Pearson Edexcel A Level UK Government and Politics Sixth Edition

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The Liberal Tradition in America– Explores the historical roots and characteristics of liberalism in the United States and its implications for international relations. Candidates should not sit on the fence – they have to take sides – the essay can never be a draw. They can construct mini conclusions for each argument and there may be winning and losing arguments on both sides and some may be close but in the long run they have to get to a winning side – an outcome, a verdict, a conclusion to the entire debate. The crucial case is for the candidate to have a degree of reasoned logic in declaring the winning side.

Debate Chapter 1 Historical context of the UK political systemDid the Bill of Rights and Act of Settlement mark a significant change in the powerof parliament?Yes NoQ The monarch was now of parliament’s choosing, rather Q Parliament remained only advisory in nature. Q The monarch remained the dominant force in British than ruling through divine right.Q They established the principle of regular and free politics. Q Parliament itself only represented the wealthiest elections.Q They restricted the monarch’s ability to interfere with 2% of the country. laws.Q They meant taxation could only be passed by parliament.The creation of the United Kingdom England and Wales had developed as one country since the conquest of Wales by Edward I in the 1270s. Wales still retained its own language and customs for many years, but politically it was run from Westminster and was often referred to as part of England, though, more accurately, England and Wales together were ‘Britain’. Scotland remained an independent kingdom until 1707, with its own monarch, laws and institutions. In 1603, King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England. The two kingdoms were still legally separate but they now shared the same head of state, which brought a period of peace and stability to Anglo-Scottish relations. In 1155, Pope Adrian IV had offered the crown of Ireland to King Henry II if he could bring the Irish under control. Following his own break with Rome in the sixteenth century, King Henry VIII began a more formal subjugation of Ireland, first by persuading the Irish Parliament to pass the Crown of Ireland Act in 1542. This formally made the Kings of England also Kings of Ireland. Therefore, by the start of the eighteenth century, the same monarch ruled the three separate kingdoms, but England (and Wales), Scotland and Ireland all had separate parliaments, laws and customs, and were still separate countries. The Acts of Union 1707 The Act of Settlement allowed the English Parliament to decide who should be the monarch in England and there was a real possibility that the Scottish Parliament might choose a different monarch to rule their country. This would lead to the breakup of the informal union between the two kingdoms and the possibility of future wars. In 1698 and 1699, Scotland attempted to establish its own colony in Panama in the Gulf of Darien. The expedition proved disastrous and effectively bankrupted the country. Urged on by King William III, the Scottish Parliament was forced to accept terms from the English 9 Case study Majoritarian or consensual democracy? Dutch political scientist Arend Lijphart located main parties with opposing ideological positions. Power liberal democracies on a spectrum with majoritarian sharing is the norm in a consensual democracy. democracy at one extreme and consensual democracy at the other (see Table 2.1). The UK Westminster model is the archetypal majoritarian democracy, while Switzerland is a In a majoritarian democracy, political power is leading example of consensual democracy. The Blair concentrated at the centre and there are few limits to its governments’ constitutional reforms introduced exercise. Common features include a flexible constitution, elements of consensual democracy (e.g. devolution a plurality electoral system, a two-party system, a and the Human Rights Act), while multiparty politics dominant executive and a unitary state. In a consensual and coalition government have also become more democracy, political power is diffused. Typical features apparent. But the UK is still close to the majoritarian are a rigid constitution, proportional representation, position. Parliamentary sovereignty remains the guiding multiparty politics, the separation of powers and a constitutional principle, the fusion of the legislature and federal system. There are also important differences in executive has not been disturbed greatly, and the first- political culture. Politics is adversarial in a majoritarian past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system is still used for democracy, characterised by conflict between two Westminster elections. Questions Q What are the main differences between a majoritarian and a consensual democracy? Q Is the UK still a majoritarian democracy? Table 2.1 Majoritarian and consensual democracyUK Government and Politics for AS/A-level Aspect of political Majoritarian democracy Consensual democracy system Flexible constitution is easily amended Rigid constitution can only be amended through Constitution special procedures Executive is dominant and controls the legislature There is a balance of power between the Executive–legislative executive and legislature relations Courts cannot challenge the constitutionality of Constitutional court can strike down legislation Judiciary legislation Unitary state with power concentrated at the Federal system with power divided between tiers Territorial politics centre of government Majoritarian system produces single-party Proportional representation produces coalition Electoral system government government Adversarial two-party system Cooperative multiparty system Party system Activity Key term Using the information in Table 2.1 and the rest of this chapter, assess the extent to which the UK has moved from the majoritarian democracy extreme towards the consensual democracy end of the spectrum. Constitution The laws, rules and practices which determine the The constitution institutions of the state, and the The British constitution is highly unusual as it is uncodified. This means relationship between the state that the major principles of the political system are not found in a single, and its citizens. authoritative document. Instead they are located in various Acts of20

