Just Finished Reading: Why We Get the Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman (FP: 2018) [307pp] 

If you’re anything like me and live on the British mainland (mostly England to be honest), you’ll have probably wondered where exactly politicians come from, what exactly they do in Parliament and why (oh why?) it seems far easier to really screw something up than accomplish anything even vaguely useful. If so, this is definitely a good place to start. 

The author certainly is at the centre of things. As the Assistant Editor of The Spectator she has spent a considerable amount of time wandering the halls of Parliament and has interviewed numerous politicians of all stripes including local MPs (both long standing and of the newly minted variety), Ministers and even David Cameron himself prior to him leaving the House of Commons after the Brexit vote. She certainly had plenty of material to work with and used it wisely. It's not easy getting your bum on the green leather benches in the Commons. Not only do you need to get enough people to vote for you – possibly in a constituency you might be unfamiliar with – you need to be selected in the first place by the Party you’re part of (being an Independent makes the whole process and the likelihood of success MUCH more difficult). To do this you need to have put your time in (usually unpaid) for a number of years and be ‘inside’ enough and persuasive enough for the Party to support you through the process. This, naturally, eliminates many potential candidates and is one reason why it's rare indeed to see someone much outside the expected norms giving their traditional first speech on the floor of the Commons (there was one just recently that really stood out – a female ex-plumber for the Green Party. Knowing what I do now about the Parliamentary system I wish her well). 

It must be quite the shock – or maybe aftershock – to show up on your first day at the Commons. From what the author lays out it’s not exactly (or usually) the smooth transition many would hope. It seems that many MPs are given a brief talk and then essentially left to get on with things. The bigger more established parties have, apparently, tried to be a little more organised but I think they still have a fair bit to go. I’ve had a few creaky first weeks in various jobs, but nothing like the general experience of new MPs. Again, the experiences of INDEPENDENT MPs must be horrendous! Given a 4-5 year term (barring snap elections) it's a STEEP learning curve even for those who are already political animals – maybe previously a local councillor – but what they learn very quickly is that you vote with your Party and not with your conscience. Rebels certainly do not thrive and most certainly don’t get Ministerial positions where, naturally, most of the real power is. Those who are already (or become) Subject Matter Experts might expect to be placed on committees to scrutinise upcoming legislation (because that’s their job really) but they’d be both surprised and disappointed. The government of the day certainly doesn’t want a lowly (or NEW!) MP criticising their project with FACTS – and by extension giving aid to the Opposition(!) so no committees for them. That’s of course if they even have time to scrutinise the proposed Bill in the first place. 

This was quite THE eye-opener of a book. I certainly understand Parliament a great deal more (admittedly from quite a low bar) and am finding that I can already understand more of the language use in the Commons, both what they’re saying (or really saying) and what they’re not – both to make such unsaid comments public and to hide behind parliamentary language in order to confuse or deflect. This is definitely recommended for anyone who want to begin to understand how Parliament ‘works’ and, more importantly, why it doesn’t.  

The Last 10 Books (I added to my Wish List) - April 2026 

It’s been reasonably quiet on my Wish List – adding-wise anyway – during the last month. As usual, the additions have been prompted by YouTube prompts, paperback upgrades and the odd in-book reference or bibliographic entry from whatever I’ve been reading at the time. So, the latest are:  

A Kingdom and a Village: A One-Thousand-Year History of Moscow by Simon Morrison 

Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer 

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter Matthiessen 

The Word: On the Translation of the Bible by John Barton 

A History of the Bible: The Book and Its Faiths by John Barton 

What Is Free Speech?: The History of a Dangerous Idea by Fara Dabhoiwala 

Norway's War: A People’s Struggle Against Nazi Tyranny, 1940–45 by Robert Ferguson 

The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict and Warnings from History by Odd Arne Westad 

Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War by Jane Rogoyska 

Mary Wollstonecraft: A Very Short Introduction by E. J. Clery 

That’s a slightly unusual mix for me this time with the usual History heavy bias displaced by politics and religion. We’ll see just how long it takes to get around to any of them! I think the average is 2-5 years, so.... 

