Review for Ministers-at-Work by Rob Fox July 2005

It is 40 years since veteran political journalist and writer Anthony Sampson published his first “Anatomy of Britain” and he completed the updates for the paperback edition of his latest just before his death last December. This is a fitting testament to a writer held in high regard by his peers, respect by political and business leaders, and whom – which can be aid of few in the world of political journalism – was beholden to no-one.

The book itself is an assessment of where real political and economic power lie in Britain in the early 21st century, looking at a range of individuals, institutions and interest groups, evaluating them in relation to one another and looking at what has changed over the last 40 years. Sampson enjoyed access to key figures throughout the period. This combines with his thorough research and an incisive style to produce a book that is both a pleasure to read and highly informative. Each chapter is devoted to a particular power-base and is cleverly linked with the next; reading a chapter at a time pays dividends. Examined are: the Houses of Commons and Lords, the Monarchy, Political parties, Trades Unions, the Prime Minister, Cabinet, Whitehall, Treasury, Diplomats, Secret Services, Defence, Lawyers, Academia, Broadcasters, the Press, Bankers, the Bank of England, Pension Funds, Privatised Industries, Corporations, Accountants, Directors, and the ‘New Rich’.

There are, in Sampson’s view, clear gainers and losers over the past 40 years, with few of the above enjoying a ‘middling’ performance. The main gainers have been the Prime Minister (he cites excellent sources on both Thatcher and Blair), the Treasury (which I can vouch for), the Secret Services and Defence (especially post 9/11), Lawyers, Pension Funds (who command far and away the largest financial clout), Corporations, Accountants, Directors and the ‘New Rich’. Some of the last have benefited hugely from privatisation, while the performance of privatised industry and services has been decidedly mixed (as recent events at Rover have shown). The main losers he identifies as: Trades Unions (collapse in numbers and political influence), Whitehall (increasingly marginalized and dominated by the Treasury), Academia (much lower paid, under-funded and little valued), and Broadcasters (he charts the recent assaults on the BBC with aplomb, notes the demise of regional television, but also the rise of he whom Private Eye calls ‘The Dirty Digger’).

Sampson states that he does not look at the Church(es) as he feels he does not have the necessary expertise or understanding, which shows he has good judgement. One interesting observation he does make though, as the Churches lament falling attendances, is that the last 40 years have been characterised by an extraordinary public withdrawal from voluntary activities of all kinds. He draws attention to the loss of members to the two largest political parties (Conservatives down from 2.1 million to 310,000, Labour from 850,000 to 240,000). In this landscape the Churches, whilst far from bucking the trend, have not as badly as they think.

There has been a clear shift of political power away from Parliament and Party to the Prime Minister and his / her inner circle, increasingly made up of unaccountable advisors, and Sampson marshals his arguments thoroughly here. He also has a thorough command of the debates surrounding the Iraq war, showing how the concentration of decision-making in the hands of a very few has under-mined not only Parliament but also the Foreign Office, Diplomats in the field, and the BBC. In his ‘circles’ map of power in modern Britain, the two largest are the media (largely the Press) and the, increasingly non-British rich. He shows how under Gordon Brown’s Chancellorship, ‘non-domiciled’ foreign nationals can live in Britain and not be taxed on their foreign earnings (even if not taxed elsewhere, and unlike UK nationals); this has benefited, for example, Chelsea Football Club, but made Britain a tax haven for the super-rich, with no discernable benefits for the ‘ordinary’ Briton.

Another trends Sampson reveals is the increasing separation between investors and investment. The proportion of investment coming from institutions rather than individuals has doubled (to over half) in 40 years, much of it coming from Pension Funds themselves. He exposes the often lamentable management of these funds by Trustees, who are often more sensitive to the demands of employers than present and future pensioners. He notes also that the circle of people recruited as Directors of public companies has narrowed considerably over the same period, with golden handshakes helping make fortunes for many whose track record in corporate governance is less than impressive. Particular attention is given also to regulation, especially in corporate governance and finance, highlighting a number of weaknesses. Even post BCCI, Enron, WorldCom and a host of smaller and les publicised failures in the UK, there are serious flaws in procedures. One of the most important in my experience is continuing the failure to separate incompatible functions: auditors working in Directors’ interests, not shareholders, financial advisers earning fees advising the Government on PFI projects and advising bidders for the self-same contracts. The Accountancy profession is not for nothing a big gainer in power and wealth.

For anyone who wants to deepen their understanding on just how Britain ticks, or just wants a readable overview, this book is essential reading. There are a few points where the reader could reasonably take issue with Sampson’s conclusions, but to refute them completely he would have to be as thorough and as well-informed, a mammoth task.