Cover image for British Politics For Dummies, 2nd Edition

British Politics For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Author Michael Pattison , Julian Knight
Release Date: 2015/05/01
ISBN: 9781118971505
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Book Description

Your updated and revised guide to British politics

So, you want to be knowledgeable about British politics but don't know where to start? You've come to the right place! British Politics For Dummies is your essential guide to understanding even the trickiest questions surrounding politics in the UK. In no time, you'll have the confidence to discuss the ins and outs of past and present elections, political leaders, parties and ideologies.

Packed with understandable information on the origins, history and structure of the UK parliamentary system, British Politics For Dummies offers a fascinating glimpse into the rollercoaster world of politics. Explaining everything from key political ideologies and the spread of democracy to the current election process and the differences between political parties, this hands-on, friendly guide is an ideal companion to British politics and elections.

  • Includes expanded coverage of coalition governments, devolution and independence efforts
  • Provides updated information on UKIP and Britain's place in Europe
  • Serves as a helpful guide to elections and British political parties—electoral systems, voting behaviour and trends and the role of pressure groups and the media
  • Offers a fascinating examination of British politics on the world stage

Whether you want to get to grips with British politics and government or build your knowledge beyond the basics, this updated edition of British Politics For Dummies is the place to start.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
    1. Introduction
      1. About This Book
      2. Foolish Assumptions
      3. Icons Used in This Book
      4. Beyond the book
      5. Where to Go from Here
    2. Part I: Getting Started with British Politics
      1. Chapter 1: Taking in the Political Universe
        1. Understanding the Difference between Local and National Politics
        2. Splitting the Difference: The Devolved Parliament and Assemblies
        3. Evolving to Democracy: A Very British Story
        4. Assessing the Health of British Democracy
        5. Paying Homage to the ‘Mother of Parliaments’
        6. Introducing the Players in the British Political System
          1. Gazing at the political summit: The central role of the prime minister
          2. Declining importance of the MP
          3. Checking the power of the politicians: The judiciary
          4. Mixing in the monarch
        7. Coming under Greater Scrutiny: Politics in the Media
        8. Britain: Making Its Way in the European Union
        9. Looking Further Afield: The UK and the Wider World
      2. Chapter 2: Understanding Why Politics and Politicians are Impotant
        1. Looking at Different Types of Authority
        2. Deciphering the Ultimate Purpose of Politics
        3. Gauging the Role of Politicians
          1. Making the law
          2. Changing the constitution and the way government works
          3. Ensuring a more stable state
          4. Galvanising the country in times of crisis
          5. Listening to constituents
          6. Working for the good of the country
        4. Tackling the Big Issues: Current Challenges Facing Politicians
          1. Keeping up living standards – it’s the economy, stupid!
          2. Saving the planet
          3. Bringing an end to world poverty
          4. Fighting terrorism
          5. Reckoning with the decline of Western dominance
        5. Becoming Active in Politics
          1. Playing your part
          2. Taking up the paint brush: Political social action
      3. Chapter 3: Looking at Participatory Democracy
        1. Understanding What Qualifies as a Democracy
          1. Starting with Athenian direct democracy
          2. Getting into representative democracy
        2. Homing in on British Democracy
          1. Putting the monarchy in its place
          2. Expanding the franchise
          3. Throwing digital democracy into the mix
        3. Understanding the Rights that Come with British Citizenship
        4. Evaluating the Pros and Cons of UK Democracy
          1. Looking at the strengths
          2. Recognising the weaknesses
        5. Being a Citizen
          1. Getting involved
          2. Gauging voter apathy
      4. Chapter 4: Examining Political Ideologies
        1. Understanding What an Ideology Is
