Britain's Trillion Pound Horror Story

Channel Four

1 x 90 mins

Martin Durkin's explosive feature-length documentary on the British economy. 

Like America, Britain is massively in debt (£4.8 trillion). Like America, the debt is growing at an alarming rate, and the interest on that debt, is getting bigger and bigger. Who's paying for it? You are. 

As Durkin points out, in Britain today the public sector is bigger than the private sector.  The British government spends more than all private individuals and companies put together. Yet any mention of ‘cuts’ raises howls of protest. Our bloated, parasitic public sector is the biggest, smuggest, greediest special interest group in British history.

Paying for Britain's super-sized state has landed us with mind-bending debts (if you sold all the houses and flats in the UK, you still couldn't pay it off). And for what? They spent all that money, they said, to provide us with world-class healthcare and education, to build wonderful houses for us and end poverty. Oh yes, and to stimulate the economy. Ha.

This film explodes two giant myths - the Santa Claus state, and the Robin Hood state.  There ain't no Santa Claus - it's our money they're spending. And forget Robin Hood. There aren't enough rich folk to bleed. It's ordinary folk, and the poor, who pay the lion share of taxes. And what do we get for our money? Our state monopoly health service is a national scandal, our schools barely deserve the name and you have to be a millionaire to afford a decent family home in many parts of Britain. Meanwhile the obscene profligacy of the British state has crippled the productive economy and landed our children and grandchildren with an unbelievably huge debt to repay. How much more of their money do we think it's OK to spend? Britain today is a semi-Communist country, needlessly impoverished, unhealthy, ill-educated and poorly housed. 

It's time for a revolution and that means cutting the size of the state by two thirds (to start with) and introducing low taxes. Sack most public sector workers, get rid of the NHS, privatise all schools. Durkin pulls no punches. He believes Britain can turn itself into a 21st century Tiger economy in less than a year. 

The film features interviews with four former chancellors of the exchequer, a surreal clutch of celebrities, and the biggest stack of fifty pound notes you ever did see.

Unquestionably the most important film of the year...it couldn't have come at a more desperate moment in our nation's history. Hooray for Durkin! - The Spectator

Guaranteed to provoke strong reactions. Prepare yourself to be shocked. - The Observer

Anyone with the slightest interest in the future of our country simply must watch this film. Utterly compelling stuff from start to finish. - Institute of Economic Affairs

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Britain's Trillion Pound Horror Story

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