British Politics: The Basics

Product Information

The First Minister, the Ministers (but not junior ministers), the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General are the Members of the 'Scottish Executive', as set out in the Scotland Act 1998. Rather like a Haynescar manual they often adeptly explain how the machine operates without considering the impact of whoever is driving it. This opening chapter seeks to update and delve a little deeper into these extraordinary crises and upheavals plus give consideration to their possible causes and implications. Read more about the condition New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages.

However the edition that arrived was not the same as pictured therefore unsuitable for our collection. A notable addition to the field in this regard is Andrew Blick’s UK Politics published by Oxford University Press this summer. Ensconced in Number 10, May appeared rather opaque in her attitudes on Brexit, repeating the less than meaningful phrase ‘Brexit means Brexit’ time and again.If you’re a white, working-class boy, you’re less likely than anybody else in Britain to go to university. There are also devolved Scottish and Welsh parliaments and a devolved assembly in Northern Ireland, with varying degrees of legislative authority. Professor John Curtice’s BBC Exit Poll defied the pre-election polls and the results trickling in soon proved there would be no dead heat, so widely predicted it had almost been accepted in advance as a fact, but a small overall majority for David Cameron.

Because politics impact so many different parts of our society, there’s a broad scope of work and career pathways available - it’s not just about becoming an MP! Advisory NDPBs provide independent, expert advice to ministers - for example, the Committee on Standards in Public Life. A good way to understand how MPs and the Prime Minister act is to watch Prime Ministers Question Time broadcasted by the BBC on Wednesdays. After the five years of Tory–Lib Dem Coalition government, opinion polls, which had reflected early big Labour leads, settled on predicting another hung parliament with Ed Miliband probably emerging as prime minister (PM). The private sector is good as it brings new jobs and innovations and the state shouldn’t take over business.Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now.

Fully updated and expanded, the second edition of this still compact text on British politics expertly analyses the major changes in British political life, placing them revealingly within the context of the evolution of British society from absolute monarchy to representative democracy. The only problem with these short commentaries is that one can no longer simply dispose of the earlier edition when a new one is published.

Many thought he had done so in the expectation that the Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems), in another coalition, would prevent it ever happening. A slightly different kind of politics textbook is represented by the multi-authored or edited collections which don’t seek to explain how the political system works but instead provide informed commentary on the most recent developments. This means that the monarch (in the UK's case, the Queen) is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government. Political Parties in Northern Ireland: The Northern Ireland Assembly elects the Northern Ireland Executive, which consists of several key ministers, including the First Minister.

People vote in elections for Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent them and have a ‘seat’ in parliament. The Bill of Rights of 1689 – which is still in effect – lays down limits on the powers of the crown and sets out the rights of Parliament and rules for freedom of speech in Parliament, the requirement for regular elections to Parliament, and the right to petition the monarch without fear of retribution. Not since the 1970s had there been a decade containing ‘two general elections, a referendum about Europe, fears for the environment, a rising threat of political violence and a pervasive sense of foreboding’ (Beckett, 2019). However, the structure proved to be filled with vague content, often repeating itself, giving the distinct feeling that the author was struggling to fill those 309 pages he promised. The 10 th edition benefits from new chapters on ‘Elites in the United Kingdom’ and ‘Gender and British Politics’ and on ‘UK immigration policy in a hostile environment’.

British politics can seem very confusing – there are lots of different political parties and branches of government, and even though we have a monarchy we are also a democracy. Key political parties are The Ulster Unionist Party, Democratic Unionist Party, Sinn Féin, and Social Democratic and Labour Party. The 10th edition includes interesting pieces by Julie Smith on Parliament in light of Brexit, John Curtice on Conservative voters, and Philip Collins on the decline of civic discourse.