Why We Get the Wrong Politicians

Product Information

In this searching examination of our political class, award-winning journalist Isabel Hardman tries to square this circle. She lifts the lid on the strange world of Westminster and asks why we end up with representatives with whom we are so unhappy. Filled with forensic analysis and revealing reportage, this landmark and accessible book is a must read for anyone who wants to see a future with better government. These people are mostly neglected; however, they are in charge of selecting the names on the UK ballot papers. There are mostly unrepresentative. It was revealed in 2013 by the Local Government Association that 67% of local councilors were male and 96% were ethnically white in which the average age of these councilors was 60 years. As those who read her in the Spectator or listen to Radio 4’s The Week in Westminster will know, Hardman is a consummate insider with high-level access—here she draws from her interviews with David Cameron, for example. And so it comes as no surprise that she takes a rather more charitable view towards MPs than the book’s title might suggest. Having spent years as a lobby journalist, she has a degree of sympathy with our political masters. Third, we give power to the wrong people for the wrong reasons. Power is relational: you can’t be a leader without followers. We might wish to forget it, but many of the leaders we loathe most were elected by our fellow citizens — from Hitler and Papa Doc Duvalier to Hugo Chavez, Rodrigo Duterte and Vladimir Putin. There are complicated reasons why we’re seduced by charlatans and strongmen, with roots in the ancient past of our species. Evolutionary psychologists argue that our brains haven’t evolved much since the Stone Age, when following an overconfident strongman hunter might have been a good idea. Our societies have changed radically, and it’s no longer a smart strategy; our brains haven’t caught up. But an equally necessary ingredient of a healthy political system is citizens wanting to be politicians. It is not clear to me if anyone who reads either of these works would be filled with enthusiasm for such a choice.

Why We Get the Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman - Waterstones

MPs have two main duties which are making, debating as well as examining laws and representing the interests of their constituency. Also, they fulfill some other responsibilities like becoming a government minister. These high-ranking officials lead government departments, like the Department for Education. By doing this, a process meant to examine and debate legislation becomes a party loyalty competition. Britain’s political structure support members of the committee phase to become biased puppets and not objective lawmakers. the enormous size of our executive branch (over 100 MPs are on the government payroll, essentially binding them to vote with the government and preventing them from exercising any kind of legislative scrutiny)Both authors are to be commended for moving beyond diagnosis and into the realm of solution. Their solutions are mostly conventional. That is not to be critical. Representative democracy originated over two millennia ago, in the city state of Athens. Opportunities for “out of the box” solutions are rare with so ancient a concept. For accountability to be most effective, we should exploit randomness and targeted oversight against the powerful figures who can do the most harm.

Why We Get the Wrong Politicians – Atlantic Books Why We Get the Wrong Politicians – Atlantic Books

Here's a confession. I've led you on rather in this book, suggesting with its title about the 'wrong politicians' that we do indeed have a bunch of self-serving toffs in the House of Commons. Of course, you will have realised by now that I think of them rather more charitably, and perhaps you are sorely disappointed, because this isn't what you expected." A recognition of the complexity of political life percolates The Political Class by Peter Allen. He writes that “Politics is not just flying blind, it is flying blind without a predetermined destination and without agreement that flying is even the best method with which we should navigate the skies”. I’ve sat down with dozens of fellow researchers who study distinct pieces of this complex puzzle: neuroscientists who run experiments on what power does to your brain chemistry; evolutionary biologists who explore why humans are so often drawn to the wrong kinds of leader; psychologists who can’t get enough of narcissistic psychopaths. Politicians: can’t live with them, can’t live without them. Our much-maligned class of legislators and decision-makers are frequently characterized as corrupt, self-serving sycophants who have far more guile than talent. We think of them as careerists rather than devoted public servants. Along with bankers and estate agents, they are consistently voted in the least trusted professional groups in the UK. Corvus Atlantic’s commercial fiction list which includes women’s, historical, romance, sci-fi, crime and thriller.

Citation Manager Formats

This book is a really eye opening insight into the way our Parliament works (or rather, doesn't work). I understand things about the mechanics of government that were murky to me as a layperson, with Hardman explaining things in a relatable and non-partisan style that ought to appeal to all.

Review: Why We Get the Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman

Allen makes the case for electoral quotas – now policy in Ireland – and encouraging political parties to make diversity a greater priority. He is on weaker ground arguing for the random selection of representatives. A deliberative selection process of representatives is still a crucial element of democracies. Cassandra-like, the author warned us, and we did not listen. This is not a book about a political party or ideology however, it is about politicians and political life in the UK.

🍪 Privacy & Transparency

What a nice surprise! I started reading this book simply hoping to learn about British politics, but I feel like it did so much more than just that. Firstly, it dwelled deeply into the problems with constituent democracies, secondly, it touched open the issues that arise if there is not a complete separation of powers and thirdly, it also described the culture that is so prevalent in the British legislature. Members of the public repeatedly tell pollsters that they’d be interested in becoming an MP (the latest poll, from YouGov in February of this year, puts the proportion at 21%). But on the basis of the sort of people who end up actually becoming MPs, I wonder whether this poll is similar to those showing that one in eight men think they’d probably win a point in a tennis match against Serena Williams, in that it doesn’t bear much relation to what would really happen. In these polls about whether they’d like to stand for parliament, people then make it very clear they’ve noticed the downsides of the job that would put them off: online abuse and the impact on their family tend to be the reasons most cite for not wanting to enter parliament. Good systems attract good people, and rotten systems attract rotten people. Humans may have some destructive tendencies when it comes to wielding power, but we can counteract them with the right reforms. Book Genre: 21st Century, British Literature, Cultural, Culture, Education, European Literature, Literature, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Politics, Society, Sociology, Theory