'Richard Power Sayeed establishes himself as the definitive critical chronicler of the Blair years with his superb book 1997: The Future That Never Happened' Open Democracy Books of the Year 'It is difficult to do justice to Sayeed's qualities as a writer. He brings a sympathetic eye, attention to detail, a knack for evoking scenes, and acute thumbnail sketches of characters ... Deceptively sophisticated, and sometimes lethal in its critique.' Jacobin `A beautifully written, brilliantly insightful account of New Labour's Britain - and fundamental to our understanding of how this country ended up in this mess.' Owen Jones `A dazzling, funny, and impressively detailed analysis of one of the most important years in modern British history. Both nostalgic and deeply critical, this book casts 1997 in an entirely new light.' Ellie Mae O'Hagan 'Phenomenal ... One of my books of 2017.' Aaron Bastani, Novara Media `A vital book that combines great storytelling with fresh insights, and says as much about the present as the recent past.' Alwyn W. Turner, author of A Classless Society: Britain in the 1990s `Richard Power Sayeed has vividly reprised the year 1997, when radical currents flowed into the mainstream, and the authorities welcomed moderate reforms with satisfied contentment. Such promise - but what did it deliver?' Andy McSmith, author of No Such Thing as Society: A History of Britain in the 1980s