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Expectations

The Politics Department

Expectations in Government & Politics

In order to provide students with the most effective support, the following principles, practices and processes are to be maintained:

Punctuality. Students are expected to arrive on time, ready to learn and participate, with the correct equipment.

Deadlines. Students are expected to meet deadlines. If, for a good reason, this is not possible, the student should see the teacher involved before the date of the homework is due. Students should catch up with missed work as soon as possible if they are absent. They should see the teacher involved for further guidance. Failure to do so will lead to the discipline procedure being followed (see Sixth Form Handbook).

Learning Environment. Students are expected to take an active part in lessons, being able to engage with discussion in groups, ask and answer questions and focus on written work.

Study periods and independent study. Students will need to read the core textbook and other texts for the lessons so that they can discuss the issues fully. Students should spend an average of 6 hours a week on work outside of lessons. If ‘all’ work is up to date, students should use the reading lists above to study the period further and/or consult the teacher for further advice.

The Government & Politics Department’s commitment to students

Teachers in the department will support students by planning and teaching engaging lessons, by marking and assessing work and by encouragement and motivation.
Teachers will support students throughout the year but use the Learning Conversations and Subject Action Plans specifically to make targets and discuss progress at the appointed times.

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Know What is Happening in Politics

The Politics Department

Politics is difficult because it is always changing. There are new examples to know and new case studies to learn each week. It is important that you are aware of what is happening each week in politics. The best way to do this is to listen to politics podcasts.

The following podcasts are the most important that you should listen to:

The Rest is Politics

The News Agents

The Rest is Politics is hosted by the former Conservative MP, Rory Stewart and the former head of Communications to Prime Minister Tony Blair, Alistair Campbell.

They produce two episodes a week in which they discuss the political developments that have occurred in the UK whilst also discussing global events.

Presented by three former BBC journalists, The News Agents produce 5 episodes a week which means that they can go into considerable depth on politics issues. They regularly interview the biggest names in UK politics.

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Key Information

The Politics Department

It is essential that you purchase a copy of the politics textbook that we will use in year 12.

Pearson Edexcel A Level UK Government and Politics Seventh Edition Paperback (Neil McNaughton)

It can be purchased from all good book stores and some less good ones also.

If you receive a bursary than we will use this to purchase a textbook on your behalf.

Across Years 12 and 13 you will study the following:

Unit 1	Unit 2	Unit 3
UK Politics and core ideas	UK Government & Non-Core Political Ideas	Government & Politics of the USA
Democracy and Participation Political Parties Electoral Systems Voting Behaviour and the media Liberalism Conservatism Socialism	Parliament The Prime minister Relations with other institutions The Constitution Feminism	The Constitution Congress The President The Supreme Court Race in US Politics Elections Political Parties
Examined at the end of Year 13	Examined at the end of Year 13	Examined at the end of Year 13
2 hours	2 hours	2 hours
33.3% of final grade	33.3% of final grade	33.3% of final grade

Course overview

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Year 12 Content – Unit 1

The Politics Department

Key terminology	Democracy and participation
Democracy and participation Legitimacy Direct democracy Representative democracy Pluralist democracy Democratic deficit Participation crisis Franchise/suffrage Think tanks Lobbyist	Current systems of representative democracy and direct democracy. • The features of direct democracy and representative democracy. • The similarities and differences between direct democracy and representative democracy. Advantages and disadvantages of direct democracy and representative democracy and consideration of the case for reform.


	A wider franchise and debates over suffrage. • Key milestones in the widening of the franchise in relation to class, gender, ethnicity and age, including the 1832 Great Reform Act and the 1918, 1928 and 1969 Representation of the People Acts. • The work of the suffragists/suffragettes to extend the franchise. The work of a current movement to extend the franchise.


	Pressure groups and other influences. • How different pressure groups exert influence and how their methods and influence vary in contemporary politics. • Case studies of two different pressure groups, highlighting examples of how their methods and influence vary. • Other collective organisations and groups including think tanks, lobbyists and corporations, and their influence on government and Parliament.