Specification

Chapter 5 Parliament 82 The House of Commons: structure and members . . . . . . . . . . . 83 The House of Lords: structure and members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Comparative powers of the Commons and the Lords . . . . . . . . 89 Functions of parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 The relationship between parliament and the executive . . . . . 110Chapter 6 The prime minister and executive 117 The executive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 The prime minister and cabinet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Ministerial responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 The relative power of the prime minister and cabinet . . . . . . . 142 The power of the prime minister and cabinet to dictate events and determine policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Chapter 7 The Supreme Court 158 The role and composition of the Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Key doctrines and principles that underpin the work of the Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 The power of the UK Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 The overall impact of the UK Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 The potential impact of Brexit on the jurisdiction, power and authority of the UK Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175Chapter 8 The European Union 178 The development of the European Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 The aims of the European Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 The roles and functions of European Union institutions . . . . 184 The European Union political system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 The impact of the European Union on British politics . . . . . . 189 The decision to leave the European Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194Component 2 Political participation in the UKChapter 9 Democracy and political participation 202 What is democracy?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202 Forms of democracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204 How effectively does democracy operate in the UK?. . . . . . . . .207 Extending the franchise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 Political participation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223 How do pressure groups and other organisations promote democracy and political participation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 The protection of rights in a democracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 What could be done to improve democracy in the UK?. . . . . .243 v Theory of International Politics– Introduces structural realism or neorealism, focusing on the anarchic structure of the international system.

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics– A newer realist perspective focusing on the inevitability of conflict between great powers.AS/A-LEVEL FIFTH EDITIONUK GOVERNMENT AND POLITICSPhilip Lynch Teacher planning copy.Paul Fairclough The final published bookToby Cooper will include 2017 election coverage.Editor: Eric Magee Chapter 2 The UK political system Key questions answered O What is the nature of politics? O What are the main features of the Westminster model of British politics? O What are the relationships between the main branches of government? O What are the areas of continuity and change in British politics? O What is the character and health of British democracy? In December 2016, the Supreme Court heard an appeal from the UK government against a High Court ruling that it could not trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, and thus begin the process of leaving the European Union, without the authorisation of parliament. The Supreme Court ruled in January 2017 that triggering Article 50 did not fall within the prerogative powers of the executive but required an Act of Parliament. In the same month, the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled that the Scottish government could implement its policy to set a minimum price for alcohol of 50p per unit. This is a devolved power in which the Scottish Parliament has primary legislative authority, but legislation passed 4 years earlier had not come into force because of legal challenges by alcohol producers. Both of these cases illustrate the complex relationships between the three branches of government in the UK — the executive, the legislature and the judiciary — as well as the impact of devolution and of leaving the EU. Pro-Brexit supporters gathered outside Parliament in November 2016 to oppose the recent High Court ruling to give MPs the final decision on the matter What is politics?UK Government and Politics for AS/A-level Before starting to study UK government and politics, it is helpful to define our subject matter. A student of English literature or chemistry may have16 little difficulty in offering a definition of their chosen subject, but it is Politics Classics– a great book that helps to condense the main ideas of many key thinkers, including Thomas Hobbes, Mary Wollstonecraft and more. Conservatism: The Fight for a Tradition– an exploratory book that looks at the history of conservatism and the different strands that it encompasses. The Life of an MP– Jess Phillips, Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, discusses the role of an MP and the occurrences that happen in their personal and political lives.

