Book reviews
Book Review: In It Together: The Inside Story of the Coalition Government
Matthew d’Ancona is the Sunday Telegraph’s chief political commentator, and a man with near unmatched access amongst the journalistic fraternity to George Osborne and David Cameron’s inner circle. As such, his detailed account of the first three years of the Coalition Government make for interesting reading, even if he declines to put the Government’s record under […]
Book Review: Public Services: A New Reform Agenda
Public Services: A New Reform Agenda, a collection edited by Henry Kippin, Simon Griffiths and Gerry Stoker, brings together some of the UK’s leading public policy experts to explore the long-term challenges facing public services. Janet Newman welcomes the book’s focus on the need for a new public services settlement and detailed empirical evidence on […]
Book Review: Human Rights and Democracy: the Precarious Triumph of Ideals
Human Rights and Democracy: the Precarious Triumph of Ideals assesses the progress of human rights in and since the 20th Century, against a backdrop of repressive regimes and mass slaughter in a rigorous yet accessible way, writes Claire Overman. Despite some confusing structuring, Todd Landman illustrates the complexities of the human rights agenda in a way that non-experts and experts […]
Book Review: Digital Government @ Work: A Social Informatics Perspective
Digital Government @ Work examines the move toward online public services, which has been focus of huge policy and financial investments over the past decade. Based on original research into major public sector projects, Ian McLoughlin, Rob Wilson and Mike Martin offer a critique of the development of digital government. Chi Onwurah MP finds the book has a great […]
Book Review: The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived
This book provides the first detailed portrait of the post-1999 House of Lords, explaining who sits in the chamber, how it operates, and crucially what policy impact it has. Meg Russell aims to show that its membership is more diverse and modern than many would assume, and its influence on policy to be substantial. Gordon Bannerman concludes that this […]
Book Review: Shattered, Cracked or Firmly Intact? Women and the Executive Glass Ceiling Worldwide
In 1960, Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka made history when she was appointed the world’s first woman prime minister. In the half-century following her achievement, fewer than eighty women worldwide have attained the office of prime minister or president. In Shattered, Cracked, or Firmly Intact?, Farida Jalalzai aims to explain the mechanisms that push politically active women into […]
Book Review: Eminent Parliamentarians: The Speaker’s Lectures
In 2011, John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, instigated a series of public lectures in which current parliamentarians reassessed the careers and characters of earlier parliamentary giants. This book brings together those lectures, and will surely be of interest to political historians and Westminster researchers. Reviewed by Paul Wingrove. Eminent Parliamentarians: The Speaker’s Lectures. […]
Book Review: Factional Politics: How Dominant Parties Implode or Stabilize
Divisions within dominant political parties are nothing new, as has been illustrated by the Conservative Party’s renewed infighting over Europe. But how does internal party dissent begin, and what effects does it have on political parties in power? Ulrich Sieberer finds this book to be rich in empirical detail, praises its analysis of how some parties are […]
Book Review: The Politics of Expertise: How NGOs Shaped Modern Britain
The Politics of Expertise offers a challenging new interpretation of politics in contemporary Britain, through an examination of non-governmental organisations. Using specific case studies of the homelessness, environment, and international aid and development sectors, it seeks to demonstrate how politics and political activism has changed over the last half century. There’s a compelling argument in this […]
Book Review: Gypsies and Travellers: Empowerment and Inclusion in British Society
The eviction at Dale Farm in the UK in 2011 brought the conflicting issues relating to Gypsy and Traveller accommodation to the attention of the world’s media. However, as the furore surrounding the eviction has died down, the very pressing issues of accommodation need, inequality of access to education, healthcare and employment, and exclusion from British […]
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