	Rights in context. • Major milestones in their development, including the significance of Magna Carta and more recent developments, including the Human Rights Act 1998 and Equality Act 2010. • Debates on the extent, limits and tensions within the UK’s rights-based culture, including consideration of how individual and collective right may conflict, the contributions from civil liberty pressure groups – including the work of two contemporary civil liberty pressure groups.

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Year 12 Content – Unit 1

The Politics Department

Key terminology	Political parties
Political parties Old Labour (social democracy) New Labour (Third Way) One Nation New Right Classical liberals Modern liberals Party systems Left wing Right wing	Political parties. • The functions and features of political parties in the UK’s representative democracy. • How parties are currently funded, debates on the consequences of the current funding system.

	Established political parties. • The origins and historical development of the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and Liberal Democrat Party, and how this has shaped their ideas and current policies on the economy, law and order, welfare and foreign policy


	Emerging and minor UK political parties. • The importance of other parties in the UK. • The ideas and policies of two other minor parties.

	UK political parties in context. • The development of a multi-party system and its implications for government. • Various factors that affect party success – explanations of why political parties have succeeded or failed, including debates on the influence of the media

Key terminology	Electoral systems
First-past-the-post (FPTP) Additional Member System (AMS) Single Transferable Vote (STV) Supplementary Vote (SV) Safe seat Marginal seat Minority government Coalition government	Different electoral systems. • First-past-the-post (FPTP), Additional Member System (AMS), Single Transferable Vote (STV) Supplementary Vote (SV). • The advantages and disadvantages of these different systems. • Comparison of first-past-the-post (FPTP) to a different electoral system in a devolved parliament/assembly.
	Referendums and how they are used. • How referendums have been used in the UK and their impact on UK political life since 1997. • The case for and against referendums in a representative democracy.
	Electoral system analysis. • Debates on why different electoral systems are used in the UK. • The impact of the electoral system on the government or type of government appointed. • The impact of different systems on party representation and of electoral systems on voter choice.

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Year 12 Content – Unit 1

The Politics Department

Key terminology	Voting behaviour and the media
Class dealignment Partisan dealignment Governing competency Disillusion and apathy Manifesto Mandate	Case studies of three key general elections. • Case studies of three elections (one from the period 1945– 92, the 1997 election, and one since 1997), the results and their impact on parties and government. • The factors that explain the outcomes of these elections, including: o the reasons for and impact of party policies and manifestos, techniques used in their election campaigns, and the wider political context of the elections of class-based voting and other factors influencing voting patterns, such as partisanship and voting attachment o gender, age, ethnicity and region as factors in influencing voting behaviour, turnout and trends. • Analysis of the national voting-behaviour patterns for these elections, revealed by national data sources and how and why they vary.


	The influence of the media. • The assessment of the role and impact of the media on politics – both during and between key general elections, including the importance and relevance of opinion polls, media bias and persuasion.

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Year 12 Content – Unit 1

The Politics Department

Key terminology	Liberalism: core ideas and principles
Foundational equality Formal equality Equality of opportunity Social contract Meritocracy Mechanistic theory Tolerance Limited government	individualism – the primacy of the individual in society over any group – to cover egoistical individualism and developmental individualism freedom/liberty – the ability and right to make decisions in your own interests based on your view of human nature – to cover how liberals guarantee individual freedom, the link between freedom and individualism, that freedom is ‘under the law’ state – it is ‘necessary’ to avoid disorder, but ‘evil’ as it has potential to remove individual liberty, thus should be limited; this is linked to the liberal view of the economy rationalism – the belief that humans are rational creatures, capable of reason and logic – to cover how rationalism underpins an individual’s ability to define their own best interests and make their own moral choices, creating a progressive society equality/social justice – the belief that individuals are of equal value and that they should be treated impartially and fairly by society – to cover foundational and formal equality and equality of opportunity liberal democracy – a democracy that balances the will of the people, as shown through elections, with limited government (state) and a respect for civil liberties in society – to cover why liberals support it as well as why they are concerned about it.





