Great analysis, but...

a excellent audio book, in terms of content and delivery..but i found the last chapter a bit of an anti climax. Still a highly recommended read.

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1 person found this helpful

Illuminating

I started this as a layman, emerging better informed of the shambolic British political system.

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Great insight into the dingy world of politics

Really great book delving into the whys and how's of parliament. A bit repetitive in parts, but I really like how she doesn't go down the usual predictable route of bashing politicians for simply being politicians.

The only slight problem of the book for me is that it does fall into the trap of overly simplifying the solution and overly blaming rich, white men. A lot of the problems pointed out in the book wouldn't be solved by a more diverse parliament in terms of gender and ethnicity alone.

It would have been fascinating to go down a "what if" route of an all female parliament. I'd predict that even in this situation, the majority of problems which she pointed out in this book, especially partisan ones, would remain

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Very interesting insight into the workings of parliament

I gave the 5 stars because it really made me think. I had never thought about what it’s actually like to be an MP, how the system works, the strength of the executive etc. But it has also made me nervous about a post-Brexit world - if our parliament is so defective, what hope have we of passing well considered laws? Seriously, if you care about any of this, listen to the book. And think about what we can do to fix the system.

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Interesting insights about our government system

The way that MPs are chosen results in a less than ideal selection. Many people believe this, but some of the reasons are not immediately obvious.

MPs are not mostly despicable characters, but the way they act in Parliament leads us to see them that way. The way many work for the good of their constituents shows another side of their character. This turns out to be for a range of reasons relating to what they can do in practice, and the extent to which legislation is complex, the power of the executive to push through bills that some people outside the bubble see have obvious flaws, and a whole lot more. I chose to listen to this audiobook now because of the imminent election, but I think it is good information at any time for people who take our democracy seriously.

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Very good book

This book sets out the many, often hidden, issues with the current parliamentary system within the UK. It is written in a non-partisan manner, highlighting some of the issues that have crystallised for governments of all shades. Very accessible.

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Practical remedies for a broken system.

Politics in my country is incredibly broken hence my country is incredibly broken, it taints everything. In this book Isabel Hardman points out the reasons why & some practical remedies. Whilst her remedies don't go quite far enough for me they're as good a place to start as any.

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5 people found this helpful

A 'behind the scenes' perspective of parliment

Those deeply involved in politics probably won't get much out of this, but for a political novice (like me) this audiobook provides an interesting analysis of the life of an MP and how our Parliment works behind the scenes.

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An eye-opener

What a great listen - really engagingly and straightforwardly written and read. I'd recommend it to anyone at all interested in UK politics. The author is as empathetic and compassionate towards candidates and MPs as she is critical of their mistakes, and those of The System. It shines a light on lots of things I'd only the vaguest idea about - the cost of running for parliament, the dispiriting inability of the Commons to scrutinise legislation, the impact on MP's family life. The author never belabours her point, and gets the balance between clear analysis and pognient, humanising anecdotes just right - and quite moving in places, too.

The only potential criticism I have is that it is clearly written by someone who knows parliament and parliamentarians really well and so the book is about who gets in, why they might not be the best, and more often why they go wrong. This is a brilliant book - but you will have to go and find another engaging volume to find a thorough exposition about what lots of BME Britons think about parliament and why many minorities are underrepresented there.

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Really insightful

Excellent, and often hilarious, analysis with Hardman's connections used to genuinely inform rather than show off. A must read for all as I'm not sure people are fully aware of how the system works. Don't agree with all her conclusions, but this written and spoken in a way that you can make up your own minds!

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