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jiji17's review
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
3.0
I found this book quite difficult to read (I think it didn’t help that I listened to it as an audiobook!) because there was simply so much information and so many names to comprehend. I think I have only retained about 20% of the information upon this first read.
However, it was definitely very interesting and necessary book and one that I can definitely see myself referring to again and again.
However, it was definitely very interesting and necessary book and one that I can definitely see myself referring to again and again.
monikasreadingadventures's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I urge anyone who lives in the UK to read this book.
Geoghegan explains how dirty money influences UK politics, especially most recently in the Brexit vote and the election in 2019. Geoghegan also explains the dirty tactics used to persuade voters to vote for Brexit as well. For that reason I think it's necessary for everyone to read this book and understand the problems in UK politics now.
The only downside of this book is the New Afterword on Cronyism in the Time of Covid that was included in my edition of the book as the last chapter of the book has a sombre but hopeful ending and then the afterword just railed in on cronyism, which wasn't relevant to the topic (albeit related to it).
Geoghegan explains how dirty money influences UK politics, especially most recently in the Brexit vote and the election in 2019. Geoghegan also explains the dirty tactics used to persuade voters to vote for Brexit as well. For that reason I think it's necessary for everyone to read this book and understand the problems in UK politics now.
The only downside of this book is the New Afterword on Cronyism in the Time of Covid that was included in my edition of the book as the last chapter of the book has a sombre but hopeful ending and then the afterword just railed in on cronyism, which wasn't relevant to the topic (albeit related to it).
cjmckeon's review against another edition
5.0
“Follow the money” may be a journalistic cliché, but it’s still good advice.
That’s exactly what Peter Geoghegan does here, following the money that has poured into British politics for years and, specifically, around the Brexit referendum. Where that money leads is not encouraging - barely legal (and in some cases actually illegal) funding of campaigns, rules that are open for abuse by foreign agents trying to influence British politics and regulators either powerless or uninterested in stopping it all.
But the most worrying, and most interesting, aspect is where exactly the money is coming from. The argument here is a network of hard-right, ultra-free market bodies funded by a range of interests - including foreign ones - has embedded itself at the heart of Westminster politics and achieved new prominence thanks to the Brexit vote. Partly, this was because they were willing to tell the government what it wanted to hear (eg. that the Irish border wouldn’t be a problem), but also because they’d spent years laying the groundwork, influencing ministers and journalists while pretending to be non-partisan. (Incidentally, it’s discouraging that so many senior ministers seem to be so weak-willed that they’re easily persuaded by this stuff and don’t seem to have asked even basic questions about it).
Inevitably, though, it comes down to money. Not the money that is invested in British politics but the money that those shadowy investors can make by pushing deregulation. Few of these people backed Brexit because of ideals about sovereignty - their track record suggests it’s all about letting them do whatever it is they want, whether that’s exploiting workers or cutting costs by lowering safety standards, and the voters were just along for the ride.
That’s exactly what Peter Geoghegan does here, following the money that has poured into British politics for years and, specifically, around the Brexit referendum. Where that money leads is not encouraging - barely legal (and in some cases actually illegal) funding of campaigns, rules that are open for abuse by foreign agents trying to influence British politics and regulators either powerless or uninterested in stopping it all.
But the most worrying, and most interesting, aspect is where exactly the money is coming from. The argument here is a network of hard-right, ultra-free market bodies funded by a range of interests - including foreign ones - has embedded itself at the heart of Westminster politics and achieved new prominence thanks to the Brexit vote. Partly, this was because they were willing to tell the government what it wanted to hear (eg. that the Irish border wouldn’t be a problem), but also because they’d spent years laying the groundwork, influencing ministers and journalists while pretending to be non-partisan. (Incidentally, it’s discouraging that so many senior ministers seem to be so weak-willed that they’re easily persuaded by this stuff and don’t seem to have asked even basic questions about it).
Inevitably, though, it comes down to money. Not the money that is invested in British politics but the money that those shadowy investors can make by pushing deregulation. Few of these people backed Brexit because of ideals about sovereignty - their track record suggests it’s all about letting them do whatever it is they want, whether that’s exploiting workers or cutting costs by lowering safety standards, and the voters were just along for the ride.
bengthesnowball's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Well researched but at times repetitive although a lot of the subject matter and findings are quite damning. Does a good job of charting how wealthy donators can circumvent outdated financing rules and regulators in order to unduly influence political discourse.
Well researched but at times repetitive although a lot of the subject matter and findings are quite damning. Does a good job of charting how wealthy donators can circumvent outdated financing rules and regulators in order to unduly influence political discourse.
bethmcewen's review
4.0
Informative and engaging; but did start to feel a bit repetitive in the last few chapters. More like a 3.5 star review.