- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Shepheard-Walwyn (Publishers) Ltd; First Edition edition (22 Mar 2010)
- ISBN-10: 085683274X
- ISBN-13: 978-0856832741
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.8 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,332,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Prime Minister: A Novel
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
From reviews of John Stewart's previous novels, Visitors and The President respectively: 'It is difficult to know where to look for comparisons: Graham Greene, for its exquisite prose, or [Arthur C. Clarke], for its deftly imagined other-world politics' Guardian online John Stewart's second political novel is, on one level, a tale of the 'good man' in politics: in the vein of Being There, say, or Good as Gold. It is beautifully written, Stewart's prose is graceful indeed. Entertaining and thought-provoking'
--The Compulsive Reader, 2008 & Others
--The Compulsive Reader, 2008 & Others
Product Description
The country is in crisis. Unrest and inner city tensions feed on unemployment. And as the Government struggles to contain the soaring debt, no one listens. Most are tired of 'PR-savvy' words, tired of the 'blame-game' that poses as debate. Divisions in the Cabinet force the premier's resignation. Because circumstances are too dire to afford the luxury of an election, the Queen calls a meeting of the three main party leaders. Some days previously, the Leader of the Opposition had received a letter that intrigued him. The writer, in fact, had held little hope of making contact. For him, it was one last try. Yet much to his amazement he received a phone call from the opposition leader's secretary. When they met, the Leader of the Opposition was polite, but blunt: 'Why should you see the answer when all the experts down the ages have ignored it?' he asked - yet, his interest had been aroused. Following the meeting with the Queen, it was announced that the Leader of the Opposition had been asked to form a national government. With the support of the other two party leaders, he sets out to win over the cabinet, parliament and the country to implement the reform recommended by the letter writer.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The events around the UK election in May 2010 give this book by John Stewart, a real-time edge. The reader is swung along as controversial measures are introduced and voted by parliament all over the space of a few weeks under a national unity government amidst an economic crisis involving a debt mountain, rising home repossessions, negative equity, etc. The somewhat startling theme is of how to pay for society's needs and reduce income tax all during an international banking crisis. The author has three main themes: `free credit' `community fund' and `tax-shift'. The idea is that productive investment (initially just infrastructure) is to be funded by government created interest-free money (leaving banks out of the loop) and conventional taxes are to be cut. Shortfalls in public receipts due to the tax cuts are to be re-funded from an untapped `community fund', achieving the `tax-shift'. This fund has been revealed through a single letter out of the blue from a publisher to a young MP who shortly after becomes the new unity government Prime Minister. The fund is piled high with value and its existence arises from the presence of the community. The more valued the community the more dense - and taller - the buildings on the valuable land which is the actual repository of the wealth. The wealth is currently going into private hands although being steadily enhanced by such as public infrastructure projects that are currently paid for by ordinary working people's taxes. The value is to be taken for the community by a `location levy' charged on every plot of land. The buildings carry no levy and land ownership stays as it is. The free credit is to be secured on the back of the enhancement it brings to the community fund of land value.
Property vested interests battle through the unfolding events to protect their corner as the House of Commons vote looms. A somewhat older-worldly restrained romance threads through the plot and the fact that women always seem to make the tea and coffee is a bit 1950's ! But such non-modern incidentals do not detract from the book's readability and high importance as a fascinating polemic on the burdensome stupidity of taxes on labour and creativity whilst letting vast community-inspired wealth get off scot-free. It attacks this injustice at the heart of our public financing arrangements - and as such is unashamedly rooted in moral principles. For those already committed to the cause this book brings a refreshing view to familiar ideas, with its new ways of expression, new angles to familiar themes and its gradual revelation of the issues among a convincing cast of the type of modern character we see regularly in the media. This novel deserves a high rating for its boldness and success in giving an otherwise rather academic topic a somewhat surprising appeal. I was sceptical that the subject could be given the justice it deserves through a novel, but I was wrong. A book that anyone with an open mind should enjoy and learn from.
Apart from receiving a free copy for review purposes, the reviewer has no financial interest in the success of this book.
Property vested interests battle through the unfolding events to protect their corner as the House of Commons vote looms. A somewhat older-worldly restrained romance threads through the plot and the fact that women always seem to make the tea and coffee is a bit 1950's ! But such non-modern incidentals do not detract from the book's readability and high importance as a fascinating polemic on the burdensome stupidity of taxes on labour and creativity whilst letting vast community-inspired wealth get off scot-free. It attacks this injustice at the heart of our public financing arrangements - and as such is unashamedly rooted in moral principles. For those already committed to the cause this book brings a refreshing view to familiar ideas, with its new ways of expression, new angles to familiar themes and its gradual revelation of the issues among a convincing cast of the type of modern character we see regularly in the media. This novel deserves a high rating for its boldness and success in giving an otherwise rather academic topic a somewhat surprising appeal. I was sceptical that the subject could be given the justice it deserves through a novel, but I was wrong. A book that anyone with an open mind should enjoy and learn from.
Apart from receiving a free copy for review purposes, the reviewer has no financial interest in the success of this book.
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