https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/why-we-get-the-wrong-politicians-by-isabel-hardm...

An interesting and gloomy reflection on the deficiencies of the British political system by a close observer.

I knew a fair amount of this, having hung around with politicians for most of my career, but there were some things I had not really thought of before – the sheer economic cost of running for parliament, putting your life on hold for a desperate contest that you may not win, and the toll that serving as an MP puts on your family life and mental and physical health, are really extreme. The path to Westnminster is a grim and terrible winnowing process which rules out many people who are not young-to-middle-aged men with a particular set of personality neuroses.

The interlinkage of executive and legislature then works to actively discourage good policy-making. Opposition MPs have no power at all, obviously; but most government MPs are struggling to get on the greasy pole of preferment, and therefore have no incentive to criticise, even constructively. There are a few exceptions – well known mavericks, and the chairs of Select Committees – but essentially, to make your mark in the House of Commons you need to abandon your political ambitions.

Hardman has some modest thoughts on how to improve things. She (rightly) discounts electoral reform, which was lost for at least a generation by the botched 2011 referendum. But reduction of the government payroll, and enhancement of the scrutiny powers of the Commons, could both serve to rebalance the system in a healthier way. She also discounts the complete division of the legislature and the executive, pointing at the deficiencies of the U.S. system of government; but the American way is not the only way, and Belgium, for instance, makes ministers leave parliament while remaining accountable to it.

None of this is going to happen, of course. The surgery that is needed requires either a fresh mandate from an energised reforming new government, or a carefully developed cross-party consensus that Something Must Be Done. The incoming Labour government will have many other fish to fry than constitutional tinkering; and MPs and peers at present can’t even agree on the basics of how to fix the crumbling physical infrastructure of the Palace of Westminster, let alone how to improve the way it makes laws. But if you want to get better informed, you can get the book. ( )

Even handed and very digestible, this an engrossing and enlightening study of the fundamental problems with the British political system. Isabel Hardman clearly knows her stuff and the book is packed with fascinating anecdotes as well as in depth analysis. There probably aren't any easy answers to the dysfunctional nature of our parliament (although she does suggest a few improvements). but having a better understanding of why the problems exist feels like a step in the right direction. ( )

This book is both fascinating and depressing in about equal measure. "It's not the people, it's the culture". I don't disagree but I don't see the culture changing any time soon - if anything it's getting worse. Politicians don't currently scrutinise legislation at anything like the level needed. Yet, with Brexit, there will be even more to scrutinise and if this is anything to go by, even more bad laws created. ( )