Are referendums in Europe becoming problematic?
The Charlemagne column in this week's Economist blames the increasing use of European referendums on "Europe's voters [being] hooked on the cheap rush of direct democracy". Jean-Paul Juncker,...
Here Come the EU Referendum Leaflets
Our posties are going to be kept busy over the coming weeks delivering a bundle of EU Referendum leaflets as it becomes increasingly likely that the UK will go to the polls in Summer 2016 to...
US Political Advert Round Up
With the countdown to Election Day well under way, I have compiled for you the latest adverts for the main candidates in the US Election. I have included Clinton and Sanders for the Democrats, and...
Key Points from the State of the Union
Last week President Barack Obama delivered his final State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. In case you missed it, the BBC have summed up the five key points to take away from...
Why were the 2015 General Election opinion polls wrong?
It turns out that people who vote Conservative are often reluctant to state publicly that they are Tories - these "Closet Conservatives" then affect the reliability of opinion polls.
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...
Podcast - who should sit in the House of Lords?
BBC Radio 4's "Point of View" usually provides a great 10 minute blast of a topical and interesting debate. Last week's episode by Tom Shakespeare on how to change who sits in the House of Lords...
Does 'English votes for English Laws' improve democracy?
Yesterday saw the first implementation of the 'English votes for English Laws' rule in Parliament as English and Welsh MPs voted on the parts of the Housing and Planning Bill that impacts on their...
The Shrinking Caliphate of ISIS
I guess in years to come, A Level History students will explore maps like this to help make sense of how the Coalition's War on ISIS was won, or lost.
Countdown to Election Day
Next month sees the start of the primary season with states voting for the nominees from both Democrats and Republicans. With the approaching primary seasons we will see a mix of caucuses and...
Who is Ted Cruz?
We may be hearing and seeing much more of Ted Cruz. Could he be the Republican Presidential Candidate in 2016? If so, it promises to be a fiery election campaign!
In Search of Endangered Species - Scottish Conservatives
Conservative voters in Scotland are hard to find. However, this somewhat tongue-in-cheek report by BBC Newsnight has a more serious purpose. It features an interesting interview with Ruth Davidson,...
Feminism back in the new A-level Politics syllabus
After much hoo-hah in the media and in schools, feminist ideology has been added back in to the proposed new A-level Politics syllabus, following a debate in the Commons last Monday. The final...
Is the UK government becoming authoritarian?
Lord Kerslake, the former civil servant and Cabinet Secretary who was "ousted" in the 2014 Cabinet reshuffle, is now a crossbench peer in the House of Lords, warned yesterday in the Lords that he...
English votes for English laws - the first outing
The new "English votes for English laws" voting procedure was used today in the Commons for the first time in a vote on a new Housing Bill, in an attempt to tackle the issue of the West Lothian...
Tackling poverty in the US and the link to federalism
Last weekend the Republican party held a presidential forum on tackling poverty, chaired by the popular House Speaker Paul Ryan - most of the Republican presidential hopefuls were present (Trump...
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...
Ted Cruz and the super Super PACs
As Ted Cruz increasingly seems to be the main alternative to Donald Trump for the Republican Presidential nomination, the number of Super PACs supporting him has increased - the Washington Post...
The conflict between MP duties
The resignation today of shadow attorney general Catherine McKinnell caught many by surprise, especially given Jeremy Corbyn's claims earlier in the day that the Labour party was "moving on" from...
EU Referendum and the end of collective Cabinet responsibility?
David Cameron's relaxation of the doctrine of Collective Cabinet Responsibility over the EU In/Out Referendum is fascinating.