AS Revision examples

This blog post contains some of the key examples and events from UK politics over the last 18 months, along with suggestions of how to link them in with key topics from the syllabus for both Units 1 and 2.

2015

January

• George Osborne announced that tackling terrorism is a top priority for the British government following the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in France – a good example of government policy being responsive/reactive, rather than all stemming from a manifesto. This example also illustrates the Burkean view of representation and an advantage of parliamentary democracy – the government is able to make quick decisions without consulting all members of the electorate
• The UK’s main broadcasters announced that they will include more party leaders in the televised debates for the 2015 General Election, signalling that the two-party model is perhaps in decline, and that the views of the UK’s devolved regions needed greater recognition

February

• David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband all signed a cross-party, non-partisan agreement to reduce climate change, demonstrating that there may no longer be fundamental ideological differences between parties
• Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the Conservative MP, announced that he will not contest his seat in the 2015 General Election following cash-for-access concerns; he also resigns as Chair of the Parliamentary Security and Intelligence Committee

March

• Membership of the SNP passed the 100,000 milestone, indicating that the Scottish independence referendum has enhanced feelings of nationalism and created a desire for further devolution
• David Cameron announced that he will not have a third term in office as Prime Minister. Whilst there is no constitutional requirement for the PM to step down after two terms (in the style of a US President), this perhaps signals a new convention in the UK’s uncodified constitution, especially given that Tony Blair also chose to step down before a general election.

April

• The UK’s Supreme Court ruled that the government must take urgent action to reduce air pollution, demonstrating stronger separation of powers and potentially some politicisation of the UK’s judiciary
• The 2015 General Election returned a surprise victory for the Conservatives, who gained a narrow and unexpected majority giving them 331 seats. The other surprise success was the SNP, who gained 56 of 59 seats in Scotland inflicting a heavy defeat on Labour. Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage all resigned as leaders of their parties (although Farage later backtracked). This is a great example of the Lib Dems being punished/held to account in the election for their failure to meet the promises from their 2010 manifesto (e.g. abolishing tuition fees for university education), and for party leaders to shoulder responsibility for their party’s (lack of) success.
• The 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta was celebrated – the Magna Carta is one of the ancient documents that still provide some basis to the UK’s uncodified constitution

May

June

July

• George Osborne delivered his first Conservative budget, which included hefty cuts to welfare spending – this could be seen as a return to the more traditional Conservative ideology, unhampered by the constraints of coalition government. However, in a traditionally “un-Tory” policy, he introduced a National Living Wage (eventually introduced in April 2016). Slightly later in the month, Mr Osborne also launched a review into which departments would face significant spending cuts of up to £20bn, again in line with the traditional Tory ideology of reducing the size of the public sector.
• Laughing gas (nitrous oxide) is banned for “recreational use” in the London Borough of Lambeth, showing the power of local councils to deploy secondary legislation and by-laws.
• A free vote was held in the Commons on the issue of “right to die” – MPs voted 330 against (118 in favour) allowing terminally ill people to end their own life with assistance. Free votes are typically held on when the issue involves morals or does not “fit” with a particular ideology.
• Jeremy Corbyn was elected as Labour leader, arguably with more support from rank-and-file grassroots Labour members than the parliamentary party
• Michael Meacher, the Labour MP for Oldham West and Royton, died, prompting a by-election (which is subsequently won by Labour)
• Parliament passed an “English Votes for English Laws”, in an attempt to address the so-called West Lothian question in which Scottish MPs were able to vote on issues such as education and healthcare which only affected English constituencies. This is regarded by many as a way of improving representation for English constituents
• The government suffered an embarrassing defeat in the Lords over its proposed cuts to tax credits. Whilst the Lords can, at best, simply delay legislation (because of their “secondary” chamber unelected position) this defeat signals an end to Tory control of the Lords. The introduction of more life peers – especially peers chosen by the Lib Dems during their time in coalition government – means that the Tories no longer have a majority in the Lords, making Lords defeats more likely. Unsurprisingly, George Osborne backs down from the cuts in his December “Autumn Statement”.

August

September

October

December

• The use of e-petitions to assess public views resulted in MPs and whether to ban Donald Trump from the UK, after more than the necessary minimum 100,000 signatures were received. This is evidence of the growing importance of social media and technology in encouraging political participation.
• Jeremy Corbyn reshuffled his shadow cabinet in an attempt to provide a stronger and more cohesive Official Opposition, that shared the same left-wing views as himself. Some Labour MPs find the moves worrying, leading to Labour MPs Jonathan Reynolds and Stephen Doughty resigning in protest at the sacking of Pat McFadden as shadow Europe minister. This is taken as evidence of greater ideological divide within the Labour party, and leads some to question to effectiveness of the Opposition in holding the government to account.
• David Cameron announced that a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU will be held on June 23rd. Boris Johnson, along with other senior Tories including Michael Gove, announces that he will defy David Cameron’s view that Britain is “Stronger in Europe” and campaign for Brexit. This shows major divisions in the Conservatives, and seems to contravene the Doctrine of Collective Cabinet Responsibility. At the same time, the Civil Service is effectively prevented from providing support and assistance to the Brexiters because of the view that the Civil Service must be “politically neutral” yet support the government’s position
• Iain Duncan Smith resigned as Minister for Work and Pensions, claiming that the Treasury forced him to sanction cuts to welfare payments that he fundamentally disagreed with. In line with the Doctrine of Collective Cabinet Responsibility, ministers need to publicly support government policy or resign.
• The infighting in the Labour party continued – Naz Shah (MP for Bradford) was suspended (i.e. had the whip withdrawn) as a result of apparent anti-Semitic comments he had made on Facebook. Within days, Ken Livingstone was suspended from the party when he spoke out in support of Naz Shah. Some analysts argued that the internal issues in the Labour party prevented them from acting properly as the Opposition, and that this was giving David Cameron too much power.
• Evidence of Britain’s increasingly multicultural society increases as Labour’s Sadiq Khan is sworn in as the first Muslim Mayor of London – within days he shares a platform with David Cameron for the Remain campaign, indicating cross-party collaboration between some members of each party. Mr Khan won the Mayoral election in spite of highly negative campaigning by the Conservatives, who tried to argue that he had links with radical Islamists.