Politics lessons
Politics: democracy & participation, parties, UK government, political ideas, US/global politics, and exam skills.
Key topics
- Democracy & participation
- Political parties
- UK government
- Political ideas
- Global & US politics
- Exam skills
Lesson course
Work through each lesson, run the interactive practice, and tick it off as you go.
1. Democracy & participation
UK
Democracy
Compare direct and representative democracy.
Direct democracy lets citizens decide directly; representative democracy elects others to decide. The UK is mainly representative.
List features of UK democracy.
Elections & voting
Explain electoral systems and voting.
Electoral systems include First Past the Post and proportional systems; many factors affect voting behaviour.
Explain one strength of FPTP.
Pressure groups
Explain pressure-group influence.
Pressure groups influence policy as insiders (with access) or outsiders; pluralism sees power spread widely.
Compare insider and outsider groups.
2. Political parties
UK
Party systems
Explain party systems and funding.
The UK has largely a two-party system; party funding and the role of parties are debated.
Describe the UK party system.
Main UK parties
Compare the main parties' ideas.
Compare the ideas and policies of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties.
Match policies to parties.
Party debates
Explain debates about parties.
Debates concern party factions, leadership and claims of party decline.
Explain the role of factions.
3. UK government
UK
Parliament
Explain Parliament's functions.
Parliament (Commons and Lords) scrutinises government and passes legislation.
Explain how Parliament scrutinises government.
The executive
Explain the executive and PM power.
The PM and Cabinet form the executive; the extent of PM power is debated.
Evaluate the power of the Prime Minister.
Constitution & judiciary
Explain the constitution and judiciary.
The UK has an uncodified constitution; the judiciary upholds the rule of law.
Explain the rule of law.
4. Political ideas
Ideologies
Liberalism
Explain core liberal ideas.
Liberalism values individual liberty, rights and limited government.
Explain the liberal view of the state.
Conservatism
Explain core conservative ideas.
Conservatism values tradition, order, pragmatism and a cautious view of human nature.
Explain the conservative view of human nature.
Socialism
Explain core socialist ideas.
Socialism values equality, cooperation and collectivism.
Compare revolutionary and reformist socialism.
5. Global & US politics
Comparative
US constitution
Explain the US constitution.
The US has a codified constitution with separation of powers and checks and balances.
Explain checks and balances.
US institutions
Explain US institutions.
Congress, the Presidency and the Supreme Court share power in the US system.
Describe the role of the Supreme Court.
Comparing systems
Compare UK and US politics.
Compare UK and US politics using structural, rational and cultural approaches.
Compare one institution in both systems.
6. Exam skills
Skills
Using examples
Support arguments with examples.
Support arguments with current and historical political examples.
Add current examples to one argument.
Evaluation
Build balanced arguments.
Build balanced arguments and reach justified conclusions.
Write a balanced paragraph with a judgement.
Mock exam
Apply skills under timed conditions.
Answer the question, manage time by marks, and link knowledge synoptically.
Plan and time one essay.
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