Key Thinkers
John Locke (1632-1704) Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–97) John Stuart Mill (1806-73) John Rawls (1921-2002) Betty Friedan (1921-2006)

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Year 12 Content – Unit 1

The Politics Department

Key terminology	Socialism: core ideas and principles
Fraternity Cooperation Capitalism Common ownership Communism	collectivism – to cover how collective human effort is both of greater practical value to the economy and moral value to society than the effort of individuals common humanity – to cover the nature of humans as social creatures with a tendency to co-operation, sociability and rationality, and how the individual cannot be understood without reference to society, as human behaviour is socially determined equality – is a fundamental value of socialism – to cover the disagreements among socialists about the nature of equality and how it is critical to the state, society, the economy and human nature social class – a group of people in society who have the same socioeconomic status – to cover the extent to which class impacts on socialists’ views of society, the state and the economy workers’ control − to cover the importance and the extent of control over the economy and/or state and how it is to be achieved.




Key Thinkers
Karl Marx (1818–83) and Friedrich Engels (1820–95) Beatrice Webb (1858–1943) Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919) Anthony Crosland (1918–77) Anthony Giddens (1938– )

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Year 12 Content – Unit 1

The Politics Department

Key terminology	Conservatism: core ideas and principles
Hierarchy Authority Change to conserve Atomism Noblesse oblige Anti-permissiveness Radical Human imperfection	pragmatism – flexible approach to society with decisions made on the basis of what works – to cover links between pragmatism and traditional conservative and one-nation philosophy tradition – accumulated wisdom of past societies and a connection between the generations – to cover how this creates stability, links with organic change, and enhances humans’ security human imperfection – humans are flawed which makes them incapable of making good decisions for themselves – to cover the three aspects of psychological, moral and intellectual imperfection organic society/state – society/state is more important than any individual parts – to cover how this links to the underpinning of the beliefs of authority and hierarchy and a cohesive society paternalism – benign power exerted from above by the state, that governs in the interests of the people – to cover the different interpretations by traditional (an authoritarian approach, the state knows what is best so the people must do what they are told) and one-nation conservatives (there is an obligation on the wealthy to look after those who are unable to look after themselves)and why it is rejected by New Right Conservatives libertarianism (specifically neo-liberalism) – upholds liberty, seeking to maximise autonomy and free choice, mainly in the economy – to cover the moral and economic values associated with this idea.




Key Thinkers
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) Edmund Burke (1729–1797) Michael Oakeshott (1901–1990) Ayn Rand (1905–1982) Robert Nozick (1938–2002)

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Year 12 Content – Unit 2

The Politics Department

Key terminology	The Constitution
Constitution Unentrenched (entrenched) Uncodified (codified) Unitary (federal) Parliamentary sovereignty The rule of law Statute law Common law Conventions Authoritative works Treaties Devolution	The nature and sources of the UK Constitution, including: • an overview of the development of the Constitution through key historical documents: Magna Carta (1215); Bill of Rights (1689); Act of Settlement (1701); Acts of Union (1707); Parliament Acts (1911 and 1949); European Communities Act (1972) • the nature of the UK Constitution: unentrenched, uncodified and unitary, and the ‘twin pillars’ of parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law • the five main sources of the UK Constitution: statute law; common law; conventions; authoritative works, and treaties (including European Union law).


	How the constitution has changed since 1997. • Under Labour 1997–2010: House of Lords reforms, electoral reform; devolution; Human Rights Act 1998; and the Supreme Court. • Under the Coalition 2010–15: Fixed Term Parliaments, Act 2011; further devolution to Wales. • Any major reforms undertaken by governments since 2015, including further devolution to Scotland (in the context of the Scottish Referendum).


	The role and powers of devolved bodies in the UK, and the impact of this devolution on the UK. • Devolution in England. • Scottish Parliament and Government. • Welsh Assembly and Government. • Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive.


