Politics of financial control

This is a book about an ancient and important function of Britain's House of Commons, viz. the control of finance-or what is popularly known as 'The Control of the Purse'. It follows a long line of books on the same subject, many of them written by illustri ous authorities on the British Constitutions. The sole explanation I offer for having the temerity to add yet another title is simply that I find the existing books to be deficient. To me, they fail to give a complete understanding of why the House of Commons does what it does in the performance of its financial functions. My hope, then, is that this short, unorthodox, treatment of the subject might help to overcome that deficiency, if in fact it exists.

The book is not meant to be the last word on parliamentary control of finance. The subject is far too complex, and imporant, to be disposed of within its short compass. Indeed, I hope it pro vokes more questions than it answers, particularly questions about the role of representative assemblies in modern industrial societies, and about the process I call 'parliamentary politics'.