Anthony Wright (1) (1948–)

As others have noted, this is not a dry, technical discussion of the British political system. Rather it is an astute insider’s critique of that system and a description of how it actually works. Along with this comes an insightful discussion of the associated issues raised by this system.

As someone living in a country currently undergoing a constitutional crisis, the insights into how similar issues arise in another country, provides a fascinating perspective.

In general, this book raises one big question: which is more important, the system of government or the people in the government? It more and more seems the latter. It seems, across most countries, that the current political class comes from the very bottom of the barrel.… (mere)

Best for:
People who understand how British government should work in theory but want to know how it works in practice. It’s like British government 201.

In a nutshell:
Former Member of Parliament provides a very basic (though not basic enough for me) understanding of how the UK government works.

Worth quoting:
“Britain is rare among democratic states (only Israel and New Zealand belong to the same category) in not having a book of constitutional rules.”

Why I chose it:
I was looking for British government 101 - something more than what Wikipedia might tell me - after moving to the UK in 2018.

Review:
I earned a Political Science minor in college. I have two graduate-level degrees in public administration and public policy. I’ve spent 12 of the 16 years I’ve worked post-college in the public sector in the US. I share this because I want you to understand that I find government interesting from both a practical and a theoretical perspective, and have taken great pains to educate myself in this area.

But when I moved to the UK, I felt like I was back in kindergarten. As far as I could tell, UK government looked something like this: there’s the Queen, duh. And the Prime Minister. And the PM isn’t directly elected like the US President - they are the leader of a party that gets the most votes in Parliament at Westminster. And they need the Queen's permission to form a government, but that's, like, a formality, because she never says no. And if they step down, there isn’t a whole new election, there’s just this mini-election by the members of the party in power (no, not the Members of Parliament, the members of the party, which might be like .2% of the actual population).

Parliament sort of governs all of the UK. But maybe mostly England? Because Northern Ireland has a devolved government. So does Scotland. And apparently Wales? Does England have one then too? Are these nations, like US states, where they all have a government but there’s a bigger federal government that handles the messy bits like trade and war? No?

And then bills that become laws - it goes House of Commons (like the US House of Representatives), then the House of Lords (not at all like the US Senat), and then it has to be signed by the PM, right? Oh, no? Not even close? Cool. Cool cool cool.

Guys, even before the bizarre autumn of 2019, where the PM resigned, and there was a glimmer of hope that Labour might take over, and EU bills were all failing, I just wanted to know how it all works. I went to a bookstore and asked one of the kindly booksellers if they had anything like a UK Government 101 book to help me understand. Like, I’d be happy with something they give to 10-year-olds. [I tried Wikipedia, but it was both too much and not nearly enough information (though I guess England doesn’t have it’s own government? The hell?).] They were confused and seemed almost shocked at my request. But after much conversation amongst themselves, the booksellers suggested I order this one.

That’s a lot of information in what is meant to be a book review, but I provide it all so you get the context that even with this very short, pretty straightforward book, it was STILL too detailed for me. It’s brief indeed, but still gets into political machinations and workings that would make better sense if I understood how the UK government was, on paper, meant to work. And this doesn’t have it.

This seems like a great second half to a book that I am still in search of. I should probably have realized that it wouldn’t be quite right because it’s about British Politics, not British Government, but alas. Couldn’t he have included, like, a chart in the first two pages explaining things? Or even stick it in the back so readers who aren’t as ignorant of the topic as I am aren’t insulted? An appendix with a flow chart would have been useful.

Back to the bookstore (when it reopens) to see if I can get something else. Maybe this time I’ll tell them its for my imaginary 9-year-old niece.

Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Keep it - some day I might get that 101 I’m desperate for, and then this will make more sense.… (mere)

A dose of sense from the voice of parliamentary reason Throughout the expenses scandal and the lobbying scandal and all the other storms which have buffeted Parliament, Dr Tony Wright is the one MP who has consistently provided a measured, sane and sensible reaction to events. As Chair of the influential Public Administration Committee he has risen above party and partisan politics to offer a sometimes lone voice of reason. His new book considers the wider implications of the various political ructions and the public reaction to them, and argues that if we want to defend politics, then we also have to defend politicians: the class of people is intrinsic to the activity. Somebody has to do the messy business of accommodating conflicting demands and interests, choosing between competing options, negotiating unwelcome trade-offs, and taking responsibility for decisions that often represent the least worst course of action. That somebody is politicians. They give voice to our hopes, but they also, inevitably, feed our disappointments, even if their name is Obama. From one of our most erudite, intellectually rigorous yet sensible politicians, Doing Politics is just the book the nation needs. 'Tony Wright is firmly up there with the ace political observers like Walter Bagehot, R.H. Tawney and George Orwell' - Lord Hennessy, The House Magazine… (mere)

This book is less 'A Very Short Introduction' for the casual reader and more an illuminating essay on the idiosyncrasies of the British political system for a student of politics. In my opinion the author employs too many otherwise unexplained political science concepts and vocabulary to provide a really useful introduction to a reader coming to the subject cold. Having said that I found it a stimulating treatment by a decent writer clearly au fais with the workings of the British political system.… (mere)