          1. Moderating ideologies: The British way
          2. Liberalising the world: The march of the Western democratic model
        2. Focusing on Freedom with Liberalism
        3. Joining Together for the Greater Good: Socialism in the UK
          1. Focusing on the successes of socialism
          2. Rebranding socialism: New Labour
          3. Stirring things up: Revolutionary socialism
          4. Looking far left: Marxism and communism
        4. Keeping with Tradition: Conservatism
          1. Uniting under one nation conservatism
          2. Reforming with a small ‘r’
          3. Changing conservatism: The Thatcher revolution
          4. Modernising the Conservatives
        5. Examining Alternative Politics
          1. Focusing on the far right: Fascism
          2. Looking into the darkness: Totalitarian regimes
          3. Looking to the heavens: Theocracy
          4. Pulling everything apart: Anarchism
          5. Releasing the bonds: Feminism
          6. Saving the planet: Environmentalism
        6. Understanding Why the UK Doesn’t Do Extremism
      5. Chapter 5: Forming the British Political State
        1. Getting to Grips with the Normans: From Conquest to Magna Carta
        2. Doing the Splits: Church and State Clash
        3. Gearing Up for Revolution: Parliament Takes on the King and Wins
          1. Working hand in hand
          2. Chafing under Charles I and enduring Cromwell
          3. Reaping the benefits of the Glorious Revolution
        4. Throwing Political Parties into the Mix
        5. Ending the Power of the Lords
        6. Expanding the Franchise: Democracy Arrives in Britain
          1. Earning a stake
          2. Recognising the rights of women
        7. Switching Parties: The Ebb and Flow of Party Influence
          1. Making a play for power: The Labour Party is born and thrives
          2. Playing musical chairs: Labour and the Tories swap power
          3. Leaving out the Lib Dems
        8. Concentrating Power in the Hands of the Prime Minister
        9. Breaking Up the Union: Scotland and Wales to Go It Alone?
        10. Encroaching on Britain’s Turf: The European Union
    3. Part II: Elections and Britain’s Parties
      1. Chapter 6: Counting the Votes: Differing Electoral Systems
        1. Listing the Big UK Elections
        2. Coming Up On the Rails: The First-Past-the-Post System
          1. Looking at the advantages
          2. Taking in the disadvantages
        3. Securing Over 50 Per Cent of the Vote: Majority Electoral Systems
          1. Laying bare the two-ballot system
          2. Playing the alternative vote system card
          3. Throwing in the supplementary vote system
        4. Perusing Proportional Representation
          1. Refining PR: Single transferable vote
          2. Varying PR: Candidate list system
          3. Dividing in the D’Hondt method
        5. Looking North and West to the Additional Member System
      2. Chapter 7: Voting Behaviour and Trends
        1. Looking at Who Can and Can’t Vote
        2. Understanding Voter Turnout
          1. Counting declining voter turnout
          2. Observing the reduction in local democracy
          3. Reversing the decline in voter turnout
        3. Considering What Sways Voters
          1. Taking in the big issues
          2. Throwing personality into the mix: The leadership wild card
          3. Looking at the voters themselves
        4. Enticing Voters to Vote: Party Strategies
          1. Appealing to the core vote
          2. Broadening party appeal
        5. Gazing at Election Campaigning
        6. Glancing at the Effects of Media Bias
      3. Chapter 8: Homing in on Political Parties
        1. Understanding Political Parties and How They Operate
          1. Recognising the role of the major UK parties
          2. Forming party policy: The approach of the Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems
          3. Choosing and following the leader – and other senior party figures
          4. Whipping up discipline: Keeping party members on the same page
          5. Looking at the role of the whips
          6. Living it up at party conferences
          7. Forgoing party to form a national government
        2. Looking at the Benefits of the Party System
        3. Exploring the Tories
          1. Re-inventing the Tories: Cameron’s conservatism
          2. Tapping natural Tory supporters
        4. Looking at the Labour Party
          1. Forming the Labour Party
          2. Gauging Labour’s followers
          3. Breaking with the unions: Hard to do
        5. Taking in the Lib Dems
