"Highly addictive": David Burton-Sampson reviews 'Can You Run the Economy?'
26 November: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves leave 11 Downing Street to deliver her Budget | Image by: ZUMA Press, Inc / Alamy
3 min read
This fun, interactive book is the ideal Christmas gift for all would-be chancellors
Could you do the job of the chancellor of the Exchequer? Over recent weeks many have been led to believe they could, with the constant flow of pre- and post-Budget commentary from politicians, journalists and public alike. Well, now is the time to prove your worth.
David Burton-Sampson's completed Budget tracker...
Joe Mayes’ new, interactive book gives you the opportunity to navigate the life of a freshly appointed chancellor and the challenges they face leading up to their first budget. It makes the perfect Christmas gift for anyone interested in the world of politics and economics – or indeed someone just looking for a fun challenge. Why not treat yourself and take the reins of running our economy over the holiday period? If you’re like me, you will struggle to put the book down once you get stuck in.
Throughout the book you are taken on a journey through the day-to-day life of the chancellor. Although many in the Westminster bubble will be familiar with the world the book guides you through, there are still some interesting facts you may not be aware of included along the way.
You will struggle to put the book down once you get stuck in
And his Budget scorecard...
But the real fun comes with being presented with an array of information before having to make a series of informed decisions. From backing the City or not in your Mansion House speech, to deciding what spending decisions and tax changes to make, your choices will have consequences and could impact both your budget surplus and your approval rating. They could ultimately lead you to an uncomfortable conversation with the prime minister and perhaps even being fired...
I made my choices and recorded them honestly, jumping to the appropriate page to find out my fate. However, I could not resist reading back on the alternative choices afterwards to understand how they could have impacted me.
The second half of the book focuses on building your budget, deciding what elements you are going to ‘leak’ and then delivering it – before ultimately facing the public at a general election. There’s even a splattering of world events thrown in to boot, which of course you have no control over but must react to.
I managed to reach the end of the book without being given the boot, delivering a budget that left a meagre £1.5bn in headroom and an approval rating of -3, only to be sacked by our real bosses at the general election.
Of course, the decisions made by our current chancellor would have taken much more time, consideration and reflection than those outlined in this book. But being chancellor for the day was fun and I would recommend giving it a go. You never know, you may end up finding your calling. A good and highly addictive read.
David Burton-Sampson is Labour MP for Southend West and Leigh
Can You Run the Economy? An interactive adventure inside the Treasury
By: Joe Mayes
Publisher: Ebury
