Broken Britain
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Broken Britain is a term which was used by the UK's Conservative Party from 2007 to 2010 to describe a perceived widespread state of social decay in the UK under the tenure of Labour Party Prime Minister
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
.


Political usage

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
had referred to "Broken Britain" during his time as leader of the Conservative Party, and pledged to "fix" Broken Britain during the campaign for the 2010 general election. In September 2009, ''The Sun'' announced that it would back the Conservatives in the 2010 election, having supported the Labour Party in 1997, 2001, and 2005, stating that Labour had "failed on law and order".
Iain Duncan Smith Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Le ...
published two reports, "Breakdown Britain" and "Breakthrough Britain", dealing with similar themes, through the
Centre for Social Justice The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) is an independent centre-right think tank based in the United Kingdom, co-founded in 2004 by Iain Duncan Smith, Tim Montgomerie, and Philippa Stroud. Political positions The organisation's stated aim is to "p ...
. By contrast, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' ran a series of articles in 2010 questioning this theme, under the title "Is Britain Broken?" The Conservatives came under criticism after publishing an inaccurate figure in a 2010 report on teenage pregnancy and crime rates. After the
2011 England riots A series of riots took place between 6 and 11 August 2011 in cities and towns across England, which saw looting and arson, as well as mass deployment of police and the deaths of five people. The protests started in Tottenham Hale, London, follo ...
, Cameron alluded to many of these themes while speaking on the UK's "moral collapse". Under the banner of "Broken Society", he listed "irresponsibility, selfishness, behaving as if your choices have no consequences, children without fathers, schools without discipline, reward without effort, crime without punishment, rights without responsibilities".


In popular culture

A number of films released from 2006 featured the theme of Broken Britain. They include ''
Kidulthood ''Kidulthood'' (stylised known as ''KiDULTHOOD'') is a 2006 British teen crime drama film directed by Menhaj Huda from a screenplay by Noel Clarke. It stars Aml Ameen, Red Madrell, Adam Deacon, Jaime Winstone, Femi Oyeniran, Madeleine Fairley, ...
'' and its sequels, ''
Adulthood An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...
'' and ''
Brotherhood Brotherhood or The Brotherhood may refer to: Family, relationships, and organizations * Fraternity (philosophy) or brotherhood, an ethical relationship between people, which is based on love and solidarity * Fraternity or brotherhood, a male ...
'', ''
Ill Manors ''Ill Manors'' (stylised as ''ill Manors'') is a 2012 British crime drama film written, co-scored and directed by Ben Drew AKA musician Plan B. The film revolves around the lives of eight main characters, played by Riz Ahmed, Ed Skrein, Ke ...
'', ''Harry Brown'', ''
F (film) ''F'' (also known as ''The Expelled'') is a 2010 British slasher film written and directed by Johannes Roberts, and starring David Schofield, Eliza Bennett, Ruth Gemmell, Juliet Aubrey and Roxanne McKee. It follows a group of teachers who must ...
'', ''
Eden Lake ''Eden Lake'' is a 2008 British horror- thriller film written and directed by James Watkins in his directorial debut. The film stars Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Jack O'Connell, James Gandhi, Thomas Turgoose, Bronson Webb, Shaun Do ...
'', ''
Cherry Tree Lane ''Cherry Tree Lane'' is a 2010 British thriller film written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams. Plot In a house at Cherry Tree Lane, middle-aged couple Christine (Rachael Blake) and Mike ( Tom Butcher) are eating dinner while their son, Se ...
'', '' The Disappeared'', '' Summer Scars'', ''
Outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...
'', ''
Attack the Block ''Attack the Block'' is a 2011 British Science fiction film, science fiction comedy horror film written and directed by Joe Cornish and starring John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, and Nick Frost. Its storyline centres on a teenage street gang who ha ...
'', ''
The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael ''The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael'' is a 2005 British crime film directed by Thomas Clay in his feature-length directorial debut and written by Clay and Joseph Lang. It stars Daniel Spencer as the titular character, a teenager whose life ...
, DNA'' and '' Heartless''. The '' 2000 AD'' story ''
Cradlegrave '' 2000 AD'' is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic magazine first published in 1977, which serialises stories in each issue. Although most noted for its ''Judge Dredd'' stories, it has published many others. Stories A ''Absalo ...
'' also played with similar "hoodie horror" themes.
Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English businessman, and former television presenter, radio DJ, writer and producer. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK, pres ...
' 2008
Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989 ...
programme ''
Noel's HQ ''Noel's HQ'' is a British light entertainment programme that was broadcast by Sky1. Hosted by Noel Edmonds, the series featured segments discussing philanthropic efforts and political issues. A one-off pilot episode was broadcast live on 14 Sept ...
'' (which highlighted philanthropic efforts) was billed by its host and broadcaster as being a "response to a broken Britain".


See also

*
Social structure of the United Kingdom The social structure of the United Kingdom has historically been highly influenced by the concept of social class, which continues to affect British society today. British society, like its European neighbours and most societies in world history, ...
*
Chav "Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. * * * * Julie Burchill descri ...
*
Crime in the United Kingdom Crime in the United Kingdom describes acts of violent crime and non-violent crime that take place within the United Kingdom. Courts and police systems are separated into three sections, based on the different judicial systems of England and Wal ...
* ''
Booze Britain ''Booze Britain'' is a fly-on-the-wall documentary television series produced by Granada"'Tabloid television distorts city image'." ''Hull Daily Mail'' 15 July 2005: 4. ''Newspaper Source Plus.'' Web. 4 May 2012. that aired on British satellite T ...
'' *
Rip-off Britain Rip-off Britain is an expression used by some to refer to the phenomenon in which some products and services cost significantly more in the United Kingdom than in other countries, especially member states of the European Union and the United St ...
General: *
Criticisms of welfare The modern welfare state has been criticized on economic and moral grounds from all ends of the political spectrum. Many have argued that the provision of tax-funded services or transfer payments reduces the incentive for workers to seek emplo ...
*
Social cohesion Group cohesiveness, also called group cohesion, social harmony or social cohesion, is the degree or strength of bonds linking members of a social group to one another and to the group as a whole. Although cohesion is a multi-faceted process, it ...
*
Social disintegration Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse or systems collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of social complexity as an adaptive system, the downfall of government, and th ...


References

{{reflist Urban decay in Europe Criticisms of welfare Mass media theories Conservative Party (UK) terms 21st century in the United Kingdom Mass media in the United Kingdom 2011 England riots Welfare in the United Kingdom David Cameron Political terminology in the United Kingdom