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...
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...
How useful are e-petitions?
The link below takes you to a radio clip on the changes and history of the e-petitions in the UK.The use of e-petitions is a fascinating aspect of a modern democracy as, in principle, it would...
Global Politics - Why Saudi Arabia Matters
Saudi Arabia plays a pivotal role in international political and economic affairs in the Middle East and beyond. This short 60 second video from the BBC is a useful summary of the reasons why Saudi...
Why the General Election in Turkey is important
Here's one of those fantastic little video clips from the BBC (worth every penny of the licence fee!) that explains the reason why the outcome of the General Election in Turkey is important. Of...
Topical News Quiz – take the lollipop challenge!
Here’s a quick topical news quiz challenge on various stories from the world of Government and Politics over the last week. It comes in the format of an onscreen quiz called the ‘Lollipop...
Hail to the Chief - President Romney
Imagine the scene, its Tuesday 12th February 2013, all of Congress is assembled to hear the State of the Union, there is a buzz of excitement rippling through those assembled. The Sergeant at Arms...
Trudeau or Bieber? Battle of the Justins
Here’s a nice (and short!) video clip comparing the recently elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with that other famous Canadian Justin (as in Bieber).
European integration
There are some great ready-made resources out there for teachers and students tackling the EU options for Gov and Pol A-level. I really like this starter quiz from One Europe as a great way in to...
The impact of Joe Biden's decision not to run for President
Yesterday Joe Biden (currently Vice President to Obama) categorically ruled himself out of the Democrat White House race for the 2016 election. Still, he took the opportunity at his announcement at...
English-only votes...a move to a federalist Britain?
Debate was certainly heated in the Commons today, as the debate focused on "English votes for English laws" - or to put it differently, answering the West Lothian question (you can find a 60 second...
Jeremy Corbyn and the party whip
Given that during his time as a backbencher Mr Corbyn was a well-known rebel, often defying the party whip, how will use the party whip now that he is leader?
Analysing the importance of the Chinese State Visit
Looking closely at the ins and outs of this week's Chinese State Visit to the UK is a great way of bringing much of the politics syllabus to life. A great place to start is this BBC News analysis -...