I never truly escape the pull of political Twitter spats, or my growing inbox, but I do try to switch off from Westminster for a week.

Why We Get The Wrong Politicians review: Could we really be Why We Get The Wrong Politicians review: Could we really be

The book is neither a defence nor a criticism of how politicians behave, and its tone is almost jarringly reasonable in these times of pearl-clutching, hero worship and searing hatred. Cultures of corruption play a role, but accountability can quickly cause misbehaving leaders to clean up their act. These days, MPs spend every week sitting in “chilly church halls, leaky community centres and library basements” listening to distressed constituents.Although, their age, race, sex and wealth might not be representative of the country at large, however, it isn’t essentially their fault. As an MP, however well you perform at your job, you can be sacked without mercy or a thank you when the people take against your party. It affected the working-class population so bad, placing a 20% tax on hot takeaway foods as well as caravans and restricting the tax relief that philanthropists got from charitable funds.

Why We Get the Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman | Goodreads

And for the most part, the best way of achieving this is by heading a government department as a minister. But if we understand the strains on and interests of our political class, we stand a chance of working with them for the good of all. Hardman also does not shy away from the toxic aspects of politics with chapters on ‘Getting caught’ – money and sex feature prominently, including sexual assault by MPs- and a section on illness with emphasis on mental health and substance misuse. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent.Jess Phillips has been the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley since 2015, and shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding since 2020. Similarly, I was paying off my student loan for the first two years of my term in parliament and would chuckle as some MPs talked about people with student loans as if they were “other”. This is the question Isabel Hardman sets out to answer in her excellent new book Why We Get the Wrong Politicians.