Monday
Part 1:
Introduction to course & exploration of the constitutional structure of
British Politics. Questions to consider include: Where does power lie within
our current system? Is the monarchy still relevant to British democracy? Are we
living in an age of apathy?
Part 2:
Brexit. Questions to include: Will Britain ever be "in” Europe? Where are
we at with Brexit? How has the Brexit-era managed to captivate our politics so
completely?
Tuesday
Part 1:
Elections and Campaigns. Questions to include: Is First-Past-the-Post relevant
to modern, multi-party, politics? How have the advent of social media and TV
debates changed public engagement? What effect has "referendum politics”
had?
Part 2:
Parties I: The Conservatives. Questions to include: Is Britain naturally
Conservative? Are the Conservatives really just the "English National
Party”? Why did the Conservatives win in 2015 but fall back in 2017? Who will
the next Conservative leader be?
Wednesday
Part 1:
Parties II: Labour. Questions to include: Does the Labour Party have a
prolonged identity crisis? Is there a route back to power for the party? Can
Labour's "broad church” be kept together? Who will the next Labour leader
be?
Part 2: Parties
III: The "Others”. Questions to include: Do we now have a multi-party
system? Will Britain ever accept a more coalition-based politics?
Thursday
Part 1:
Foreign Policy. Questions to include: Has Britain found a role post-Empire? Is
the Special Relationship really special at all? What are the big upcoming
challenges?
Part 2: The
Prime Minister and Government. Questions to include: Does personality now
matter more than policy? Do we have a prime minister or a quasi-president?
Friday
Part 1:
London and Devolution. Questions to include: Are we too "London-centric”?
Is the Northern Powerhouse really that important? Will HS2 give us High-Speed
Devolution?
Part 2:
Round-up and Final Questions. Questions to include: What are the greatest
threats to Britain's democracy? What will be the great reforms of this
parliament? Who might win the next election?
Student
Equipment
Paper,
notepad, pens etc for note-taking (or electronic equivalent)
Any readings
of interest that they wish to discuss together
Indicative
Bibliography
Bale,The
Conservatives since 1945, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012)
Bennet,Six
Moments of Crisis: Inside British Foreign Policy, (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2013)
Bogdanor,From
New Jerusalem to New Labour: British Prime Ministers from Attlee to Blair,
(Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010)
Bogdanor:The
New British Constitution, (Oxford: Hart Pub, 2012)
Campbell,The
Blair Years, (London: Hutchinson, 2007)
Coxall,Contemporary
British Politics, (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003)
Denver,Elections
and Voters in Britain, (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)
Dunleavy,Developments
in British Politics, (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006)
Drive,Understanding
British Party Politics, (Cambridge: Polity, 2011)
Gowland,Britain
and European Integration since 1945, (London: Routledge, 2010)
Jones,Politics
UK, (Harlow: Pearson Education 2007)
Leach,British
Politics, (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006)
McKay,
Budge, Newton & Crewe, The New British Politics, (London: Pearson
Longman, 2004)
Politics
Association, Two Decades in British Politics, (Manchester: Manchester
University Press, 1992)
Seldon,Blair,
(London: Free, 2005)
Self,British
Foreign and Defence Policy Since 1945, (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan,
2010)
Thomas,Popular
Newspapers, the Labour Party and British Politics, (London: Routledge,
2005)
Wall, A Stranger in Europe: Britain and
the EU from Thatcher to Blair, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008)
Wright, British Politics: A Very Short
Introduction, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013)
BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics
Hansard Society https://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/
The Spectator https://www.spectator.co.uk/
Politics.co.uk https://www.politics.co.uk/
New Statesman https://www.newstatesman.com/uk
