Politics

In order to be ready for the start of year 12 I would like you to look at three recent political events to inform you of how the structure of the U.K.’s government works and where the power lies.

The balance of power in the UK is split between a number of different offices, key individuals and groups. These include but is not limited to the House of Commons, House of Lords, Prime Minister, the Queen and the Supreme Court. These three case studies will allow you a glimpse into how this power is shared and how each group influences the other.

Case study one (closing in parliament)

• https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/occasions/prorogation/

• https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48936711

• https://youtu.be/wCF_ParJUkU

Last year Boris Johnson closed Parliament leading to a direct political confrontation between the different branches of British government. I would like you to use the three links above as well as any additional research you wish to do, to decide which group had political power during these procedures.

Case study two (General Election 2019)

I would like you to look in detail at how different political parties were represented in the media. Primarily you should focus on the four major parties Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem and the Scottish National party. You are welcome to use whichever form of media you wish but try to find a few examples from different sources for each party.

Case study three (Brexit referendum)

Another major political event was the referendum on Britain’s continued membership of the European Union. While there is still a lot of controversy over this issue, one area of particular interest for us as a case study is how both the leave and remain campaigns put forward their argument. I would like you to write a short explanation, which covers the main arguments and approaches of both sides. This should be no more than one page of A4. Focus on the key arguments put forward, on both sides, and how this message was communicated to the British people.