	Debates on further reform. • An overview of the extent to which the individual reforms since 1997 listed in section 1.2 above should be taken further. • The extent to which devolution should be extended in England. • Whether the UK constitution should be changed to be entrenched and codified, including a bill of rights.

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Year 12 Content – Unit 2

The Politics Department

Key terminology	Content
Parliament House of Commons House of Lords Confidence and supply Salisbury Convention Parliamentary privilege Legislative bills Public bill committees Backbenchers Select committees Opposition	The structure and role of the House of Commons and House of Lords. The selection of members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, including the different types of Peers. The main functions of the House of Commons and House of Lords and the extent to which these functions are fulfilled.

	The comparative powers of the House of Commons and House of Lords. The exclusive powers of the House of Commons. The main powers of the House of Lords. Debates about the relative power of the two Houses.


	The legislative process. The different stages a bill must go through to become law. The interaction between the Commons and the Lords during the legislative process, including the Salisbury Convention.

	The ways in which Parliament interacts with the Executive. The role and significance of backbenchers in both Houses, including the importance of parliamentary privilege. The work of select committees. The role and significance of the opposition. The purpose and nature of ministerial question time, including Prime Minister’s Questions.



Prime Minister and Executive Executive Cabinet Minister Government department Royal prerogative Secondary legislation Individual responsibility Collective responsibility Presidential government	The structure, role, and powers of the Executive. Its structure, including Prime Minister, the Cabinet, junior ministers and government departments. Its main roles, including proposing legislation, proposing a budget, and making policy decisions within laws and budget. The main powers of the Executive, including Royal Prerogative powers, initiation of legislation and secondary legislative power.


	The concept of ministerial responsibility. The concept of individual ministerial responsibility. The concept of collective ministerial responsibility.

	The Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The power of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The factors governing the Prime Minister’s selection of ministers. The factors that affect the relationship between the Cabinet and the Prime Minister, and the ways they have changed, and the balance of power between the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The powers of the Prime Minster and the Cabinet to dictate events and determine policy. Students must study the influence of one Prime Minister from 1945 to 1997 and one post-1997 Prime Minister. Students may choose any pre-1997 and any post-1997 Prime Minister, provided that they study them in an equivalent level of detail, covering both events and policy, with examples that illustrate both control and a lack of control.

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Year 12 Content – Unit 2

The Politics Department

Key terminology	Feminism: core ideas and principles
Public sphere Private sphere Essentialism Gender stereotypes Otherness Equality and difference feminism Intersectionality Discrimination Equality of opportunity Political equality Legal equality Reserve army of labour Gender equality Cultural feminism Reformist	sex and gender – sex refers to biological differences between men and women, whereas gender refers to the different roles that society ascribes to men and women – to cover how feminists believe this distinction to be important in their analysis of society patriarchy – society, state and the economy are characterised by systematic, institutionalised and pervasive gender oppression – to cover how patriarchy is understood by different feminists and how different feminists view its importance the personal is political – the idea that all relationships, both in society and in private relationships, between men and women are based on power and dominance – to cover why feminists think this goes to the essence of patriarchy, and why some feminists believe this distinction is crucial and others believe it is dangerous equality feminism and difference feminism – equality feminists seek equality for men and women in society, whereas difference feminists argue that men and women have a fundamentally different nature from one another – to cover the core differences between these two types of feminism and how significant they are intersectionality – argues that black and working-class women’s experiences of patriarchy in state, society and the economy are different from white, middle-class women – to cover the impact of this newer strand of feminism to wider feminist thinking.




Key Thinkers
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935) Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) Kate Millett (1934– ) Sheila Rowbotham (1943– ) bell hooks (1952– )

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How to write a Politics Essay

The Politics Department

The Introduction:

At A Level History/Politics you should see an essay as a debate. At the start of a debate you will put forward your argument, outline the key points you will discuss and why the opposing argument in invalid.

