Who Runs This Place? : The Anatomy of Britain in the 21st Century

440 Pages·2004·22.213 MB·English

by  Anthony Sampson

ANTHONY SAMPSON
Forty years ago Anthony Sampson wrote his
indispensable bestseller, Anatomy of Britain, which
first explained the workings of the Establishment.
Now he has felt drawn back to the task by
exasperation with the lack of democracy and
accountability in modern Britain.
How has power become so concentrated in so few
hands? Whatever happened to all those alternative MIA
‘GZ
centres — like Parliament, the monarchy, the regions
or the Cabinet? Why are company directors, lawyers
or accountants so unanswerable to the people
they represent?
PRIME MINISTER
Sampson follows ‘the will o’ the wisp of power’
through each profession, from politicians to the
media, from judges to generals, vividly describing
the new people at the top - corporate chiefs in place
of hereditary landowners, Islington media couples in
place of Kensington toffs.
7
CABINET
He finds still more power concentrating on Downing
Street, which has never been more distant from
~~ SS
Parliament - or closer to big business - while the
\
4raq War and fears of terrorism have increased the
secrecy at the centre. PARL IAMENT
After four decades of power-watching Sampson is
now more impatient with the abuses —- the law’s
delay, the insolence of office or the selfishness of the
TREASURY
rich. But he is hopeful that the British people will
finally reassert their democratic rights, whether as
voters or shareholders.
This new Anatomy provides an insider’s tour, with
exceptional sources; but it is on the side of the
outsider, written for ordinary citizens who want to
know who shapes and manipulates their lives — and
how to make them answer.
£20
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Also by Anthony Sampson
Drum, A Venture into the New Africa
The Treason Cage
Commonsense about Africa
Anatomy of Britain
Anatomy of Britain Today
Macmillan: A Study in Ambiguity
The New Europeans
The New Anatomy of Britain
The Sovereign State
The Seven Sisters
The Arms Bazaar
The Money Lenders
The Changing Anatomy of Britain
Empires of the Sky
Black and Gold
The Midas Touch
The Essential Anatomy of Britain
Company Man
The Scholar Gypsy
Mandela: The Authorised Biography
The Oxford Book of Ages (with Sally Sampson)
Who Runs This Place?
The Anatomy of Britain in the 21st Century
ANTHONY SAMPSON
JOHN MURRAY
Metropolitan Borough ofS tockport
Libraries wera
First published in Great Britain in 2004
by John Murray (Publishers)
A division of Hodder Headline
24681097 5 3
Copyright © 2004 by Anthony Sampson
The right of Anthony Sampson to be identified as the Author of
the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law no
part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of
the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other
than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on
the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library
Hardcover ISBN 0 7195 65642
Trade Paperback IsBN 0 7195 65650
Typeset in 11.5/14 Monotype Bembo by
Rowland Phototypesetting Ltd, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Printed and bound by Mackays of Chatham Ltd, Chatham, Kent
John Murray (Publishers)
338 Euston Road
London NWI 3BH
Hodder Headline policy is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable
products made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and
manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of
the country of origin.
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