The order that governed Britain is dead - this book reveals our new rulers. Since 1979 this country has undergone a revolution. It was a very British affair - certainly no tanks on the streets and precious little violent agitation. But first under Thatcher, then Blair, the post-war consensus has given way to a brand new political order. The language of global competition, of historical inevitability and of national destiny has provided cover for a power grab more complete and more ruthless than any since the English Civil War. The discretion with which this has been accomplished has left commentators baffled. Never exactly open, Britain has become a mystery to its own inhabitants. What is starkly clear is that amid the fantasies of the heritage industry, Victorian, even Georgian, inequalities of wealth and status are back, though the arguments used to justify them have changed. Hywel Williams offers an exhilaratingly clear-eyed analysis. He reveals how power has left the regions and the upholders of the constitution, and the facade of power at Westminster has become a distraction from elite activity that happens elsewhere - a decorative rather than effective part of public life. Alone of imperial cadres, the capital's money men have flourished in the modern era. They grasped the new opportunities that emerged and they have seen off or subverted any attempts to curtail their freedom. The City has killed its rivals and everyone has been too polite to mention it. It's time to be clear about exactly who does run this place.