A good politics/history essay will do the following:

It will define key terms used in the question.
State a clear opinion/judgement on the question
It will outline the arguments for and against the question that will be discussed in the essay.

The introduction below is a good example of this:

“Prime Ministers are free to follow the policies that they want”

How far do you agree with this view of Prime Ministerial Power?

A policy is a set of ideas, or a plan of what to do in particular situations, that has been agreed officially by a government or a political party. Although, in the UK, policy should normally be created collectively within the Cabinet, the Prime Minister does dominate policy making. It is clear to see that, on the whole, Prime Ministers are free to follow the policies that they want. As they have control over the Cabinet, all policy presented there will, in part, have been influenced by them, and due to the fact that they will most likely have a majority within Parliament, their legislative proposals should generally always pass. However, there are many limiting factors on prime ministerial power, which can determine whether they are able to follow the policies that they want, e.g. if they are unable to control their party, or if they haven't appeared strong or decisive in the wake of events. Nevertheless, if the Prime Minister appears to be strong and in control of their party and cabinet, there will be no limit on their power, especially in terms of passing policy.

In the introduction the student outlines the key terms that are mentioned in the question. Here she has explained what is meant by policies and who is usually responsible for their creation in the UK.

In this part of the introduction the student is outlining the points that they will discuss in the essay.

The student has outlined their judgement in the introduction. This is the most important aspect of introduction writing. Introduction can be seen as a debate and in a debate you must state your point of view, defend your argument and explain why the alternative argument is invalid.

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How to write a Politics Essay

The Main Essay Body:

The following are important in both history and politics essays:

You should write 3 paragraphs in the main body of the essay
You should present a point for or against the statement in the question
Provide as much detail as possible to support the point you have made. This is usually in the form of examples.
You should discuss how far the point you have made is true. This is what we called analysis.
You will then explain which of the two sides of the argument you have just presented is the strongest. This is called evaluation as you are evaluating/weighing up which sides of the argument is strongest.

“Prime Ministers are free to follow the policies that they want”

How far do you agree with this view of Prime Ministerial Power?

Prime Ministers are generally free to follow the policies that they want, because they will, in theory, have a majority. This should mean that any piece of legislation that they propose will be passed through the House of Commons, with little difficulty. An example of this, is the fact that from 1997-2007, Tony Blair, who commanded extremely large majorities of 179 & 167 in the 1997 and 2001 election respectively, only suffered 4 defeats in the House of Commons. Through this, it becomes evident that holding a majority significantly enhances the power of a prime minister, allowing them to implement virtually every policy they set out to do. The fact that holding a majority allows prime ministers to follow the policies they want is especially significant if the prime minister has a clear set of ideological goals that they want to fulfil. Thatcher, who had a clearer vision for Britain in her mind, was able to wield her sizeable majorities to completely transform the country by privatising industries and destroying traditional sectors, such as the mining community in the North. In contrast, Tony Blair, despite having larger majorities and more power, did not have a clear ideology, thereby leading him to arguably leave a weaker policy legacy. However , it can also be argued that having a majority does not always mean that a prime minister can follow the policies that they want, particularly if their party is not unified behind them. This would mean that there is a likelihood that their MPs will rebel, leading their proposals not to pass. It also means that instead of concentrating on devising policy, they have to have more of a focus on unity their party. An example of this is John Major who had a small majority after 1992. He was unable to follow the policies that he wanted, because the Conservative Party was so divided over Europe. This thereby emphasises the need for the party to be unified behind the prime minister, in order for legislation to pass through the House of Commons. Nevertheless , this is dependent on the size of the majority that the Prime Minister holds within the Commons – John Major had a small majority, making him more susceptible to being defeated on his policies, whereas the majorities of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair were so great that they did not have to worry about the rebels within their party, because it would only take an extremely large rebellion for them to ever be defeated. It could also be said that it is dependent on the personality of the Prime Minister. A confident and decisive Prime Minister may find to easier to overcome and work through the disunity in their party and use their majority to implement their proposals. Therefore, in conclusion, Prime Ministers are free to follow the policies that they want, especially if they hold a majority in Parliament.

