Cameron's coup: how the Tories took Britain to the brink

Don't mistake David Cameron for a bland PR man. Despite coalition compromises, he has turned out to be more radical than Margaret Thatcher.She privatised industries.

But he planned to dismantle the welfare state itself - starting with the NHS.

The cuts signalled an assault on Britain's post-war social settlement.Children, young people and the poor are bearing the brunt.

Social welfare, police, council services, housing and legal aid are under fierce attack.Will it succeed?Writing with their trademark incisiveness and wit, Toynbee and Walker report how a party that failed to win a Commons majority has still been devastatingly effective.

Blending analysis and statistics with moving human stories from Sydenham to Sheffield, Cameron's Coup argues that Britain is becoming meaner and harsher.

The pressing question now is whether these changes are irrevocable.