Bankruptcy, Bubbles and Bailouts: The Inside History of the Treasury Since 1976

The Treasury is a powerful and secretive institution that has played a central role in shaping the UK's economic system, but it has escaped public scrutiny. David's book offers an inside history of the Treasury, showing the shortcomings and successes, personalities, and thinking that have shaped Britains economy since the mid-1970s.

Format: Hardback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 18 October 2022
Publisher: Manchester University Press

The Treasury, one of the oldest, most powerful, and secretive institutions in Britain, has played a pivotal role in shaping the country's economic system. However, it has often escaped public scrutiny when it comes to investigating the ups and downs of the UK economy.

When portrayed, it is usually as a bedrock of government stability in times of crisis, repeatedly rescuing the nation's finances from the hands of posturing politicians and the combustions of world financial markets. However, there is another side to the story.

Between the highs, there have been many lows, from botched privatizations to dubious private finance initiatives, from failing to spot the great financial crisis to facilitating ever-growing inequalities.

Daviss book goes behind the scenes to offer an inside history of the Treasury, in the words of the chancellors, advisors, and civil servants themselves. It shows the shortcomings as well as the successes, the personalities, and the thinking that have shaped Britain's economy since the mid-1970s. Based on interviews with over fifty key figures, it offers a fascinating, alternative insight on how and why the UK economy came to function as it does today, and why reform is long overdue.

Dimension: 198 x 129 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526159779