          1. Understanding the balance of power
          2. Supporting proportional representation
          3. Looking at Lib Dem supporters
        6. Tearing up the Establishment: The Rise of UKIP
        7. Focusing on the Minor Parties
        8. Taking a Look at the Nationalists: SNP and Plaid Cymru
        9. Dipping into Northern Irish Politics
      4. Chapter 9: Piling on the Pressure Groups
        1. Taking in the Universe of Pressure Groups
          1. Sorting out sectional pressure groups
          2. Seeing to cause-related groups
        2. Going Inside, Outside, Up and Down with Pressure Groups
          1. Differentiating between inside and outside
          2. Watching the political ups and downs of pressure groups
        3. Looking at How Pressure Groups Exert Influence
          1. Getting the ear of ministers and civil servants
          2. Focusing on backbench MPs
          3. Courting public opinion
          4. Joining the throng at party conferences
          5. Taking it to the streets: Direct action
          6. Appealing over the heads of politicians
        4. Placing Pressure Groups in the System
          1. Looking at the downsides of pressure groups
          2. Taking in the plus points of pressure groups
        5. Identifying the UK’s Big Pressure Groups
          1. Bossing for business
          2. Charting the influence of charities
          3. Advocating human rights
          4. Pulling for the planet
          5. Promoting professions
          6. Working for the workers
        6. Working on a Bigger Stage: Pressure Groups and the EU
        7. Pushing the Intellectual Envelope: Think Tanks
      5. Chapter 10: Scrutinising Politics and the Media
        1. Exposing an Uneasy Relationship: Politics and the Media
          1. Wheeling out the sound bite
          2. Being media savvy: Special advisers
        2. Reading the UK’s Newspapers
          1. Detecting a waning influence – or not?
          2. Taking in the qualities
          3. Meeting the mid-markets
          4. Checking out the red-tops
          5. Digging into the grass roots: Regional newspapers
        3. Balancing Politics at the BBC
        4. Offering News around the Clock
        5. Looking at the Media in an Election Campaign
        6. Testing the Temperature: Opinion Polling
      6. Chapter 11: Taking Politics to the Masses: Social Media
        1. Understanding that Politics Is Now Mobile
          1. Climbing aboard the social media express
          2. Reaching out: How politicians can bypass mainstream media
          3. Treading carefully: the political gaffe
        2. Putting Your Thoughts in Writing: Political Blogging
        3. Talking ’bout a Revolution: Twitter and Street Protest
    4. Part III: The Ins and Outs of Parliament
      1. Chapter 12: Examining Britain’s Constitution
        1. Focusing on Why Countries Need a Constitution
        2. Exploring Differing Types of Constitution
          1. Recording the differences between written and unwritten constitutions
          2. Taking in unitary and federal constitutions
          3. Changing the rules: Rigid and flexible constitutions
        3. Celebrating Britain’s Constitution
          1. Granting parliamentary sovereignty
          2. Limiting parliamentary sovereignty
          3. Quantifying the success of the UK’s constitution
          4. Moving towards a written constitution
        4. Crowning the Constitution: The Monarchy
        5. Stirring Things Up: Republicanism
      2. Chapter 13: Britain’s Parliamentary Democracy
        1. Honouring the Mother of Parliaments
        2. Taking It to the Top: The House of Commons
          1. Aiming for a seat in parliament
          2. Looking at the job of MPs
          3. Recognising that the House of Commons holds the power
        3. Lording It Up: The Job of Peers
          1. Inherited power: Hereditary peers
          2. Nominating peers for life
        4. Introducing Bills
          1. Explaining government bills
          2. Introducing private members’ bills
        5. Getting Bills Passed: The Process
          1. Detailing the passage of bills
          2. Talking it over: Debating
          3. Icing the legislative cake: Receiving royal assent
        6. Poring Over the Detail: Parliamentary Committees
          1. Looking at standing committees
          2. Examining select committees
        7. Keeping Order: The Role of the Speaker
        8. Tying Up the Loose Ends: The Other Parliamentary Players
        9. Climbing the Greasy Pole to the Top Jobs in Government
      3. Chapter 14: Gazing at the Summit: The PM and Cabinet