Happy Birthday: Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American broadcast journalist and war correspondent.

He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broadcasts from Europe for the news division of CBS. During the war he recruited and worked closely with a team of war correspondents who came to be known as the Murrow Boys. A pioneer of radio and television news broadcasting, Murrow produced a series of reports on his television program See It Now which helped lead to the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, Bill Downs, and Alexander Kendrick considered, as does Dan Rather, Murrow one of journalism's greatest figures. Murrow's life has been dramatized in several films, including Good Night, and Good Luck, which takes its name from the signature sign-off phrase Murrow used to end many of his wartime broadcasts.

Murrow's reports, especially during the Blitz, began with what became his signature opening, "This is London," delivered with vocal emphasis on the word this, followed by the hint of a pause before the rest of the phrase. His former speech teacher, Ida Lou Anderson, suggested the opening as a more concise alternative to the one he had inherited from his predecessor at CBS Europe, César Saerchinger: "Hello, America. This is London calling." Murrow's phrase became synonymous with the newscaster and his network.

Murrow achieved celebrity status as a result of his war reports. They led to his second famous catchphrase, at the end of 1940, with every night's German bombing raid, Londoners who might not necessarily see each other the next morning often closed their conversations with "good night, and good luck." The future British monarch, Princess Elizabeth, said as much to the Western world in a live radio address at the end of the year, when she said "good night, and good luck to you all". So, at the end of one 1940 broadcast, Murrow ended his segment with "Good night, and good luck." Speech teacher Anderson insisted he stick with it, and another Murrow catchphrase was born.

For some strange reason.... that sounds awfully familiar..... [lol]

The Best...

One of the things I like doing at the start of each year is to post my Best of the previous years reading. As with everything on the Blog these are my personal opinions (how could they be otherwise?) regarding books - both fiction and non-fiction - that I've enjoyed. Until now there was no easy way to access previous Best of lists, so I've created a new label cunningly entitled: Only The Best. This now contains the Best of lists from the last 15 years. If you're so inclined I hope that you find something to enjoy in there! 

Just Finished Reading: Lemons Never Lie by Richard Stark (FP: 1971) [221pp] 

He knew it was a mistake as soon as he pulled the arm on the slot machine. Confirmation came swiftly when the three lemons came up and paid out in a clashing of nickels. It was bad luck. That afternoon, only part way through the ‘presentation’ he had decided to leave early. Alan Myers’ plan to knock over a brewery was too elaborate and far too violent for his tastes, plus Meyers was an idiot. But when he left his friend and sometimes partner Dan left with him and Meyers didn’t like that – not one bit. With no flights out of Las Vegas till the next day Dan decided to throw some dice in a craps time to pass a few hours. Unlike Alan Grofield, Dan was having all the luck and walked away with a few thousand. Unknown to either of them Myers was watching them and decided that the money was rightfully his... Weeks later Alan was getting ready for the summer crowd when Dan unexpectedly showed up. Even more surprising was what Dan had in the trunk of his car – Meyers, trussed up like a pig getting ready for a roasting. Unfortunately for both Dan and Alan they removed the gag and let Meyers talk. He told a tale of easy money waiting to be taken... and they believed him. The bad luck wasn’t over yet. 

The Hard Case Crime series has been VERY hit and miss so far. Whilst the majority have been generally OK there have been a few stinkers that still resonate in my memory. One or two have been very good, but they’re very much the exception. This one was at the higher end of the reasonable pile, so I was more than happy with that. The writing is solid and I was pleased the way the story unfolded. I wasn’t ever sure which way things were going to go, but I was more than willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt seeing how he handled things. Whilst none of the characters were particularly outstanding, they were all well drawn, down to earth and believable. Their actions matched their motivations, and nothing felt ‘off’. Being the nature of such books there was a smattering of violence (not too explicit) and ‘mild threat’ (as they say just before a movie) but nothing that would disturb too much. The plot moves along at a fair clip and is well constructed. Alan Grofield is a smart cookie and professional part-time criminal (with the emphasis on professional) and it shows in the way he operates. It's all very believable. Entertaining if not exactly great literature. Reasonable.