This is a memoir covering some 50 years' involvement with delivering public services in a wide range of roles: civil servant; local government; chairing inquiries and public bodies; special adviser; Minister; and Parliamentarian. The book's topic areas include the NHS, social services, social care, welfare benefits, human rights, criminal justice and constitutional issues like House of Lords reform. It starts with a government apprenticeship in the 1960s and ends with Brexit and Covid19. I...

The NHS is a national icon that spends a lot of taxpayer's money, sometimes wastefully. This is an account of a Labour Health Minister's involvement in reforming a reluctant NHS. It assesses Labour's stewardship of the NHS, warts and all. Drawing on this experience, it examines the Coalition Government's plans for reform, as NHS funding moves from feast to famine. The book concludes with a description of the financial and accountability framework that any government should aim for if NHS e...

**THE PHENOMENAL BESTSELLER'Fantastic, timely, eye-opening' Armando Iannucci, New Statesman, Books of the Year'Captures a collective sense of anger and awakening' Matt Haig, Observer, Books of the Year**Behind our democracy lurks a powerful but unaccountable network of people who wield massive power and reap huge profits in the process. In exposing this shadowy and complex system that dominates our lives, Owen Jones sets out on a journey into the he...

Packed with everything you need to learn, this is your essential step-by-step guide to passing the Life in the UK Test. This 2012 edition includes all the latest official study materials needed for the Life in the UK Test. Also included are: easy-to-understand diagrams that explain difficult topics; new Watch & Learn material to help you with key concepts; step-by-step guidance through the test process; a handy Words to know section that explains difficult terms; hundreds of multiple-choic...

Why do some prime ministers manage to get things done, while others miserably fail? What is a 'special adviser' and how did they take over British political life? And why is the House of Lords more functional than most people think?Most of us have a sense that our political system doesn't seem to work, but struggle to articulate exactly why. And for good reason: our political and financial institutions are cloaked in secrecy, archaic terminology, ancient custom and...

A TIMES POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEARA LONGMAN/HISTORY TODAY BOOK OF THE YEARThe award-winning history of the British Welfare State –now fully revised and updated for the 21st Century.‘A masterpiece’ Sunday TimesGiant Want. Giant Disease. Giant Ignorance. Giant Squalor. Giant Idleness.These were the Five Giants that loomed over the post-war reconstruction...

This revelatory memoir from Britain's former Prime Minister offers vital insights into our extraordinary times.Former Prime Minister and the country's longest-serving Chancellor, Gordon Brown has been a guiding force for Britain and the world over three decades. This is his candid, poignant and deeply relevant story.In describing his upbringing in Scotland as the son of a minister, the near loss of his eyesight as a student and the death of his daughter wit...

Let us take a look back over three decades of outrageous political mishaps – with a new introduction from Sir Ivor Crewe covering Brexitblunder /ˈblʌndə(r)/, n.A gross mistake; an error due to stupidity or carelessness.There are a handful of cock-ups that we remember all too well, from the poll tax to the Millennium Dome. However, the list is longer than most of us realize – and it’s growing. With unrivalled political savvy and a keen sense of irony...

An exposé of the back-door deals and negligence that threaten to destroy the NHS – and a 10-step manifesto for saving itThe Coalition Government passed into law an unprecedented assault on the NHS. Doctors, unions, the media, even politicians who claimed to be stalwart defenders failed to protect it. Now the effect of those devastating reforms are beginning to be felt by patients – but we can still save our country’s most valued institution if we take lessons from ...

In a recent study of 61 hospitals, it was found that they bought 21 different types of A4 paper, 652 different kinds of surgical gloves and 1751 different cannulas.Police forces could cut the cost of their uniforms by over 30 per cent if they all bought the same one. But they disagree on how many pockets they need.Having committed to buy two new aircraft carriers, the MOD realised it didn't have the funds to buy them. The delayed de...

At the heart of his book is his conclusion that prison simply does not work, failing on three fundamental levels. The view of the popular media is that when prisoners are locked up they cannot commit crime. This is not true. Podmore shows how crime actually proliferates in prison, how serious organised crime is allowed to flourish there through bad management, and how the UK's prisons are a multi-million pound investment bank for the black economy. The public sees prison as a deterrent. Th...

Every year the British government spends £80 billion outsourcing public services. Today, private companies are responsible for fulfilling some of the most sensitive and important roles of the state – running prisons and providing healthcare, transport, legal aid, even child protection. These organizations have been handed enormous amounts of power and yet for the most part they operate with no transparency or accountability.From deportations to NHS cutbacks, Alan White exposes what...