        1. Going Straight to the Top: The Prime Minister
          1. Getting to be the PM
          2. Gauging whether the PM is really ‘first among equals’
          3. Limiting the power of the PM
        2. Concentrating on the Cabinet
          1. Taking in the great offices of state
          2. Observing the big beasts of the cabinet jungle
          3. Looking down the political food chain to other ministerial posts
        3. Assuming Cabinet Responsibilities
          1. Explaining collective cabinet responsibility
          2. Taking in individual responsibility
        4. Working Behind the Scenes: Cabinet Committees
        5. Shaking Up the Cabinet
          1. Falling on their sword: Ministerial resignations
          2. Shifting the seats: Cabinet reshuffles
        6. Whispering in the PM’s Ear: Special Advisers
        7. Turning to the Opposition: The Shadow Cabinet
      4. Chapter 15: Assessing Ministers and Civil Servants
        1. Examining What Government Departments Do
        2. Ranking the Departmental Hierarchy
        3. Oiling the Wheels of Government: The Civil Service
          1. Becoming a civil servant and doing the job
          2. Behaving as a civil servant
        4. Climbing the Ranks to the Senior Civil Service
          1. Running the day-to-day: The permanent under-secretary of state
          2. Serving as a link: The cabinet secretary
        5. Evaluating the Good and Bad Points of the UK Civil Service
        6. Reforming the Civil Service
          1. Ignoring the Ibbs Report
          2. Reducing head count: The Gershon Review
          3. Calling the civil service to account
      5. Chapter 16: Taking in the Courts and Judiciary
        1. Explaining the UK’s Three Legal Systems
        2. Recognising the Difference between Civil and Criminal Law
          1. Committing crimes against the state
          2. Suing your neighbours in civil court
        3. Examining the Basic Rights of the British Citizen
        4. Focusing on the Criminal Courts of England and Wales
          1. Starting off in a magistrates’ court
          2. Advancing to a crown court
          3. Making your way to the Court of Appeal
        5. Hearing Civil Cases in England and Wales
          1. Gazing at the civil law process
          2. Appealing civil cases
        6. Taking in the Scottish Court System
        7. Considering the Courts in Northern Ireland
        8. Introducing the UK Supreme Court
        9. Looking at the Role of the Judge
        10. Glancing at Courts and the Constitution
        11. Throwing the European Union into the Mix
        12. Fighting the Good Fight: Courts and Civil Liberties
      6. Chapter 17: Laying Bare Local Government and Devolution
        1. Understanding that All Politics Is Local
          1. Looking at what local government does
          2. Funding local government
          3. Taking in the structure of local government in England
          4. Heading north: Scottish local government
          5. Heading west: Wales and Northern Ireland
          6. Re-energising local government
          7. Policing the police: The advent of police and crime commissioners
        2. Granting Power from the Centre – Devolution
      7. Chapter 18: Focusing on Devolution and the Independence Debate
        1. Looking at the United Kingdom
          1. Considering each member of the union
          2. Forming the United Kingdom
          3. Understanding the success of the union
          4. Breaking down of the union?
        2. Devolution Defined: Granting Power from the Centre
          1. Deciding to devolve
          2. Focusing on the Scottish parliament
          3. Welcoming in the Welsh Assembly
          4. Priming the peace process: The Northern Ireland Assembly
          5. Paying for it all: The Barnett Formula
        3. Treading the Path to Scottish Independence
          1. Deciding to hold a referendum
          2. Voting for ‘Better Together’ rather than ‘Yes’
    5. Part IV: Politics Worldwide
      1. Chapter 19: Understanding Britain’s Place in the World
        1. Declining Fortunes: From Empire to the Middle Ranks
        2. Forging a New Role in Europe
        3. Assessing the Special Relationship with the United States
        4. Looking Further Afield to the Rise of China
        5. Leading the Commonwealth of Nations
        6. Ruling the Waves: British Overseas Territories
        7. Playing the Role of World Police Officer
        8. Sitting at the Top Table: The UN Security Council
      2. Chapter 20: Taking In the International Stage
        1. Starting at the Top: The United Nations
