Why We Get the Wrong Politicians

A balanced examination of what's wrong with British politics

Isabel Hardman is an English political journalist. She is also the assistant editor of The Spectator and presenter of Radio 4's Week in Westminster. In this book Hardman tries to address national opinion of UK politicians, which is arguably at an all time low.

The book is more nuanced than the clickbait title might suggest. It is not so much about why we get undesirable politicians, but rather about what is wrong with the way parliament works. It also deals more with political expectations versus reality. And what Hardman believes are the systemic failings of the UK democratic institutions. Hardman approaches this both from a voter perspective and also from the viewpoint of a would be politician.

She expresses empathy as she interviews and discusses the life of a politician. For example, I never knew that being a political candidate is so expensive. Some invest tens of thousands of pounds in failed attempts to get elected to parliament. And may even give up a career to stand. Expense, she argues, is one of the reasons why we get the wrong politicians.

She also explains the contradiction at the centre of our parliamentary system. Parliament was a legislative chamber. With its chief purpose to scrutinise measures of the government. As politics developed, the government almost always controlled a majority of MPs in the Commons. This meant it ended up scrutinising itself. She suggests that the House of Lords is a better revising chamber as a consequence. But, of course, we do not elect peers and they are unaccountable.

The second part gets a little bogged down with detail about how certain policies came into being. The book also has a short conclusion which touches on some ideas to make the political process better. But it left me slightly unsatisfied. Especially, when most of the book was a passionate argument of what is wrong.

But there's no doubt that this is an informative book from which I discovered a lot. Required reading for people who want to understand how parliamentary procedure operates. And what it means to be a politician.