Beyond the Bike lesson resource - Date a Dictator
As part of the Beyond the Bike story and educational adventure supported by tutor2u and the RES, I've put together a simple but effective lesson resource on 20th and 21st century dictators, that...
All the election action you can handle? It must be Super Tuesday!
The American Presidential Election is a fantastic process, certainly for self-confessed election geeks like me. However, the process itself is often one that confuses many and simply causes them to...
The GOP Texas Debate
Last night was the latest Republican Debate from Texas ahead of Super Tuesday coming up on March 1st. If you did not manage to catch any of the debate, the New York Times has a nice round up for...
Gore v Bush - The Most Dramatic Presidential Election in History
Is it really 16 years since the infamous Gore v Bush presidential election?
Best and worst MPs for Parliamentary Activity
Various news outlets are reporting that the House of Parliament's library has released figures on the number of speeches and written questions that have been undertaken by MPs since the General...
Play the 'Should we stay or should we go?' EU referendum game
Here's an engaging starter to your next lesson which should help stimulate further discussion about the upcoming referendum on the UK's membership of the EU entitled 'Should we stay or should we...
Parliament's lobbies
The Parliament YouTube channel is a treasure trove of fascinating videos and insights into the workings of Parliament. I've been exploring many of the virtual tours of Parliament that are available...
Divided government over the EU referendum
I've found it both fascinating and startling that there are such clear dividing lines on the government frontbenches over the EU in-out referendum. What are the implications of (rare) divided...
Will the EU referendum enhance democracy? Arguments for AS Politics Unit 1 essays
David Cameron has announced that the "In-Out Referendum" on the UK's EU membership will take place on Thursday June 23rd - you can find a useful timeline of EU referendum events here. This blog...
The end of South Korea's trustpolitik
One remaining thread of co-operation between North and South Korea - the Kaesong Industrial Region (the KIR)- has been snapped by Ms Park Geunhye, the President of South Korea, showing that her...
Antonin Scalia’s death – a chance for Obama to leave a legacy?
Justice Antonin Scalia, one of 9 justices on the US Supreme Court, and one of its most conservative judges, died unexpectedly aged 79 on February 13th 2016. This blog entry provides some analysis...
Mao's Little Red Book
It's 60 years on from Mao's Cultural Revolution, and 60 years since his Little Red Book of quotations became an essential item to carry in your pocket if you were a radical left-winger. There is a...
English votes for English laws "too complicated"
The Commons' Public Administration Select Committee has said that the "English laws for English votes" arrangement , introduced to try and prevent the so-called West Lothian problem, could end up...
Should the Commons be more family friendly?
An opinion poll conducted by BMG showed today that a majority of the public wants Common rules to be changed to be more family friendly and supportive to pregnant MPs. Three quarters of people...
Who are the Independent Voters in the US?
A growing proportion of US voters describe themselves as "independent" - i.e. they don't have a declared allegiance to either the Republican or Democratic Party.
Eurosceptic Parties Build on the Back of the Refugee Crisis
A useful short video piece here from Jonah Hull on the resurgence of eurosceptic political parties within the EU.
Why did Trump and Sanders win in New Hampshire?
If you want to dissect the specific stats and numbers from the New Hampshire Primary then you can do so here. However, it's perhaps more interesting to look at the reasons why Trump and Sanders won...
To what extent does climate change threaten human rights?
Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland) argues in this wide-ranging TED talk that people living in poverty are more likely to have their human rights threatened as a result of climate change,...
Vietnam - Communist or not?
Is Vietnam full of "red capitalists"? I've read quite a lot of analysis recently suggesting that Vietnam is both an authoritarian socialist state and also a state swimming in the unfettered...
Who is Marco Rubio?
The youngest candidate left in the 2016 Presidential Campaign, Marco Rubio may still be a decent bet if the Republicans want to get their man into the White House in 2016.