How does culture shape political power? Many Conservatives now fear that victory at the ballot box is not enough. Despite Boris Johnson’s triumph in the 2019 election, they sense that a larger cultural battle has been lost. Some accuse the left of mounting a secret, slow-motion takeover, inspired by the ideas of the Italian communist Antonio Gramsci – the ‘long march through the institutions’. This very timely book uncovers the truth: a tangled history in which active subversion runs alongside unintended consequences and missed opportunities. Armed with a clearer understanding of the left’s long march, it also reveals new possibilities for fighting back.