A poster showing crowds of immigrants queuing up for entry was likened to Goebbels’ 1930s propaganda and Leave claimed Remain would allow up to 70 million Turks into the country via the EU even though that country was not, and is unlikely to ever become, an EU member. Predictably Conservatives voted 42–68 for Leave, Labour 63–37 for Remain, UKIP 4–96 for Leave, Lib Dem 64–36 Remain and Greens 75–25 Remain. We all engage with political ideas on some level - but sitting down to think about the answer to the question 'what is politics? In some parts of the country, there’s just one tier of local government providing all the functions, known as a ‘unitary authority’. Short on facts, more opinion than one expects from such books, and a lot of it unsubstantiated, that even I could disprove.

Alongside them sits an, albeit smaller, pile of politics dictionaries, and a diverse assortment of general introductions to recent developments. 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. Politics is a fascinating subject and it plays a huge part in our daily lives; from the amount of tax we pay (and what it gets spent on) to more minor things like what type of eggs we're allowed to make an omelette with (yes, really!This speech, which could just as easily have been written for a Labour PM, was a clear attempt to occupy the perceived holy grail in British politics – the ‘centre ground’ – where, it was widely believed, most elections are won or lost. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH).

So confident were the majority of ‘moderate’ MPs that he was bound to lose, some helped nominate the Islington MP on the democratic principle that his wing of the party should anyway be represented. My final chapter in the first edition charted the negative trends which had been apparent for some years: declining turnout; increasing lack of trust in politicians and our institutions; the repercussions of the worldwide economic meltdown 2008–09; and the unexpected 2015 Tory election victory.If you’re at a state school, you’re less likely to reach the top professions than if you’re educated privately. Although this is a long-established franchise the latest edition has been substantially revised to reflect recent developments and is almost 100 pages longer than the previous edition.

This system of government, known as the Westminster system, has been adopted by other countries, especially those that were formerly parts of the British Empire. Government of Ireland Act 1920, passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and created the partition of Ireland. This readable and comprehensive introduction will be of key interest to A-level students, undergraduates and those new to the study of British politics. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, devolved administrations are responsible for many domestic policy issues, and their Parliaments/Assemblies have law-making powers for those areas.

People vote in elections for Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent them and have a ‘seat’ in parliament. Both acted as effective but often feared, loathed and often scathingly rude aides, ruthlessly fighting for May’s interests throughout Whitehall. The constitution of the United Kingdom is uncodified, being made up of constitutional conventions, statutes and other elements. This executive branch overlaps and is formed by members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom where legislative power is vested in the two parliamentary chambers of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

One simple and effective criteria is to select the most recently published textbook on the basis that if a week is a long time in politics then the years between editions of most standard textbooks amount to a political epoch.A Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government held office from 2010 until 2015, the first coalition since 1945.