The blog is back

After a refreshing summer rest, the Politics blog will be back to daily postings of the latest updates relating to teaching and learning Politics.

First up is the Guardian’s take on a key topic in the Governing the UK papers at AS level, House of Lords reform.

Parliamentary graffiti?

One of the more arcane methods MPs can use to scrutinise the government are Early Day Motions.  The BBC’s World at One did a great piece recently on the campaign to scrap them.

AS Revision: Constitutional Reform

It seems very much like a case of if it’s Tuesday it must be Cameron’s turn.  But the Tory leader’s announcement on constitutional reforms provides a rich vein of material for those studying for the UK government papers.

AS revision: decline of Parliament

Geoffrey Wheatcroft has penned a must read article on the role of the House of Commons in today’s Guardian

AS/A2 revision: Whither Parliament?

The MPs’ expenses row has thrown up a lot of intelligent comment about the purpose of MPs and the role of the legislature in the democratic process.  It is this author’s view that lots of MPs do work hard and perform an effective role, but it’s just that the good work they do does not involve legislating or (with the possible exception of some select committee work) checking the executive.  MPs do work hard in representing their constituents and often serve as a last resort for frightened and frustrated individuals.  Henry Porter in the Observer writes at length about how ineffective MPs are as legislators.  Useful reference material when considering the extent to which Parliament performs its functions effectively, or even in considering the relative effectiveness of legislatures from a synoptic perspective.

AS revision: Parliamentary scrutiny

In the run up to the exams, the Politics blog will seek to provide some help by uploading details of recent examples of political activity that can be used in the exam hall, or the odd revision note.

Here is a quick update on a story some of you may have noticed in the press, but may not have realised it is an important example of how Parliament can check the executive.

UK politics documentary heads up

‘The Westminster Gravy Train’,
Dispatches, Channel 4, Sunday 19 April 2008, 7pm, looks at MP’s expenses

Parliament is revolting

Preparing some post Easter material on Parliament for my AS groups, I have plundered the revolts.co.uk website.

Gordon’s ‘depression’

Wag economists are inclined to say that the difference between a recession and a depression is that in the former your neighbour loses his job, in the latter you lose your job.  But it seems that Gordon is doing his best to put himself out of work by lurching into depression territory in what can only be described as a Freudian slip. 

Parliament and government: the basics

I make a big play to students thinking of signing up for Politics in the sixth form (and we don’t do too badly for numbers - roughly a quarter of the lower sixth take the subject, and we are the 4th most popular in terms of bums on seats in that year group) that at the very least they will end one year of study with a good understanding of how their country’s governmental systems works.  But do they?  The conscientious class student should end up with more ability than the man in the street to discuss the workings of the single transferable vote, or be able to recognise that the introduction of a new Parliament at Holyrood has thrown into sharp relief the problems of asymmetrical devolution. 

But when it gets to the nuts and bolts of legislating and governing, what then?