Trust is essential for our democracy. We trust our political leaders and institutions to put the public interest before their personal or partisan advantage. We trust each other to work and live together. No system is perfect and there is rarely one right answer to the big challenges faced, but we expect leaders to be honest, competent and compassionate - and punish any breaches harshly in the polls or at the ballot box. But not any longer. Now is a time of political crisis that's fuelled by a lack of trust in government and the mainstream. This carries significant and damaging consequences for the future of our democracy, fragmenting and polarising our communities. While election results from Brexit to Trump shocked political pundits on both sides of the Atlantic, the roots of an alienated and divided public who increasingly do not trust public figures to put the public interest first have causes that run deep. The absence of trust creates a political shift akin to a new kind of revolution putting at risk our democracy's future health. Awareness and action have never been needed more urgently. For over two decades, Thom Brooks has been a leading voice in exposing this crisis in trust and challenging its foundations. This provocative collection of new and recent reflections brings together his work as a freelance columnist and essayist covering Brexit, British values, citizenship and immigration, Scotland's independence referendum, tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, education policy and legal reform. These essays highlight his substantial contributions to some of the leading political issues of our day. How deep is our current crisis - and what can we do about it to rebuild trust in our politicians, public institutions and each other? Brooks provides clear insights into these issues and more with his 'realistic optimism' for the future and why we can be the solution to our political crisis.
Thom Brooks is Professor of Law and Government, the Dean of Durham Law School (2016-21), Executive Member of the Fabian Society and policy advisor to the Labour Party. He is a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, New Statesman, The Times and frequent broadcast commentator for BBC News, CNN, ITV News, Sky News and international media. Thom Brooks is an award-winning author, public speaker, the UKs only Professor of Law and Government and senior policy advisor to the Labour Party. He is the Dean of Durham Universitys Law School, President of the Society of Legal Scholars and sits on the Executive Committees of both the Fabian Society and the Society of Labour Lawyers. Brooks has visited at the universities of Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, NYU, Nice, Oxford, Penn, St Andrews, Uppsala and Yale. A leading advocate for the academic voices in public debates and for the public understanding of UK immigration law and policy for two decades, he has made over two thousand media appearances since 2013 regularly speaking on BBC One, BBC News, ITV News, Sky News and international broadcasters including Al Jazeera, CNN, Deutsche Welle and France 24. His freelance columns are published in the Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, New Statesman, The Times and many others. Brooks is quoted by the Electoral Commission in support of its recommendation to change the wording of the EU Referendum. His research is cited by the Connecticut Supreme Court in Santiago II finding the death penalty unconstitutional in that US state. His work was recognized by Research Councils UK in its report about the top 100 big ideas in British universities. He lives in County Durham.
