Category
Enrichment
Measuring the impact of political advertising on TV in the US
This week's Economist contains an impressively-researched data chart, showing the relationship between the number of political TV ads (both positive and negative adverts) and the impact that those...
Political biographies
The first biography of Jeremy Corbyn, Comrade Corbyn, has just been released -take a look at this short, fun BBC report on whether the general public wants to read such political biographies.
Will capitalism destroy democracy?
TED talks are always worth watching, and this one from Yanis Varoufakis entitled "Capitalism will eat democracy - unless we speak up" is no exception. The transcript is here, and you can watch his...
35 Years on from the SDP - Could the Labour Party Split Again?
Labour loses badly in an election and moves decisively to the left in choosing a new leader. Sound familiar?
Podcast series on democracy
Yet another super series of podcasts from Radio 4 - this time it's Roger Scruton examining what is meant by democracy, and whether democracy actually allows us to have true political freedom. You...
Ireland and the 1916 Easter Rising
I found this super BBC iWonder exploration of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland on my daily politics surf earlier - a great piece of extension material for AS students in terms of understanding the...
Long Lost Family - In Iraq
A truly memorable short (10 minute) film here by the BBC Newsnight team which follows the efforts of Kurdish Iraqi woman to trace her real family.
U2 and politics
Yet another super BBC iWonder interactive graphic has cropped up - this one explores the relationship between U2 and politics. This graphic helps you to explore the Troubles in Northern Ireland and...
Famous Conservative poster campaigns
This blog post explores some of the best Conservative advertising campaigns since the early 1900s. The first poster below is from the 1909 General Election, showing the perceived threat of Socialism:
Famous UK Cabinet Reshuffles
I've picked out 3 examples of historical Cabinet reshuffles that are either really meaningful or have had a big impact on British politics.
Great Political Speeches
There are some classic political speeches that good students should be aware of. As a starting point, this website (aptly named British Political Speech!) collates speeches from UK political...
Britain and the EU - some data
There are some great infographics and charts around at the moment looking at data on the UK-EU relationship.
Opposition Day - Tax Credits Debate
There are 20 Opposition Days in each Parliamentary Session; these days provide opposition parties with the opportunity to set the agenda for debates on a given day. Today is the 7th Opposition Day...
Britain and the EU - the campaigns begin
As the party conference season draws to a close, one theme that has emerged from all of them is party views and lines on the EU in-out referendum. This blog post draws together some useful...
From Burma to Myanmar
For students taking either the Global or Ideologies options at A2, taking a closer look at the country now known as Myanmar is a great way of applying theory to a country in transition.
The Lucky Left - why America grows faster with Democrat presidents
This superb Economist videographic explores an interesting piece of political economy - the fact that the US economy has experienced higher rates of economic growth under Democrat presidents. So,...
Half-term movies
Students (or indeed teachers!) may not want to do much written work or paperwork over the upcoming half-term break. As an alternative to traditional "work", here is my top 30 list of political...
Select Committee chair elections - suddenly interesting!
I don't think I can ever remember reading a prominent journalistic piece about upcoming elections to the roles of Select Committee chairs. But there is an excellent analysis this week by Mark...
Prime Minister's Questions - political theatre or effective scrutiny?
Jeremy Corbyn's fresh, less confrontational approach to PMQs has, in my mind, done something to move the session back in the direction of effective scrutiny rather than further down the line of...
Will David Cameron contest the 2020 General Election?
During the run-up to the 2015 General Election, David Cameron assured both friends and foes alike that he would not seek a third term of office. This blog post contests that the context in which...