Second Amongst Equals

At first sight a book about post-war Chancellors of the Exchequer might not seem very exciting, but this book is very funny indeed. It will give pleasure to anyone who enjoys watching the rough and tumble of politics or takes an interest in the well-being of the British economy. And it features a remarkable rogues' gallery from Sir Stafford Cripps and Hugh Dalton to Nigel Lawson, John Major, Norman Lamont and Gordon Brown as well as every prime minister. Second Amongst Equals charts the success of post war chancellors in managing the British economy. Richard Holt measures their performance in controlling inflation (variable to poor), whipping the spending departments into shape (ditto), dealing with Europe (poor to very poor) and encouraging growth (patchy at best). He shows how the job has changed over time and how important the relationship with the Prime Minister is. In doing so he confronts the wider question: how much difference can one man (and they are all men) make to the fortunes of a country?