I'd be unable to review this due to the amount of blank pages and pages that are only half completed. I'd be happy to send screenshots of this issue. I've been awarded stars due to the description and book cover.

Will Hutton couldn't resist the temptation to write a follow-up to The State We're In, his 1995 book which should have been more influential on the early New Labour administration, and we should be grateful that he has. The title pulls no punches, in suggesting both how challenging the times we face are and the inevitability of an impending change of government in the UK. It's a wide-ranging book, which offers a history of liberal and neoliberal governments and governance from the 19th century in Britain and, to some extent, the USA, before focusing on the case for change. This means it's a very good overview, even if much of the material will be familiar to many readers, which identifies and reiterates significant events and issues, such as the failure to adopt a proportional voting system in the early 20th century, the achievements of the post-war Attlee government, and (a recurrent theme) the wild overestimation of Margaret Thatcher's changes and legacy. This alone makes it worth reading. The suggestions and prescriptions for the future are also valuable - the book ends with twelve key areas for action - but they are more contestable, if also something one would hope a new government would at least consider.

Although the second. half of the book is full of fascinating and depressing statistics about areas like the NHS and housing, the breadth of Hutton's focus means detail gets lost. His discussion of education suffers from being written largely from an economist's perspective and, although AI is a recurrent theme, I was not convinced that his solutions take its complexity into account. Nonetheless, This Time No Mistakes is an impressive book, which we should hope is more influential on policy development than its predecessor.

A thought provoking and clever book, full of analysis of the recent past and ideas for the future.
Well written, interesting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

It has now been 29 years since the publication of The State We're In, the best-selling book from journalist, Will Hutton which was widely seen as a potential blueprint for a program of action for Tony Blair and a forthcoming New Labour Government in office. Now, in 2024, Britain is arguably in a worse state than it was in 1995 and Labour seems poised on the verge of power again. Hutton's new book presents a compelling and well-argued vision for how Labour could transform an ailing Britain once again.