Category
In the News
Is the Lords currently too powerful?
There's some useful analysis on the extent to which the Lords has power in Parliament (great for the Unit 2 paper!) in this article from the BBC.
How can Donald Trump win the White House?
Now that Trump seems 100% likely to be the Republican candidate on the Presidential Election ballot paper, this blog takes a quick look at the factors that might determine his success in the...
Queen's Speech quick summary for AS students
The annual State Opening of Parliament is the only occasion on which the 3 elements of Parliament - the monarch, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons - actually come together. Given the...
MPs expense claims - has anything really changed?
Here's an interesting article from the Guardian about the continued high level of expenses claimed by Westminster MPs showing that the actual amount claimed has risen since the expenses scandal of...
Are betting odds more useful than opinion polls?
I thought this article in The Economist provided a unique insight into the issues surrounding opinion polls and psephology in general, suggesting that we would be better off looking at the betting...
Why a new Supreme Court justice is urgently needed
The US Supreme Court is still stuck with just 8 justices following the untimely death of Justice Scalia earlier this year, and the continued attempts by Congressional Republicans to slow the...
RSPCA to become less adversarial
The new chief executive of the RSPCA has said that the charity is to become less adversarial in the future. This announcement comes as the organisation has been increasingly criticised for chasing...
Is Leanne Wood the new Frank Underwood?
A deadlocked vote, shady deals and a roll call vote, it could be an episode of House of Cards, yet this political thriller is taking place down in Cardiff Bay over the election of First Minister.
Aspiring Political Journalist?
Could you be the next Nick Robinson, Isabel Hardman or Matt Chorley? Well, the Times is offering you the chance to do just that!
What is the difference between the SNP and the Labour Party? That sounds easy - the SNP are a left-leaning Party who believe in a Scotland independent from the rest of the UK whilst Labour are a...
Obama the Comedian
Saturday will see the final White House Correspondent's Association Dinner of the Obama administration, where the President will take the jokes from comedians and press, before dishing out much...
The very thorny issue of how to undertake urgently needed refurbishment of Westminster Palace has reared its head again this week, as David Cameron calls for MPs to remain in Parliament whilst...
Onboard Air Force One
Ever wondered what it would be like to fly about the most iconic plane in the world? Air Force touched down in London this week as President Obama met the Royals and David Cameron.
Elections 2016: Local Elections - Key Areas for the Parties
This is the first blog post in a 2016 UK Elections series which will cover the devolved elections, London mayoral elections, Police and Crime Commissioners and local elections. I hope you find them...
Elections to the House of Lords? You must be kidding!
I kid you not loyal blog readers, yesterday saw an election take place to elect a member of the House Lords. Now I can assure you that I have not gone mad and live in a world whereby the House of...
Europe: Them or Us
Former BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson has returned to our screens to present a two-part series on the background to the European Union and Britain. It is well worth a watch, the first episode...
Electoral Commission decide which groups will lead the 2 sides of the EU membership referendum campaign
Yesterday the Electoral Commission (a public regulator of elections, referendums and party finances) made a decision on which group would lead each side of the campaign for June's EU membership...
Dennis Skinner asked to leave the Commons - is the notion of adversarial politics a positive thing for UK democracy
Firebrand Labour MP Dennis Skinner was asked to leave the House of Commons today after using unparliamentary language. He called the Prime Minister 'Dodgy Dave' in reference to his financial...
Jeremy Corbyn's Electoral Strategy
In a series of three articles Tony Vitofski explores Jeremy Corbyn's electoral strategy for winning in 2020. He examines Corbyn's claim that Labour can win by convincing the apathetic, the young...
The Government's Pro-EU pamphlet - what it shows about the complexities of UK political processes
According to news sources, the Government has spent over £9m on creating a booklet that explains the advantages of the UK's membership of the EU and the potential concerns that exist over a...