Broonland

A scathing and witty indictment of the architect of New Labour, Gordon Brown

An indictment of the architect of New Labour, Gordon Brown. It shows how Brown came to preside over a bankrupt country on the brink of economic and political breakdown. Taking us on a tour of Britain, it explores the ever-widening disparity between rich and poor, and how manufacturing was replaced by 'retail, entertainment and recreation'.How did the intellectually intimidating, industrious architect of the New Labour project become its maligned and feckless undertaker? In this scathing, witty indictment of Gordon Brown's tenure as prime minister, Christopher Harvie says goodbye to Broon by exploring the Britain New Labour helped create. It is a place where the gap between rich and poor grows ever wider and manufacturing has been replaced by 'retail, entertainment and recreation' (for which read shopping, gambling and drinking).
Now that the casino economy has veered wildly out of control, and our public utilities and industries have been auctioned to the highest bidder, Broonland is both an essential anatomy of a country on the brink of collapse and a caustic, darkly funny portrait of a decade that took Britain from boom through bust to busted.