignoring some of those rules themselves. Taking the reader on a journey that covers a range of topics - dog mess, smoking, drinking, parking, queuing, toilets - Orderly Britain examines the rapidly changing patterns of everyday life, from post-war to present day, and concludes with an extended look at the unparalleled shifts in social routines that resulted from the global COVID-19 pandemic. Asking whether it is the proliferation of rules and regulations in the UK or something else that keeps people in line, authors Tim Newburn and Andrew Ward offer a unique insight into what creates orderly Britons. Consumerism, though it may have stimulated extraordinary acquisitiveness has also brought with it a huge array of administrative and technical regulations about matters as varied as food safety, the supply and sale of goods, and domestic animal welfare. In fact, there is considerable evidence that we have become more concerned about order, and more rule-bound by laws and regulations setting out the parameters of orderliness and how it is to be maintained. As a means of illustrating this argument, our first step along the road is toward the issue of dog-shit and what we do with it. Naturally, we must tread carefully.