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 ineptitude and serious abuses of power by some of those at the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which would go on to prop up the governments of Theresa May and Boris Johnson, 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. A riveting political thriller from the journalist who covered the controversy for over two years, Burned is the inside story of the shocking scandal that brought down a government.
About the Author
Sam McBride is the Political Editor of the Belfast News Letter, one of Northern Ireland’s daily newspapers, and the Northern Ireland political editor of the i newspaper in London, having begun his career a decade ago at the Belfast Telegraph. He is a regular presence on regional and national radio and television in the UK and Ireland.
Praise For…
"Superbly researched and explained with clarity and precision. Sam McBride’s book should be required reading for those working in the public and private sectors far beyond Northern Ireland as a manual on how not to run major projects and how not to govern a society." — Mark Devenport, political journalist and broadcaster
"One of the most important books on Northern Ireland politics since the Good Friday Agreement; and certainly the most important on the Assembly and the function – and dysfunction – of devolution. Disturbingly revelatory." — Alex Kane, columnist and commentator
"This is a magnificent book by one of Ireland’s finest journalists. It is a shocking work, and raises profound and troubling questions about the future of government in Northern Ireland. An absolute page-turner." —Susan McKay, The Irish Times
