Books

‘A provocative and detailed study of how Britain’s economy fell victim to US power – and how to respond … Excellent’ – Tomiwa Owolade, The Telegraph

‘Vassal State takes the reader on a dizzying tour of an economy that has come to resemble Orwell’s Airstrip One‘ – Will Dunn, New Statesman

‘You’ll read it with fascination, anger and a desperate wish for change’ – Alexander Larman, Telegraph Best Politics Books of 2024

‘If we Britons are all under America’s thumb, as this stirring book suggests, at least we can’t say we weren’t warned’ – Telegraph, Best Books of 2024

‘An eye-opening book’ – Will Hutton, Observer

‘The claim that the United States essentially runs the UK has a long heritage, and is fervently believed by those on the left when it comes to foreign policy (including myself). But rather than focusing on the not-so-special relationship, Hanton instead examines the changing economic ties between the two countries, and how a mix of financialisation, private equity and big tech has led to previously implausible levels of corporate capture. And yes, it’s even worse than you think’ – Novara Media Books of the Year 2024

‘Read this and you’ll never again have a high street coffee, switch on your computer – do virtually anything – without pausing, anxiously, to think about the suffocating extent of American corporate domination of our lives. Meticulous and calm, Angus Hanton peels away the corporate layers of ‘British’ capitalism to show how we’ve allowed a kind of reverse colonisation sucking billions of pounds daily to Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and New York’ Polly Toynbee

‘Painstakingly researched and elegantly written, Vassal State is an eye-opening revelation of US-based corporations’ near-complete control of the UK economy. Tracing the reasons behind the takeover, why it matters, and what needs to be done to reverse it, this is a must-read for anyone who cares about the UK’s future‘ – Joel Bakan, author of The New Corporation: Why ‘Good’ Corporations are Bad for Democracy