Customer Reviews

The Plan: Twelve months to renew Britain

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Before beginning my review, I thought it worth mentioning that this book has nothing within its pages about the American political situation and is essentially a manifesto for UK problems (admittedly based on the 1994 'Republican Contract with America').

If you want Hannan's insights on the USA, then the hyperlink below (Road to Serfdom) is what you are looking for. However, if you have an interest in Britain's political situation (which is broadly halfway between the socialism of Europe and the libertarianism of the USA), then read on.

***

It's curious to see in politics how most people regard the Left wing as having a monopoly on 'being progressive' & that anything the Right wing offer is reactionary and sending the country in the wrong 'direction'.

Though this may be somewhat true in the areas of social equality, it is manifestly not true in economic progress & devolving power. In these fields the old maxim of 'small is beautiful' holds true, although the tendency of many 'progressives' is to centralize power and expand the role of the state.

Which is why this book is such a breath of fresh air. Normal political treatise want more regulation, more centralized power and greater spending on government (e.g. New Britain - Tony Blair). This book calls for quite the opposite and is a clarion call against the ratcheting tendencies of centralisation and in favour of a policy of 'localism' and a small state.

Essentially the idea of the book is based on the 1994 'Republican Contract with America' where the Republican party wrote a manifesto of only two to three pages (printed as Appendix B in the book) promising a fixed list of policies they would enact in the first 100 days in office. So it is with this book, where all the ideas could be instituted within 12 months of a new Government (printed as a detailed & practicable Appendix A in the book)

Within its main pages there are excellent, good-sense ideas for almost every field of government, from the NHS & education, through to our policy towards Europe (which now writes 84% of the legislation that goes through parliament). Each time, the arguments of the opposition are taken to task & the authors cite what other countries have done in similar areas of government (e.g. the US benefit reforms, Denmark's education system & Singapore's Healthcare).

I found each argument to be compelling, pithy & full of in-depth research &, although I did not agree with all of them, I do wish that the government would at least give some of its highly sensible policies a go.

A couple of criticisms though.

First off, I got the distinct impression that Daniel Hannan wrote the vast majority of this book & that Douglas Carswell barely got a look in (with the exception of the areas about Parliamentary sovereignty). As Hannan often praises people such as Tony Benn and Enoch Powell, I fear that this book may be like so many prophetic voices - lost in the wilderness, rather than building consensus within the corridors of power.

Second, two huge major areas of government are missing: taxation & debt policy. Commentators such as Glenn Beck have suggested that excessive borrowing is the route to impoverishment in the US, yet it doesn't even get a mention here (even though the UK is 20% poorer than it was in 2000 owing to this problem).

As for taxation, surely having the longest tax-code in the World (and the most accountants per head) should suggest that our messy tax system should be cleared up but, again, not a mention.

All that being said, I implore people to read this book and form their own opinions. You may not agree with its findings, but I feel it is on the right side of most of the arguments and, crucially, is on the side of personal freedom & liberty against our increasingly overbearing and overweening state, which now consumes 51% of our National Output.