Start the paragraph by re-writing the question and explaining the point you will discuss. Here the student is demonstrating that they want to argue in agreement with the question and the point they will discuss is about Parliamentary Majorities.

The student has used really specific examples/evidence to support the point that they are making.

The student explain clearly how their point answers the question. Here, showing how having a majority allows the Prime Minister to follow the policies they want.

Again, more examples are provided to support.

The use of key words such as however, nevertheless, nonetheless, denote that the student will now explain how far their point is true. They are showing that there is another point of view to consider.

Another example has been used to support the counter/opposing view.

The use of the term nevertheless suggests that the student will now evaluate which of the two views they have explained is the strongest and why.

Start the paragraph by re-writing the question and explaining the point you will discuss. Here the student is demonstrating that they want to argue in agreement with the question and the point they will discuss is about Parliamentary Majorities.
The student has used really specific examples/evidence to support the point that they are making.
The student explain clearly how their point answers the question. Here, showing how having a majority allows the Prime Minister to follow the policies they want.
Again, more examples are provided to support.
The use of key words such as however, nevertheless, nonetheless, denote that the student will now explain how far their point is true. They are showing that there is another point of view to consider.
Another example has been used to support the counter/opposing view.
The use of the term nevertheless suggests that the student will now evaluate which of the two views they have explained is the strongest and why.

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How to write a Politics Essay

The Conclusion:

The most common issue with conclusions is that students often simply summarise what they have already written. Instead you should:

Restate your argument
Provide something new or interesting to deliver a knockout blow and win the argument

In conclusion, Prime Ministers can follow the policies that they want if they have a large majority within the House of Commons, which the British electoral system generally does provide. Although the usefulness of a majority is dependent on whether the party is unified or not behind the Prime Minister, if they wield a larger majority it is less likely for any rebellion to make a significant impact on the Prime Minister’s agenda. The functionality of the majority is particularly enhanced if it is a first-term government, as the MPs will be so grateful to be back in power that they will follow the Prime Minister’s lead, allowing them to implement the legislation that they wish.

Here the student re-states their argument and then delivers a fresh final point that thought the majority is important it becomes even more important if it is a first time government.

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Enrichment

The Politics Department

In order to support your learning we recommend that you engage in activities from all of the sections below to help widen your interest in the subject as well as begin to introduce you to the kind of independent learning activities we encourage you to engage with during A level study.

As a minimum we would like you to complete the following:

Read one text from the subject reading list
Complete one Open University Course
Complete a log of at least 3 political articles or podcasts you have listened to outlining what you have watched/listened to and some general notes on their content. I would recommend selecting opinion pieces or articles from newspapers (the Sunday papers are the best) and the magazines I have listed in the subject reading list.

Subject Reading List

In the first instance I’d urge you to watch the news, listen to political podcasts, and follow prominent politicians on twitter and read newspapers or magazines such as the Economist, Private Eye, the New Statesmen and the Spectator.

Please refer to the reading list towards the back of this booklet for a more extensive list but I’d suggest the following books particularly:

The British Prime Ministers by Robert Parker – a very short introduction to the Prime Ministers since the eighteenth century
The Prime Minister: The Office And Its Holders Since 1945 by Peter Hennessy – this is an excellent book though it only covers up to 2001
The Prime Ministers: Reflections on Leadership from Wilson to Johnson Paperback by Steve Richards – this is an excellent book and my current reading! Focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the British Prime Ministers since the 1960s focusing particularly on their leadership skills.
American Caesars: Lives of the US Presidents, from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush by Nigel Hamilton – for those who are more interested in the US Presidency

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Links

Youtube is full of political videos that you can watch though we would urge some caution as many are one sided and may not give you a balanced view of politics. A good starting point however would be anything of the UK Parliament channel.

https://www.youtube.com/user/UKParliament/playlists?view=50&sort=dd&shelf_id=8

You might also like to watch documentaries on politics or politicians. This 5 part series on the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is long but hugely detailed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0005br9/thatcher-a-very-british-revolution-series-1-1-making-margaret

Courses with the Open University

I hope that many of you might wish to go further and one option might be to study a free politics course with the Open University. They have some extremely interesting courses currently and these include:

What is politics

The politics of racial violence

What is Europe?

