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Burned

The Inside Story of the 'Cash-for-Ash' Scandal and Northern Ireland's Secretive New Elite

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Burned

By: Sam McBride
Narrated by: Sam McBride
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About this listen

A riveting political thriller from the journalist who covered the controversy for more than two years, Burned is the inside story of the shocking scandal that brought down a government.

One of the most shocking scandals in Northern Irish political history: originally a green-energy initiative, the Renewal Heat Incentive (RHI) or 'cash-for-ash' scheme saw Northern Ireland's government pay £1.60 for every £1 of fuel the public burned in their wood-pellet boilers, leading to widespread abuse and ultimately the collapse of the power-sharing administration at Stormont.

Revealing the wild incompetence of the Northern Ireland civil service and the serious abuses of power by some of those at the head of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which would go on to prop up the governments of Theresa May and Boris Johnson and a major factor in the Brexit negotiations, this scandal exposed not only some of Northern Ireland's most powerful figures but revealed problems that go to the very heart of how NI is governed.

©2020 Sam McBride (P)2020 W. F. Howes Ltd 21st Century Europe Modern Ireland

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All stars
Most relevant  
Excellent, finished the book very quickly as kept coming back. Would absolutely recommend to anyone

Excellent book very informative

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The author has performed a public service in bringing a very readable account of the events of RHI.

Comprehensive insight into the whole saga

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The subject of RHI in Northern Ireland has left me scratching my head. Namely that’s the lack of political fallout.

McBride has put together a wonderful document cataloging a real life version of In the Thick of It. I’m somewhat ignorant of NI politics but this is a gripping read.

Top quality journalism

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If like me you were and are fascinated by NI politics, this book doesn't just let you peek behind the curtains. It tears the curtains off from their rails.

Buy it. Sam McBride does an amazing job at narrating it, one of the best journalists to ever come from NI.

Riveting, a must buy if you're interested in RHI

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Having listened intently to events around RHI as they broke, Sam has carefully crafted a narrative that pulls together elements that I would otherwise have overlooked. This book provides a commentary that, at several points, makes your jaw drop.

Jaw dropping

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I have just just finished listening to Burned _ which I meant to read last Christmas before the Election but never got round to.
I think I must have been 17/18 and studying for A Levels in 2015/16 when first becoming aware of RHI after listening to the debates on Nolan. Other than this book reminding me of stuff I remember happening and coming on in the news, I found it interesting to find out more about something that _ although since I’ve been interested in _ I didn’t really know a lot about. I guess there’s one lesson everyone can take away from everything that happened before and since RHI, read everything before you agree to something. A brilliant book!

A VERY INTERESTING INSIGHT INTO ONE OF NI’S BIGGEST SCANDALS BY ONE OF NI’S TOP JOURNALISTS

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The RHI scandal is amongst the best known scandals in Northern Irish politics, and when it comes to the sheer effrontery of the political class - their ability to lie, evade, offer non apologies and failing all else, to blame anyone but themselves - it truly is in a leave of its own. Given that it’s comparators for scandal are things like the murder of Pat Finucane, for those of us from the north, this reads (and is read beautifully) like the blackest comedy going. Anyone familiar with the northern Irish accent will immediately pick up the wonderfully understated and very funny moments of sarcasm and occasionally sheer disbelief expressed by the author at the characters portrayed, be they from business, civil service or politics. The hero of the story is a whistleblower who was just trying to do the right thing, whilst arrayed against her are every kind of nepotism, incompetence, greed and secrecy that politics can muster. Outstanding account, from a journalist who clearly knows his craft.

One minor point. The senior civil servants come in for an absolute roasting, and rightly so, but senior civil servants are not “the civil service”, which is actually predominantly made up of low paid workers who work bloody hard. So the stereotypes offered with zero evidence to back them, about plenty of people who are paid for doing no work, or powerful unions (and though it’s unsaid, the clear implication of Spanish practices) and so on is just not accurate at all. The NICS went through 20,000 job cuts in this period and the effect on the services people rely on were terrible, even if Ministers could still live inside their bubble with their senior civil servants, doing all the policy work while poor sods slaved away on the front line trying to make it workable for the punters they actually serve. Moreover, exactly the same kind of people become senior civil servants as become SpAds or senior private sector managers, say, in the poultry industry. There’s enough cupidity and indolence to go round, so the harping on about state subsidy rules, and how worthless the civil service is, and how powerful unions are is more to do with the author’s own political prejudices and maybe too many repeats of Yes, Minister (understandable as this real-life story really does read like something Armando Ianucci dreamed up, as the author notes).

Other than that, top marks.

Farcical scenes to be had

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A very worthwhile read to avoid repeating the same mistakes in government and public service

A very worthwhile read

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