London | As a foreign correspondent, when I meet or hear from readers, there’s typically always one question that comes up time and again. A few years ago, it was always: “What’s happening with Brexit?” More recently, it was: “What’s going to happen in Ukraine?” Now, it’s most commonly: “Is Britain broken?”

It certainly feels that way. Just as kids were starting the new school year, it turned out that 147 schools were made with shonky concrete that could collapse at any moment. Thousands of pupils were unable to enter their classrooms.