The 13 million working-age families across the poorest half of the country, who at various times have been dubbed the ‘squeezed middle’, ‘just about managing families’ and ‘alarm clock Britain’ are widely courted by politicians of all persuasions. No party can win elections without their votes, and the country cannot succeed without their needs being met. And yet they are poorly understood and badly served in the 21sr century so far, which is why we have dubbed them ‘Unsung Britain’.