American Foreign Policy

Relations between America and China

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/society/free-courses/?filter=date/grid/679/all/all/all/

Other Opportunities

You may also be interested in the following essay competitions. Though they are usually only open to Year 12 and 13 students they would provide a good opportunity to improve your thinking and writing skills and could be resubmitted next year.

The following essay questions set by Trinity College Cambridge would be a good place to start.

https://www.polis.cam.ac.uk/about-us/prizes/Butlerquestions2020.pdf

The following is open for all students between the ages of 13-18 with a closing date of 31 August so plenty of time to submit. Though there is no straight politics questions, the following two are particularly relevant to any politics students:

Who is the greatest female role model of the 21st Century?
Is the UN still relevant?

https://www.immerse.education/essay-competition/

Our final recommendation would be to listen to political podcasts. The best would be any of those produced by the BBC. A list can be found on the following links https://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/category/factual-politics

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News Updates (many of these are available as apps)

Any quality newspaper (Independent, Telegraph, Guardian, Times. FT)

The Economist*

Total Politics*

The Spectator

The New Statesman

Time

The Week

Politics Review*

Talking Politics (The Politics Association Journal)*

General Interest (available in the Nonsuch or local libraries)

Any political biography from the Blair, Brown Cameron or May era

Any books about Brexit (esp. All Out War by Tim Shipman)

Chris Mullin, View From the Foothills (2009), Decline & Fall: Diaries 2005-2010 (2010) and A Walk-On Part: Diaries 1994-1999 (2011) – all offer accounts of the Blair/Brown era

For political fiction, try any books by Michael Dobbs

* Resources in the Reference Room or the Library

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Useful websites

www.nonsuchhp.blogspot.com – Nonsuch’s own History & Politics blog

www.prechewedpolitics.co.uk – Nonsuch subscription, excellent resources

www.theday.co.uk – Nonsuch subscription, summaries of key news stories

www.tutor2u.net – Very good updates and resources for students

www.politics.co.uk – good on political stories

www.parliament.uk – Parliament’s website

www.number-10.gov.uk – Downing Street’s website, lots of useful information

www.theyworkforyou.com – information re: MPs

www.theweek.co.uk – good summary of the daily UK news

www.the-times.co.uk – the Times newspaper site (Subscription required)

www.dailytelegraph.co.uk – the Daily Telegraph’s site - (Their daily politics email is also recommended – search for “Telegraph Morning Briefing”)

www.guardian.co.uk – the Guardian’s site

www.independent.co.uk – the Independent’s site

www.europarl.eu.int – the European Parliament website

www.bbc.co.uk/news - the BBC site with in-depth analysis of key issues

www.channel4.co.uk/news - the Channel 4 site

www.economist.com - The Economist

If you find Channel 4 news too left wing then perhaps you might want to watch the new GB news channel which is just starting. It is billed as the UK version of Fox News and promises a lot more opinion rather then fact based content.

Channel 4 news is the best programme that you can watch whilst studying A Level Politics. It is on between 7pm-8pm each evening and devotes a large chunk of time towards political coverage. Conservatives have suggested that Channel 4 news is too left wing.

Politics on TV

Enrichment

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There are two societies linked to the History & Politics Department that students are encouraged to get involved in:

History & Politics Society – debates, lectures, presentations, competitions, re-enactments, visiting speakers

Feminist Society – discussion, presentations, debate, speakers

The Blog

The History & Politics Department has a blog which students and teachers write.

http://nonsuchhp.blogspot.co.uk/

Trips

Parliament, Washington DC, lectures

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Societies