The irony of five MPs lecturing the electorate on the virtues and necessity of hard work probably won't be lost on a lot of people, but once an individual becomes a member of our rotten parliament it seems they have to take leave of certain senses much as they lose touch with reality. The fact that it took five of them to come up with this slim and intellectually emaciated volume says enough about their work ethic when it could have been written by any reasonably erudite individual with a basic grasp of how to use statistics and Google. But then this book is far more about personal ambitions than it is being truthful with the electorate, which along with other considerations has been drowned in Marx's `icy water of egotistical calculation'
The authors are apparently future stars of the Conservative party, which only goes to show how it takes only the peddling of some strain of Thatcherism to attain that status. This in essence is a book which argues nothing new, then. It contains no fresh insights into what is wrong with British society, but inevitably it peddles the usual litany of things that those on the Right get themselves into a lather about -the welfare state, the laziness of British workers, the tax system and how the politicians responsible for that system impertinently presume the highest earners should pay any tax at all, celebrity status as the only thing that `the young' aspire to etc.
It makes for tiresome reading, although when the City of London is exalted as some kind of hotbed of hard work, that's being polite. Just how much time and effort does it take to pick up a phone and fix an interest rate? Tuggy Tug `standing on a rough street corner in Brixton waiting for someone to mug' (p.72) is cited negatively for his `get rich quick' attitude which the authors claim is likely to leave him in prison or dead. If as far as these authors are concerned Tug had the socially acceptable `get rich quick' attitude he'd be getting the better of his background by working in the City, and in the fullness of time going on to stand as a budding Tory MP. The difference lies not in the end but the means by which it's achieved. This is either an argument far too subtle for these authors to grasp, or something that has no place in their psuedo-rhetoric.
In citing as they do the examples of emerging nations such as Brazil, the authors' blithe disregard for the differences in worldwide standards of living is such a glaring oversight that it must be intentional. Either they have failed to grasp the significance of those differences or they see the driving down of the British standard of living as a price well worth paying for the furtherance of their political ambitions.......sorry, maybe I could have done them a favour there and written `...for British global competitiveness' but I'd like to adhere to the truth.
Given my critique of this book, I should mention that I hold no brief for the Labour party either. My contempt for the three main political parties differs only by degrees, and I suspect I'm not alone there. But as those on the Right seem by some bizarre process pathologically incapable of seeing themselves as anything other than the embodiment of `the national interest', and those on the Left stare into the black hole that is the Labour party under Miliband minor's so-called leadership, such a stance seems abundantly justified.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start againPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Reviews with images
Applied the lessons. Crashed the economy. Oops
Imagine my excitement on being elected Prime Minister of a G7 nation by about 20,000 bewildered retirees. My mate Kwasi was so happy too. It really cheered him up during a dull funeral in St. Pauls.Let me be clear. I tried this book out, and a week later, Labour is looking to win a 650 seat majority and I've doubled the cost of living crisis.That is a disgrace.
Top reviews from other countries
Patrick G Cox
The authors need a reality check
Reviewed in Germany on 17 March 2022
