Why Andy Burnham will find it so tricky to unite Britain
BBC presenter Evan Davis explores the challenges facing new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham as he attempts to unify a politically divided nation. The piece draws parallels between social discord in the UK and the dystopian themes of the film Civil War.
Why it matters
The analysis addresses the growing concern over political polarization and the difficulty of achieving social cohesion in modern Western democracies.
Why Andy Burnham will find it so tricky to unite Britain
By Evan Davis Presenter of BBC Radio 4's Common Ground Did you get to see the 2024 film Civil War, with its dystopian depiction of a present day USA in the midst of a violent meltdown?
What made it such an effective thriller was that it all seemed so frighteningly real. Although the two sides in that civil war were fictitious, it hit a raw nerve precisely because of the very obvious divides that scar modern day America.
But interestingly it was actually written and directed by a British film-maker, Alex Garland, and he expressed worries about his home country, as well as the US. In both countries, he told the Guardian, "there's a lot to be very concerned about".
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