When I reviewed the previous edition of this book, less than two years ago, I predicted that the authors would be back with a new edition fairly sharpish. Well, the authors of this fine tome, now a thick hardcover book, waited just until Blair relinquished the Prime Minister-ship and Brown took over. The subtitle of the book is "Brown's Squandered Billions," taking a poke at the fact that Brown was Chancellor during his long wait to take over.
The book is full of wonderful examples of government waste, from the sublime through the ridiculous to the downright bizarre. Elliot and his colleague Rotherham have trawled through oodles of documents and press coverage so you don't have to. Some classic examples are £400 million for "cost control" of the forthcoming 2012 Olympic Games, down to the more reasonable but still wasteful £100,000 spent finding out whether or not £400,000 that was spent on modern art for hospitals was a good idea.
This book will amuse and irritate you in equal measure. It's a must-have for anyone interested in governance, British or elsewhere. Tribute should be paid to the authors for keeping track of the wasteful behaviour of the Labour government over its time in office.
I recommend the book for all those interested in politics or government - except those who have heart problems. Not exactly a pleasure to read; but well written nonetheless.
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