          1. Delving into how the UN works
          2. Taking in UN agencies
        2. Bringing Out the Big Guns: The Role of the G8 and the G20
          1. Starting small with the G8
          2. Changing times: G8 morphing into G20
        3. Looking at the Regional Trading Blocs
        4. Factoring in the World Trade Organisation
        5. Playing the Power Game: China Taking Over from the United States
        6. Providing the Military Might: NATO
      3. Chapter 21: Expanding Horizons: Europe and the EU
        1. Understanding the EU and How It Works
          1. Checking the goals of the EU
          2. Examining EU institutions
          3. Looking at law-making and the legal system
        2. Forming Relationships Within and Outside the EU
          1. Looming giant: Russia on the doorstep
          2. Testing question: Is Turkey really part of Europe?
          3. Bringing peace to the Balkans
          4. Pigging out: Financial crisis causes fault lines in EU
          5. Understanding Britain’s thorny relationship with the EU
        3. Putting Pen to Paper: Major European Treaties
        4. Holding the Purse Strings: EU Budgets
          1. Accounting for the Common Agricultural Policy
          2. Getting a rebate
      4. Chapter 22: Leading the Free World: US Politics
        1. Understanding US Influence in the Wider World and in the UK
          1. Being buddies: The US–UK special relationship
          2. Growing apart? Recent problems with the special relationship
        2. Looking at the US System of Government
          1. Building the houses of Congress
          2. Establishing the presidency
          3. Judging disputes: The US Supreme Court
        3. Passing a Bill into Law
        4. Throwing Political Parties into the Mix
          1. Voting with the Democrats
          2. Siding with the Republicans
          3. Rallying the religious right
          4. Linking up: UK and US political parties
    6. Part V: The Part of Tens
      1. Chapter 23: Ten Great Prime Ministers
        1. Our Finest Hour: Winston Churchill (1940–45 and 1951–55)
        2. The Welsh Wizard: David Lloyd George (1916–22)
        3. The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher (1979–90)
        4. The Trailblazer: Robert Walpole (1721–42)
        5. The Great Reformer: Clement Attlee (1945–51)
        6. The First Spin Doctor: Benjamin Disraeli (1868 and 1874–80)
        7. The Grand Old Man: William Gladstone (1868–74, 1880–85, 1886 and 1892–94)
        8. Shaking Things Up: Robert Peel (1834–35 and 1841–46)
        9. The Second Master of Spin: Tony Blair (1997–2007)
        10. Wiser than His Years: William Pitt the Younger (1783–1801 and 1804–06)
      2. Chapter 24: Ten Major Political Scandals
        1. A Very British Sex Scandal: John Profumo
        2. From Moats to Maltesers: The MPs’ Expenses Scandal
        3. Running Out of Control: The Westland Affair
        4. Scandal of Mass Destruction: The David Kelly Affair
        5. Roll Up, Roll Up: How Much for This Knighthood?
        6. How the Mighty Fall: Jonathan Aitken and Jeffrey Archer
        7. Murder Plot? The Jeremy Thorpe Affair
        8. The Fall of a President: Watergate
        9. More Sordid Scandal Stateside: The Monica Lewinsky Affair
        10. Murder in the Orient: The Neil Heywood Affair
      3. Chapter 25: Ten Political Events That Shaped the Modern World
        1. Hell on Earth: The Second World War
        2. Breaking Down the Barriers: Nixon and China
        3. Ending Communism in Europe: The Fall of the Berlin Wall
        4. Coming Together: The March of the European Union
        5. Pulling Aside the Bamboo Curtain: China’s March to Superpower Status
        6. Long Wait for Freedom: The Release of Nelson Mandela
        7. Terror from the Skies: 9/11
        8. Bringing Down a Dictator: War in Iraq
        9. Gazing Over the Brink: The Great Credit Crunch
        10. Crazy for You: Obama-Mania
      4. Chapter 26: Ten Political Trends for the Future
        1. Broadening Democracy: Internet Voting
        2. Rising Power: Indian Modernisation
        3. Loosening the Shackles: Chinese Democracy
        4. Securing Natural Resources: Chinese Control of Africa
        5. Out with the Old: Replacing the Dollar
        6. Constructing a Super-State: Expanding the European Union
        7. World Going Dry: Shortages of Water
        8. Black Gold: Scrambling for Oil
        9. Risking Our Future: Climate Change
        10. Upping Sticks: Global Population Moves
    7. About the Author
    8. Cheat Sheet
    9. More Dummies Products
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