UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

The dreadful monster and its poor relations: taxing, spending and the United Kingdom, 1707-2021

Hoppit, J; (2021) The dreadful monster and its poor relations: taxing, spending and the United Kingdom, 1707-2021. [Book]. (1st ed.). Allen Lane: London, UK.

[thumbnail of Hoppit_02 1707-1800.pdf] Text
Hoppit_02 1707-1800.pdf
Access restricted to UCL open access staff

Download (465kB)

Abstract

It has always been an important part of British self-image to see the United Kingdom as an ancient, organic and sensibly managed place, in striking contrast to the convulsions of other European countries. To a limited degree this is true, but, as Julian Hoppit makes clear in this fascinating and surprising book, beneath the complacent surface the United Kingdom has in fact been in a constant, often very tense argument with itself about how it should be run and, most significantly, who should pay for what. The book takes its argument from an eighteenth century cartoon which shows the central state as the 'Dreadful Monster', gorging itself at the dinner table on all the taxes it can grab. Meanwhile the 'Poor Relations' - Scotland, Wales and Ireland, both poor because of tax but also poor in the sense of needing special treatment - are viewed in London as an endless 'drain on the state'. With drastically different levels of prosperity, population, industry, agriculture and accessibility between the United Kingdom's different nations, what is a fair basis for paying for the state?

Type: Book
Title: The dreadful monster and its poor relations: taxing, spending and the United Kingdom, 1707-2021
ISBN-13: 9780241434420
Publisher version: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/316/316625/the-dre...
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of History
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10114688
Downloads since deposit
0Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item