|
|
(Larger Image)
|
Better or Worse?: Has Labour Delivered?
by Polly Toynbee, David Walker
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (2005-02-07)
ISBN: 0747579822
EAN: 9780747579823
Dewy Decimal #: 324
Paperback: 352 pages
SKU: B435-1314
Condition: Like New
Comments: UNREAD but may have minor imperfections such as a crease or mark. In stock - quick dispatch, from an efficient and professional leading British bookselling firm.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Candid Friend
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-09-18
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
The reason this book is so good is because it would be easy to assume that two of Britains best centre left journalists would be so keen for the Labour Party to stay in the ascendency and get handsomely re-elected that particularly in election year a fawning uncritical book worthy of the worst of toadies would be the result.Absolutely NOT!Polly Toynbee and David Walker act as critical friends ,giving labour credit where credit is due ,regardless of whether or not public opinion or media sentiment is prepared to do the same.As is usual with their books evidence is key.Nothing is argued for or against without it first having been rooted in a strong evidence base.Progress on child poverty and NHS improvement are some of the improvements acknowledged.
However when neccesary the Labour Government is pulled up short for its timidity and lack of ambition at a time when Labour is in a historically unique position to advance the progressive and social justice agenda.Any hint of squandering this golden opportunity is quite rightly scorned by the authors.Fair but firm is how their style is best summed up!
Metaphorically speaking Polly Toynbee and David Walker remind me in this book of the wise owl in a pub-the voice of reason standing at the bar who ever so gently but determindly corrects the drunk who knows everything about how little the government has done for the country and what a useless waste of space they all our at one end of the bar and tempers the enthuiasm and exuberance of the drunk at the other end of the bar who thinks their party of choice has done everything right.They make good ringmasters between the two opposing views of the arguing drunks by calmly and clearly explaining the reality of what the evidence shows!Thats this excellent book in a nutshell.A fair and well balanced assesment of New Labour in power.Worth a read.
|
|
Accurate and comprehensive
Rating  (4)
Date: 2005-09-26
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
A very good appraisal of how Labour has and hasn't delivered in the past 8 years. Generally Labour's achievements are measured against it's own promises rather than the Authors' wishes which makes for a very objective and infomative assessment.
|
|
The truth
Rating (5)
Date: 2005-08-11
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
It's never easy to fairly assess the Government of the day, when you have to take into account so many different policies, with the accompanying views, lies, scandals and hyperbole.This Government seems to have been attacked more than any other, probably because so much was expected, and seemingly they have failed to deliver. Then you read Polly Toynbee's excellent book and you start to see how much has actually been accomplished in Blair's 8 years in charge. This is a highly-detailed and objective analysis of what the Labour Government set out to do in its two manifestos, what perhaps needed to be done outside these, and how the reality matches up to the objectives. In some cases they have failed, in others they have delivered exactly what they said they would, but whatever your view, it's tremendously useful to have this kind of exhaustive review at your side when you think about your vote.
|
|
|
|
|