TY - JOUR T1 - Books: <em>Why We Get the Wrong Politicians</em> JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 587 LP - 587 DO - 10.3399/bjgp22X721421 VL - 72 IS - 725 AU - Andrew Papanikitas Y1 - 2022/12/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/72/725/587.abstract N2 - Isabel Hardman Atlantic Books, 2018, PB, 352pp, £10.99, 978-1782399735I think you should read this book. In fact, I think all voters should read this book, especially those of us who have had to endure the bizarre Victorian Punch and Judy show of Anglo-American politics in the last decade, a politics that seems to resemble feudalism (please look this up) with lip service to democracy.If you are wondering why a political party espousing family values elected Boris Johnson as their leader, why an environment secretary voted against the protection of UK waterways from untreated human sewage, or why billions of pounds of public money were spent on unusable protective equipment in a pandemic, you may well find answers here. And the depressing fact is that this book was published in 2018. 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.With a wealth of research, interviews, and experience as a seasoned political journalist, Hardman’s book is divided into three sections: ‘Why we get the wrong politicians’, ‘Why we get the wrong policies’, and ‘Can we get the right politicians?’ It is a relief to get to that … ER -