George Osborne's Spending Review - winning and losing departments
Next week's Spending Review will set the spending limits of each government department up to the next General Election in 2020. Prior to 1998. departments used to set their budgets on an annual...
Why do Washington outsiders become President?
One trend dominates the statistics when analysing Presidential trends over the last 60 years - usually, the Washington outsiders, rather than the insiders, tend to win the Presidential election....
The difficulty in passing a Private Members Bill
A couple of weeks ago, yet more Private Members Bills were stymied in the Commons. A PMB is a bill that is introduced to the House by an MP who is not a government minister. There are effectively...
The changing nature of terrorism
The recent attacks by ISIS in Beirut (last Thursday), Paris (last Friday), the Russian airliner over Egypt a few weeks ago, and in Baghdad (also last Friday) seem to show a new wave and new form of...
Myanmar's election through infographics
On November 8th, Myanmar held its first national elections since 2011 when a nominally civilian government was introduced after 50 years of military rule. The BBC carries a detailed analysis of the...
Ballot Box Quiz - a quick quiz on voting systems in the UK
Here's a 10 minute multi-choice quiz on UK Voting Systems. It's a straight-forward quiz with 10 questions, four possible answers (with only 1 possible correct answer). Run this Powerpoint slideshow...
Countries most at risk from climate change
For students of the A2 Global options, climate change is an important issue.
Spitzenkandidaten - I'm sorry … what?
In an unusual departure from my normal blogging on the United States, I’ve taken a trip across the pond and landed in Brussels to blog about my other favourite political sphere, The European Union....
Has David Cameron Breached the Ministerial Code?
The Labour Party has written to Sir Jeremy Heywood, the cabinet secretary, arguing that David Cameron, who is MP for Witney, Oxfordshire, has broken the Ministerial Code, which requires ministers...
Cameron on the UK's membership of the EU
David Cameron's speech at Chatham House (the international affairs think tank) on Tuesday has led to mixed reactions both from his own party, from the Opposition, and from the media. You can listen...
Corbyn to be sworn in to the Privy Council
Jeremy Corbyn is expected to be sworn in as a member of the Privy Council today. The Privy Council is a 500-member strong Council for the Queen. Members include all Cabinet members (past and...
China's diplomatic relations with neighbours
In recent weeks, the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, has upped the charm offensive in China's diplomatic relations with its neighbours. The most reported venture of Mr Xi was the talks that he held...
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:
Presidential Executive Orders and Federalism - Immigration on the Line
Today the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against President Obama's executive order preventing the deportation of 5 million illegal immigrants, following an earlier ruling by a Texas court...
Jeremy Corbyn and the Trident nuclear programme
The spat between Jeremy Corbyn and General Sir Nicholas Houghton, the Head of the Armed Forces, looks set to run on a little longer.
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.
Canada's new, more representative Cabinet
Following on quickly from Justin Trudeau's new government in Canada were announcements about his new, diverse, representative government, which has been acclaimed around the world as being a sign...
Al-Shabab's strategies
Al-Shabab, the Islamic insurgency group in North-Eastern Africa, hit the news headlines again last week when they carried out a double-suicide attack on a hotel in Mogadishu, the capital city of...
Cameron vs Corbyn - Can you guess who made which quote?
Here's a fun 10 minute starter for your next Government and Politics lesson. Your students are presented with 16 quotes and the question 'Which of these are quotes from David Cameron?' They must...
Can Jeremy Corbyn ever become Prime Minister?
Whilst much of the media coverage of Mr Corbyn is fairly negative, and a good number of Labour MPs expressing their concern over his leadership, he continues to appear confident and optimistic. At...