Broonland is a scathing and witty indictment of the architect of New Labour, Gordon Brown. Chris Harvie shows how Gordon Brown came to preside over a bankrupt county on the brink of economic and political breakdown. Taking us on a tour of Britain over the last decade, he explores the ever-widening disparity between rich and poor, and how manufacturing was replaced by “retail, entertainment and recreation” — otherwise known as shopping, gambling and drinking.

Looking at how a deregulated, casino economy veered wildly out of control, and how Britain’s public utilities and industries wre privatized and sold off to the highest bidder, Broonland is both an essential anatomy of New Labour’s bankrupt policies and a caustic portrait of a decade that went from boom to bust.

Praise for Broonland

“A capacious critique of this most complex of modern British politicians - whose "last days" may not, even yet, be near… his biographical connection with Brown… turns Harvie into something like a polymathic Jiminy Cricket, perfectly perched at the PM's shoulder… Harvie possesses a map to the full hinterland of Gordon Brown.” — Pat Kane, Independent

“An impish romp through the New Labour era … with Brown cast as a socialist Faust seduced by the capitalist Mephistopheles of the City of London… (Harvie)’s unique skill is having an eye for the curious and complex interconnections between making money and making culture. This book covers everything from organised crime to football… If you like writing stuffed with fascinating ideas, to the point that the sentences burst like a badly wrapped present from an enthusiastic friend, then dip in.” — George Kerevan, Scotsman

Christopher Harvie is Member of the Scottish Parliament for Mid Scotland and Fife. Harvie is visiting professor at Strathclyde and Aberystwyth universities and serves on the board of the European Centre for Federalism Studies, Tübingen, Germany. His many books include Scotland and Nationalism and Fool’s Gold: The Story of North Sea Oil. His website is www.intelligent-mr-toad.