The State of Britain Is Killing Us honours six lives lost at the hands of the state, through the eyes of six women who loved them, the author among them. In fighting for justice, they expose political choices the powerful are making that threaten far more than their families.
Sean was a gifted musician. Kiran was fiercely independent. Matthew rescued two strangers from a lake. Azelle was an expectant father. Tina was working to overcome addiction and be there for her son. Gaia, the author’s cousin, was a student hoping to become a midwife. Each died after contact with public services meant to keep them safe.
Preventable death is more widespread than we realise. In England and Scotland alone, government austerity cuts have been linked to nearly 900,000 excess deaths. While some are more likely to be fatally failed by the state, someday we all may have to trust these systems with someone we love.
As politicians cut back systems of care, impossible responsibility is pushed onto families. Grieving people are pitted against a state that promises ‘lessons will be learned’ but puts public image before public interest, even with lives on the line
Intimate, incendiary and hopeful, this is a devastating investigation into modern Britain and a rallying cry against indifference. These stories are testaments to the power of love — and how another future becomes possible when private grief becomes collective resistance.
This is not just about justice for them.
It’s about justice for all of us.
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About the book
The manuscript is now in its final editorial stages ahead of publication by Trapeze / Orion and grew out of my own experience after the death of my cousin Gaia Pope and the years I spent leading the Justice for Gaia campain and alongside other families fighting for truth, accountability and change.
It brings together investigation, public policy and lived experience, while centring the people most often pushed to the margins of official accounts: the families and loved ones left behind. The State of Britain Is Killing Us is my first work of narrative nonfiction.
Its stories were developed through long-form, trauma-informed interviews and close collaboration with contributors, with particular care around consent, boundaries, wellbeing and agency. The approach reflects my wider practice: treating lived experience not as material to extract, but as expertise to centre — connecting personal stories to the systems and political choices that shape them.
