Since Anthony Sampson's Anatomy of Britain was published in 1962, Britain's power networks have been transformed. 'Revisiting some of the seats of power after 40 years, I have felt like a Rip Van Winkle waking up after a revolution,' he writes. 'The dukes and earls have been sent packing from the House of Lords. The royals are presented as a soap opera about dysfunctional divorcees and the garden of Buckingham Palace is a venue for pop groups.' The post-war Establishment made up of clubs and old boys' ties has been replaced by 'a new Establishment, with greater resources and stronger bonds than the old one - the bonds of money.' The media now has more power than the government: 'The hacks came in from the cold, not through the back door, but up the grand staircase.'