Prisoners of Geography– a book detailing the big powers in global politics, and how maps can explain them. We’re Living Through the Breakdown– this book is written by Tatton Spiller of Simple Politics, and looks at how we can understand politics in an age of huge change. In support material and examiner reports there are some good examples where we try to spell out best practice and give insights in how to maximise mark potential and reflect on the past series of exams. The Act of Settlement 1701UK Government and Politics for AS/A-level Synoptic links The Act of Settlement in 1701 marked another step in the changing relationship between the crown and parliament. When it became clear that The prime minister’s neither William III nor his heir, Queen Anne, would have any children, the power of patronage succession should have gone to one of the heirs of James II or Charles I. However, these heirs were Catholic and the Protestant Westminster Today, the prime minister can parliament objected to a Catholic monarch. The Act of Settlement was appoint any MP or peer to the passed to settle the succession problem and parliament decided to offer government. A return to the the throne to George of Hanover. While there were nearly 50 closer principle of cabinet appointees relatives to Queen Anne, George was chosen as the closest relative who having to stand again in a by- was not a Catholic, despite having never been to England and not being election would limit the power of able to speak a word of English. the prime minister and perhaps force MPs to consider the wishes So when George I became king in 1714 it was the result of an Act of constituents rather than of Parliament, not through any divine right of inheritance. In addition seeking career advancement, thus to granting parliament the power to choose the monarch, the Act of improving democracy. However, Settlement also established several principles that had been suggested it may lead to a less effective during the debates over the Bill of Rights: government and make the prime Q Judges could not be removed without the consent of parliament. minister unwilling to make Q Royal pardons were to be irrelevant in cases of impeachment. necessary changes to the cabinet. Q The monarch could not take England into a war to defend their home country, without the consent of parliament. Q In governing Britain, the monarch could not make decisions alone and had to consult the full Privy Council. Q No foreign-born man could join the Privy Council, sit in parliament, hold a military command or be given lands or titles in Britain. Q The monarch had to be a member of the Church of England. Q The monarch could not be Catholic or married to a Catholic. Key term Privy Council A group of senior political advisors who have the job of advising the monarch on the use of the royal prerogative. The Act contained a provision that, after the death of Queen Anne, ‘no person who has an office or place of profit under the king, or receives a pension from the Crown, shall be capable of serving as a member of the House of Commons’. Had this clause not been repealed by the Regency Act of 1706, the UK would have seen a strict separation of power and the idea of cabinet government would not have become established. After the Act of Settlement, anyone appointed to the cabinet had to resign their seat in the House of Commons and stand in a by-election, a practice that continued until 1918. This meant the power of the monarch, and then the prime minister, to appoint cabinet ministers was limited by the fear of losing a by-election. The Act also established the principle that the monarch could only choose ministers who could command a majority of support across both Houses of Parliament. This meant the king had to choose a ‘king in parliament’ who could control both chambers, rather than appointing the minister of his choice.8The Power of Geography– the sequel to Prisoners of Geography that discusses the future of global politics and power. Essentials of UK Politics and Government is the go-to textbook for all A-level Politics students studying the Edexcel specification. Building on Andrew Heywood's signature accessible style, this new fifth edition has been thoroughly updated by Kathy Schindler and Adam Tomes who draw on their experience to provide an innovative guide to UK Politics. This book covers all the core topics from Democracy and Participation, Elections and Referendums and Voting Behaviour, to the Constitution, the Prime Minister and Parliament. An A Level Politics Reading List is important due to the breadth of topics covered in A Level Politics. Keeping on top of politics can be difficult, so we’ve created an A Level Politics Reading List we recommend so you can keep engaged over the summer and during your studies. A-Levels are linear, which means all the content you’ve studied in both Year 12 and Year 13 will be assessed in exams at the end of the course. Exams for A-Level students usually take place in May and June, so it’s important to make sure you plan ahead and start early to give yourself plenty of time to revise.