WEST SUSSEX, UK. September 14th, 2026 – A new audiobook released this week calls on Prime Minister Andy Burnham and the nation to confront what the author describes as a broken political culture that puts party rivalry before the needs of ordinary people.
“The Party’s Over” is framed as an open letter to the Prime Minister by author Alan Hodgkiss. Drawing on the author’s heartbreaking experiences caring for his late wife Rita, who lived with mixed dementia and died of a stroke last year, the book highlights two deeply personal issues that expose wider systemic failures.
Firstly, it covers the legal ban on tandem mobility scooters on public pavements and roads, which prevented the couple from retaining their independence and going out together in Rita’s final years. This ban affects tens of thousands of couples who have no car or cannot afford a taxi every time they wish to enjoy a day out together.
Secondly, the audiobook addresses the near-impossibility of finding a care home that allows elderly couples to remain together. Quotes Alan received ranged from £1,000 per week simply to sleep on a chair at the bottom of his dying wife’s bed, to £1,500 per week for a separate room in the same home.
The author argues that these problems, and many others, persist because political parties spend too much time competing with each other instead of focusing on the health, welfare and happiness of citizens. He draws on George Washington’s 1796 Farewell Address, in which the first U.S. President warned that political “factions” distract the government and put party loyalty above the public good.
“I wrote this book because I could not stand by and watch the same things happen to other couples,” Alan Hodgkiss said. “Time is precious, especially for people living with dementia or disability. I will devote the rest of my life to fighting for a government system that puts its citizens before itself.”
“The Party’s Over” is now available from most major audiobook retailers, including Chirp.
ENDS