Follow the Money cover art

Follow the Money

'Gripping and horrifying... witty and brilliant. Buy it' The Times

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Follow the Money

By: Paul Johnson
Narrated by: Rich Keeble
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £15.79

Buy Now for £15.79

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'This is a brilliant book. Buy it, read it and weep' The Times

'The antidote to naivety that our political class needs' Sunday Times, Book of the Week

'A treasure trove of killer facts' Guardian

'Read it, absorb it, and understand how the country works' Laura Kuenssberg

'If you want to understand why crazy politics routinely trumps economic rationality in government choices, read this' Robert Peston

Paul Johnson and the enormously respected Institute for Fiscal Studies aim to hold Government to account - without which politicians will get away with their half-truths, elisions and dubious claims. This is a forensic examination - by the man best placed to do so - of the way the state raises and spends £1 trillion of our money every year. To follow the money. To provide an explanation, of where that money comes from and where it goes to, how that has changed and how it needs to change.

Government decisions determine the welfare of the poor and the elderly, the state of the health service, the effectiveness of our children's education, and how prepared we are for the future: whether that is a pandemic or global warming. As a society, we are a reflection of what the government spends.

Johnson looks at what happened following the financial crisis of 2008-09 and the austerity years that followed. He examines the way that the government tackled the economy during Covid - when the UK budget shot up to over a trillion for the first time - and he analyses prospects for our future as we grapple with looming recession and the cost of living crisis.©2023 PJECONOMICS Ltd Politics & Government Government Money Thought-Provoking Taxation Economic Inequality
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

This book is the antidote to naivety that our political class needs. Anyone, in fact, who has strong views about how society should be run would benefit from reading it, because every political ambition costs money and as Johnson writes, "someone has to pay for all this"... The story he tells may leave you reeling... Johnson's buoyant yet acerbic style will keep you engaged. The sobering realities he lays out are peppered with entertaining asides
So gripping and horrifying that it should probably come with a trigger warning: readers may find the content concerning the state of their country's governance upsetting... Given its subject matter, the book is a surprisingly easy read. That's thanks to Johnson's clear, witty prose. Few other writers could produce such a palatable explanation of the system of local government finance or make their readers guffaw over the details of VAT collection... This is a brilliant book. Buy it, read it and weep
Erudite and informative
A treasure trove of killer facts
Follow the Money is essential reading
Read it, absorb it, and understand how the country works. Johnson uses his talent for crunching the complex into the comprehensible to produce a cheerfully skeptical guide to the British state, revealing it's wisdom and idiocy, and where our money really goes.
This is an important book by the economist who has set the terms of so much political debate over the past decade. If you want to understand why crazy politics routinely trumps economic rationality in government choices, read this.
Paul Johnson - the oracle of fiscal - has provided the perfect guide through this dense thicket of fiscal facts and fictions, both explaining the hard choices we now face and why, as citizens, it matters that we understand and act wisely when making them
Fire and passion, combined with the facts. Every politician should get a copy, as the tales of short-sighted, election-fixated, cowardly decision-making are so depressing. And your way forward looks so blindingly sensible.
Readable and entertaining... Johnson pulls no punches in his new book on the public finances which charts Government public policy failures
Readers interested in this subject could hardly hope for a better-qualified author... It should be compulsory reading for every MP and prospective government minister... packed full of interesting data and analysis... The real value of this book lies in the fact that Johnson does go far beyond the usual IFS mission, setting out his own agenda for the future
[A] powerful dissection of the stupidities of how we organise taxing and spending (Will Hutton)
Paul Johnson's sharp and thorough Follow the Money is based on an idea so clear that it's surprising nobody has thought of it before... an energetic and angry book, charged with a strong sense of frustration (John Lanchester)
All stars
Most relevant
Very informative, lots of stats which is difficult to keep up with sometimes. Slightly condescending style of narration. Learnt a lot

Mind bending but excellent albeit with slightly condescending narration style

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
But sadly those in charge seem to ignore ‘experts’ like Paul Johnson. Which explains why we are in the mess we are in

Essential reading for the government

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a great breakdown of how the State works. The analysis is clear, neutral and to the point. The most frustrating point I found listening is the fact it all feels within our grasp, but party politics and pandering to the electorates whims distracts us from a better, more prosperous future for all. Fantastic book.

Clear concise analysis of where Britain finds itself.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The U.K. economy clearly explained with a trenchant but witty style. The warning is crystal clear - we must achieve growth and this will require somehow restoring trade with Europe. The alternative is not attractive….

Insight and clarity.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
what an amazing book. you'll get angry and outraged at how badly managed our economy is in places but you'll find yourself so well educated by what's included it'll give you context for that frustration. there's no easy fixes but at least I can see the why and what of the complex issues. it's good for those of us who want to understand but who aren't economists and can't bear to sift through the political jargon or the media's bias. I wish there was a bit more depth in some parts, but it's quite a whistle stop tour.

Amazing book that will educate but also provoke

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews