The Treasury is one of Britain's oldest, most powerful and most secretive institutions. It has played a central role in shaping the country's economic system, yet all too often it has escaped public scrutiny.

The Treasury is often presented as a bedrock in times of crisis, rescuing the nation's finances from posturing politicians and the combustions of world financial markets. However, there is another side to the story. Between the highs there have been many lows, from botched privatisations to dubious private finance initiatives, from failing to spot the great financial crisis to facilitating ever-growing inequalities.

Going behind the scenes, this book offers an inside history of the Treasury, in the words of chancellors, advisors and civil servants themselves. It shows the shortcomings as well as the successes, the personalities and the ideas that have shaped Britain's economy since the mid-1970s. Based on interviews with over fifty key figures, it offers a fascinating, alternative insight on how and why the UK economy came to function as it does today, and why reform is long overdue.