Over the last two decades British politics has undergone a remarkable transformation. While some components of the system have been eroded, such as voter turnout and membership of the big parties, other parts have flourished, such as nationalist parties, the insurgent UKIP, as well as the new media.
British Politics: The Basics analyses these changes and places them within the context of the evolution of British society from absolute monarchy to representative democracy. It considers each of the major components of British politics, such as the Monarchy and the House of Lords, the Commons, voting behaviour, parties and pressure groups, the Prime Minister and Cabinet, devolution, local government, and foreign policy. Its contents include coverage of recent events such as the Scottish Referendum and the 2015 General Election.
This readable and comprehensive introduction will be of key interest to A-level students, undergraduates and those new to the study of British politics.
Author(s): Bill Jones
Series: The Basics
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2016
Language: English
Commentary: Let’s download books from Sci-Hub and upload them to libgen!
Pages: 345
BRITISH POLITICS: THE BASICS- FRONT COVER......Page 1
BRITISH POLITICS: THE BASICS......Page 4
TITLE PAGE......Page 8
COPYRIGHT PAGE......Page 9
DEDICATION......Page 10
CONTENTS......Page 12
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 14
PART I: INTRODUCTION......Page 18
THE WITAN......Page 20
LORDS AND COMMONS MEET SEPARATELY......Page 21
CIVIL WAR, 1640-49......Page 22
GLORIOUS REVOLUTION, 1688-89......Page 23
POLITICAL PARTIES......Page 24
THE ENLIGHTENMENT......Page 25
THE INFLUENCE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, 1789......Page 26
GREAT REFORM ACT 1832......Page 27
POLITICAL PARTIES FROM THE MID-NINETEENTH TO THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY......Page 28
FURTHER LORDS REFORMS......Page 30
DEVOLUTION......Page 31
FURTHER READING......Page 32
THE UNDERLYING IDEAS......Page 34
THE MAJOR PARTIES......Page 36
THE EXECUTIVE......Page 38
PRESSURE GROUPS......Page 39
THE MEDIA......Page 40
FURTHER READING......Page 41
PART II: THE POLITICAL CONTEXT......Page 44
CHAPTER 3: POLITICAL CULTURE......Page 46
ECONOMIC INFLUENCES......Page 47
THE CONSTITUTION......Page 48
DEFERENCE......Page 50
CRIME......Page 52
WELFARE STATE......Page 53
MPS’ EXPENSES AND THE EROSION OF TRUST......Page 54
CONCLUSION......Page 55
FURTHER READING......Page 56
ECONOMIC BEGINNINGS......Page 57
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE MARXIST ANALYSIS......Page 58
WHY NO REVOLUTION?......Page 60
SOCIAL MOBILITY AND EDUCATION......Page 61
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY......Page 63
REGIONAL DIFFERENCES......Page 68
ETHNICITY......Page 69
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION......Page 70
FURTHER READING......Page 71
CHAPTER 5: THE UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION......Page 72
SOURCES OF THE CONSTITUTION......Page 73
SEPARATION OF POWERS......Page 75
‘CORE’ AND ‘CONTESTED’ ELEMENTS OF THE CONSTITUTION......Page 76
CURRENT CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES......Page 77
FURTHER READING......Page 78
THE EMERGENCE OF POLITICAL IDEAS......Page 80
CORE PHILOSOPHIES IN THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES......Page 81
POST-WAR DEVELOPMENTS IN POLITICAL IDEAS......Page 86
COALITION AFTER MAY 2010......Page 93
UKIP......Page 95
CONCLUDING COMMENT......Page 96
FURTHER READING......Page 99
PART III: THE MEDIATING AGENCIES......Page 102
FUNCTIONS......Page 104
PARTY GOVERNMENT FROM THE MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY......Page 106
THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY......Page 107
LABOUR PARTY......Page 109
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS......Page 113
NATIONALIST PARTIES......Page 114
FUNDING POLITICAL PARTIES......Page 115
FURTHER READING......Page 116
TYPES OF PRESSURE GROUPS......Page 118
ORIGINS OF PRESSURE GROUPS......Page 119
PRESSURE GROUPS AND GOVERNMENT......Page 120
POLITICAL THEORY AND PRESSURE GROUPS......Page 125
