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Politics & Policy
How Britain is governed — and how to change it.
The institutions, ideas and processes of UK politics: Parliament and the constitution, elections, the great political traditions, and how policy is actually made. The working knowledge for getting active.
UK Institutions
Parliament, the Crown, the executive and the courts.
- The House of Commons How the elected lower chamber is composed, how MPs and the Speaker work, and how it scrutinises and sustains government. ●●○○○ 18 min
- How a bill becomes law The UK legislative journey from first reading through committee, the Lords, ping-pong and royal assent. ●●○○○ 18 min
- The House of Lords How the unelected second chamber is composed, how it revises legislation, and the limits on its powers and the reform debate. ●●○○○ 18 min
- The monarchy & the Crown How a constitutional monarch reigns but does not rule, and how prerogative powers of the Crown are exercised by ministers. ●●●○○ 18 min
- The Cabinet & Prime Minister How the core executive works: the powers and limits of the PM, the role of the Cabinet and No.10, and collective responsibility. ●●●○○ 18 min
The Constitution
The rules — written and unwritten — of how power works.
- The UK's uncodified constitution Why Britain has no single written constitution, where its rules come from, and parliamentary sovereignty. ●●○○○ 18 min
- Parliamentary sovereignty Dicey's doctrine that Parliament can make or unmake any law, the absence of entrenchment, and modern tensions. ●●●○○ 18 min
- The rule of law The principle that all are subject to law, with due process, legal certainty and an independent judiciary underpinning the constitution. ●●●○○ 18 min
Elections & Voting
How votes become seats, and the systems behind them.
- Proportional representation How PR systems — party-list, STV and AMS — work, where the UK uses them, and the case for and against. ●●●○○ 20 min
- Referendums in the UK Advisory versus binding referendums, the major UK votes since 1975, and their tension with parliamentary sovereignty. ●●●○○ 19 min
- First-past-the-post How FPTP works in UK general elections, its effects on majorities and proportionality, and the PR debate. ●●○○○ 18 min
Political Thought
The philosophy underpinning political life.
- Social contract theory How Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau ground legitimate authority in the consent of the governed. ●●○○○ 18 min
- Mill on liberty J.S. Mill's harm principle, defence of free speech, and warning about the tyranny of the majority. ●●●○○ 18 min
- Theories of justice Rawls's justice as fairness versus Nozick's entitlement theory, and the equality-liberty tension. ●●●○○ 20 min
Parties & Ideologies
The traditions that organise British politics.
How Policy Is Made
From idea to law to delivery — and who shapes it.
- How policy is made The UK policy cycle from agenda-setting through green and white papers, consultation, legislation and delivery. ●●○○○ 19 min
- Pressure groups & lobbying Insider versus outsider groups, how they influence policy, lobbying transparency rules, and the pluralism-elitism debate. ●●●○○ 19 min