Broken Heartlands

Broken Heartlands is the product of rich reporting on the ground … Payne tells many stories of many places and people with affection and respect, to weave a picture of the changing political fabric of England – Laura Kuenssberg
A compelling chronicle of why English politics is undergoing such fundamental change. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand England today – Robert Peston
A really fascinating and surprisingly moving book. Payne takes us on a journey that feels personal as well as political and helps us better understand what the red wall really is, who its voters are, and what politics has meant to them over the past few tumultuous years – Isabel Hardman, author of Why We Get The Wrong Politicians
A must-read for all those who want to learn the lessons of Labour’s 2019 defeat – Paul Mason, author of PostCapitalism
Sebastian Payne demolishes the clichés that smother debate about the north of England and provides a simultaneously tender and acute guide to the land that London forgot – Nick Cohen
Part travelogue, part Question Time, Payne interviews pretty much everyone. This is a first draft of history as first drafts of history should properly be written – Tom Holland
Immensely readable. Labour’s crisis in the red wall … will shape the future of English politics. This engrossing, warm and insightful work is an indispensable guide to how it came about – Observer, book of the week
Compelling, authoritative but human … the book will inevitably become an important resource for historians * Sunday Times *
Reminiscent of Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier, Payne travels around Labour’s former ‘red wall’ to paint a stark picture of those left behind * Daily Telegraph *
Payne’s entertaining and insightful book is essential reading * Evening Standard *
The political book of the year about one of the most consequential elections of my lifetime. Essential reading – Andrew Neil
Comprehensive and entertaining – The Times, book of the week
One of the book’s many strengths is its precision … Payne’s book examines the narratives on Red Wall constituencies like the layers of an onion: starting with superficial readings, before peeling them back to reveal greater complexity – Stephen Bush, New Statesman
Entertaining political travelogue … plenty of insights … Payne is a guide without any trace of snobbery * Financial Times *
Payne, who grew up in Gateshead … has an instinctive rapport with people who feel overlooked and abandoned by Labour * The Week *
First class political reportage … should be considered required reading for anyone interested in British politics * Mail on Sunday *
Nuanced take on Labour’s lost strongholds. Raised in Gateshead, Payne brings intimacy and depth * Guardian *
The most revealing book about politics just doesn’t happen to come from America: The United Kingdom’s ‘red wall,’ Albion’s version of the Rust Belt, is the subject of Broken Heartlands * Washington Post *
Broken Heartlands digs into the fabric of the post-industrial communities that only make headlines at election time and challenges received wisdom and lazy myths * Literary Review *
It’s difficult to become a Westminster institution and be a successful leader writer on the Financial Times before you’re 30, but Sebastian Payne has achieved both – Iain Dale, author of The Prime Ministers

Sebastian Payne is the award-winning Whitehall Editor for the Financial Times. At the 2019 British Journalism Awards, he was awarded ‘Political Journalist of the Year’ in recognition of his work on the FT’s series ‘The Corbyn Revolution’. Sebastian presents the Payne’s Politics podcast, which was short-listed for ‘News Podcast of the Year’ at the 2020 National Press Awards.

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