Tanked: Why the British Economy is Failing and How to Fix It (Hardback) - Paul Wallace

Cost of living up, wages down and GBP2.7 trillion worth of debt: Britain's economy is tanking. But how did we get here? And how can we fix things? A smart, accessible guide from an expert economic journalist.

A rare book on economics that is actually written in English. Trenchant, clear and comes complete with solutions. Essential reading for the coming election. -- Simon Jenkins

A lively review of Britain's economic history since the Global Financial Crisis. It is a sad story, but Wallace finds some room for hope amidst the gloom. -- Howard Davies

Crisp, comprehensive and forensic, Tanked casts an unflinching eye across the British economic horizon. The sooner we pay attention, the better' -- Tom Clark, editor of Broke: Fixing Britain's Poverty Crisis and Contributing Editor, Prospect


In the autumn of 2022, Liz Truss took Britain on a journey into economic la-la land and comprehensively tanked the economy. The result? Mortgage and rents misery was piled on top of surging inflation, public debt at an eye-watering GBP2.7 trillion and falling living standards. As economic journalist Paul Wallace argues in this incisive, expert and accessible book, this was the low point of a once supercharged economy stuck in first gear since the financial crash of 2008.

Written over ten chapters tackling the most important issues (Brexit, debt, the City, immigration, manufacturing, levelling up, public services), Wallace asks in clear, jargon-free prose what the problems are, and what we can do to solve them. He offers a ten-point plan to get our economy back on track, building on its most resilient aspects. It is vital reading for an incoming chancellor who wants a blueprint for recovery.

Part-primer, part passionate argument, Tanked is the perfect book to understand how Britain has devalued itself - and how to restore its economic fortunes.

About the Author

Paul Wallace is an economic and financial journalist. Previously, he has been Britain economics editor and European economics editor at The Economist, and before that economics editor at the Independent. He has also been a columnist for Reuters. He is the author, most recently, of The Euro Experiment, published by Cambridge University Press in 2015 and before that wrote Agequake: Riding the Demographic Rollercoaster Shaking Business, Finance and our World and co-authored The Square Mile, based on a television series about the City of London he produced for ITV. He has been a council member of the Royal Economic Society and a visiting fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. He has degrees from Cambridge University (MA) and the London School of Economics (MPhil).