Subtitled “Britain Without the European Union” this is a book that conjectures what the UK would be like if she were to leave the EU in the next few years. It's part fiction and part factual booklet. The fictional parts predict how leaving the EU would affect average Britons and what changes, good or bad, would come about in their lives.
The non-fiction part justifies the prediction based on how things work currently because of EU regulation and taxation. The approach on show here is quite innovative for this sort of book. Rotherham’s writing style lends itself fairly well to this sort of format. It surely beats reading yet another screed against British membership in the European Union that is full of dry facts and figures. This is clearly an attempt to make the case for a British withdrawal in a case that is neither too academic nor too simplistic nor jingoistic.
The book is 111 pages and is more of a pamphlet than a tome. It's no doubt designed to be read on the train or tube going to or from work. What makes the book interesting is that it manages to make the subject interesting enough, partly due to the fictional predictive parts, so that those outside the UK might in fact find the book an interesting read.
It will not win any book prizes, but Lee certainly achieves what he sets out to do. The Dante quote at the beginning is certainly a nice touch. If you want a concise summation of the argument for British withdrawal from the EU then look no further.
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Article comments
1 - Mark Wallace
Also, this book is currently available free courtesy of the UK TaxPayers' Alliance- just google "greatEUdebate" to find it.