FURTHER READING......Page 126
CHAPTER 9: THE MASS MEDIA......Page 127
EVOLUTION OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION......Page 128
THE PRESS......Page 129
THE BROADCAST MEDIA......Page 131
NEWS VALUES......Page 134
‘SPIN’......Page 135
QUESTION OF BIAS......Page 136
REGULATION OF THE PRESS......Page 138
NEW MEDIA......Page 139
FURTHER READING......Page 140
PART IV: THE LEGISLATURE......Page 142
CHAPTER 10: THE MONARCHY......Page 144
FUNCTIONS......Page 145
CRITICISMS......Page 146
THE MONARCHY AND POLITICS......Page 147
FURTHER READING......Page 148
CHAPTER 11: THE HOUSE OF LORDS......Page 150
FUNCTIONS OF HOUSE OF LORDS......Page 151
REFORM......Page 153
FURTHER READING......Page 154
EARLY HISTORY......Page 156
THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM(S)......Page 157
THE DIMINISHING INFLUENCE OF CLASS ON VOTING......Page 159
LOW ELECTION TURNOUT......Page 163
OTHER FACTORS INFLUENCING VOTING BEHAVIOUR......Page 165
THE MAY 2010 GENERAL ELECTION......Page 167
THE MAY 2015 GENERAL ELECTION......Page 168
FURTHER READING......Page 182
CHAPTER 13: THE HOUSE OF COMMONS......Page 184
DIMINUTION OF POWER......Page 185
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMONS......Page 188
REFORM OF COMMONS......Page 191
COMPOSITION OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS......Page 193
FURTHER READING......Page 194
PART V: THE EXECUTIVE......Page 196
CABINET......Page 198
THE PRIME MINISTER......Page 202
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER (DPM)......Page 207
THE ‘CORE EXECUTIVE’......Page 208
FURTHER READING......Page 210
MINISTERS......Page 212
CIVIL SERVICE......Page 214
POLITICAL ADVISERS......Page 220
WHO MAKES POLICY - MINISTER OR CIVIL SERVANT?......Page 221
REFORMING THE CIVIL SERVICE......Page 222
FURTHER READING......Page 223
POLICY-MAKING AS A ‘SYSTEM’......Page 225
MODELS OF POLICY-MAKING......Page 226
THE POLICY CYCLE......Page 229
EXAMPLE: MANAGING THE ECONOMY......Page 237
FURTHER READING......Page 241
PART VI: SUB-NATIONAL GOVERNMENT......Page 244
CHAPTER 17: DEVOLUTION......Page 246
NORTHERN IRELAND......Page 247
DEVOLUTION IN THE 1970s......Page 248
SCOTLAND......Page 251
DEVOLUTION: RELATED PROBLEMS......Page 252
ENGLISH NATIONALISM......Page 253
GREATER LONDON GOVERNMENT......Page 254
SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM AND ITS IMPACT......Page 256
FURTHER READING......Page 261
PROVENANCE......Page 263
POST-WAR DECLINE......Page 265
THATCHER AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT......Page 267
FURTHER REFORMS......Page 269
ABOLITION OF THE AUDIT COMMISSION......Page 271
ELECTED MAYORS......Page 272
‘REVOLUTIONARY’ DEVOLUTION OF POWERS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN 2014-15......Page 274
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION (LGA)......Page 275
POLITICS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT......Page 276
FURTHER READING......Page 277
SUBORDINATE?......Page 279
JUDICIAL POSTS......Page 280
THE COURTS AND THEIR PERSONNEL......Page 282
THE RECRUITMENT OF JUDGES......Page 285
‘JUDICIAL ACTIVISM’......Page 286
ENFORCING EUROPEAN LAW......Page 287
ENFORCING THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS......Page 288
FURTHER READING......Page 289
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE......Page 291
THE EMPIRE AND DECLINE......Page 293
THE SPHERES OF FOREIGN POLICY......Page 295
THE EUROPEAN UNION AS A FOCUS OF FOREIGN POLICY......Page 296
THE ANGLO-AMERICAN BOND - A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP?......Page 297
THE GROWTH OF EURO-SCEPTICISM......Page 300
FURTHER READING......Page 302
COLLAPSE OF THE CENTRE GROUND - A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE......Page 304
THE ‘HOLLOWING OUT’ OF THE UK POLITICAL SYSTEM......Page 305
DEVOLUTION......Page 310
UKIP......Page 311
LABOUR’S PROBLEMS:......Page 312
THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS’ PROBLEMS......Page 313
CONSERVATIVE PARTY......Page 314
COALITION GOVERNMENT......Page 315
FURTHER READING......Page 317
GLOSSARY......Page 318
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 322
INDEX......Page 329
