Warm thanks are due to Tony Mason at Manchester University Press for allowing me to draw on content from the original work. Also to Andrew Taylor at Routledge, who has nursed this project along with skill, judgement and considerable care. As at MUP, I was fortunate to have the services of a first-class copy-editor, Ralph Footring; my warmest thanks to him for contributions, as usual, well beyond the mere call of duty. I would also like to thank successive years of my students at Liverpool Hope University 2007–14. I hope this little book provides a good comprehensive yet accessible summary and that it will help inform another younger generation of voters. Finally, I must thank my wife, Carolyn, for the help and support in writing this book which she unstintingly gives in all aspects of my life. Bill Jones Beverley, 2016 Although the UK was predicted to vote to remain in the EU, and the Conservatives campaigned on a remain platform, the country voted to leave the union by 52% to 48% on 23 June 2016. The UK finally left the EU on 31 December 2020 after a short transition period. The Brexit issue has stoked up tensions among the British public and has also inflamed anti-immigrant sentiments in the UK. Just one week before the referendum vote, Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered on the streets of Yorkshire by a far-right terrorist shouting “keep Britain independent”. Of course I voted in the last election. Everyone should vote! Young people need to start voting in general elections. If we don't vote, we won't change anything

The OECD also predicts that Brexit will continue to have a negative impact on trade. Unemployment, currently at 4.7%, should peak at the end of 2021 as the Furlough Scheme ends. Grassroots politics and political activism in the UK Similar to many other countries, the UK justice system is one of three branches of the state. The other two are the executive (the British government) and the legislative (the two Parliamentary chambers). Where the UK differs from most other countries is that it doesn’t have a written constitution. Therefore, its laws have grown out of centuries of statutes passed by Parliament and the common law of court decisions. Although the UK Prime Minister is the head of central government, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own heads of government called First Ministers. These are leaders or representatives of the parties with the most seats in government. Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party, has been First Minister of Scotland since 2014. Mark Drakeford, leader of Welsh Labour, has been First Minister of Wales since 2018.

How does the voting system in the UK work?

Over the last two decades British politics has undergone a remarkable transformation. While some components of the system have been eroded, such as voter turnout and membership of the big parties, other parts have flourished, such as nationalist parties, the insurgent UKIP, as well as the new media. 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. It considers each of the major components of British politics, such as the monarchy and the House of Lords, the Commons, voting behaviour, parties and pressure groups, the prime minister and cabinet, devolution, local government, and foreign policy. Its contents include coverage of recent events such as the Scottish Referendum and the 2015 General Election. This readable and comprehensive introduction will be of key interest to A-level students, undergraduates and those new to the study of British politics. Bill Jones was formerly Director of Extra-Mural Studies at Manchester University 1986–91, Professor of Politics and History at Liverpool Hope University, UK, and is now Senior Honorary Research Fellow at the same university. THE INFLUENCE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, 1789 Events in France had a huge impact on encouraging reform and a movement for democracy throughout Europe. Bliss it was . . . to be alive, But to be young was very Heaven.

Decolonization and the decline of the British Empire after 1945. The UK had established colonial rule in many overseas countries during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. By the 1970s, most of these countries had won independence. Over 50 of these countries are today members of the Commonwealth of Nations. This ‘part’ of Britain, which the British government had long ruled badly, was partitioned, with six of its north-east counties Other than devolution in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, the key events that have impacted the UK’s political system since World War Two have been:Northern Ireland has joint heads of government under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Paul Givan of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has been First Minister since June 2021. Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Fein has been Deputy First Minister since 2020. Although the British government has central power, a certain amount of political power has been devolved to the regional governments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Both Scotland and Wales established their own devolved parliaments in 1999. Northern Ireland has had its own devolved assembly since 1972. Chris Mullin, author of A Very British Coup , was the Labour MP for Sunderland South from 1987 to 2010, when he chose not to stand. Published in 1982, A Very British Coup tells the story of Harry Perkins, a quiet, kind, working-class, very left-wing politician who unexpectedly becomes Prime Minister in a landslide. He plans to withdraw from NATO, remove all US bases from British soil, and pursue a policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament. The British Establishment, across the media, the civil service and the City, concludes that he cannot be allowed to continue and do everything in their power to remove him from office.

Local elections, held every four years, where voters elect local councilors. England and Wales use the FPTP system, while Scotland and Northern Ireland use STV. PARLIAMENTARY TERMS In 1715 the Septennial Act was passed, extending the maximum term a parliament could run from three to seven years and, indeed, most of them did run for approximately that period in the eighteenth century. During the nineteenth century, however, the average was four years and the 1911 Parliament Act reduced the maximum to five years. However, prime ministers still wielded the power to call an election when the polls and the economy suggested they might win. In 2011 the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government passed the Fixed Term Parliament Act, which obliges MPs to face re-election every five years on the first Thursday in May of the fifth year after the previous general election; the next election is due in 2020.

‘Ready To Go’ - What is it?

The evolution of the British political system 2 Introductory overview of the British political system The party has historically been similar in ideology to conservative parties in many other countries. Since the late 1970s, it has favored small government and liberal free-market economic policies. Traditionally socially conservative, in recent years it has become more socially liberal in certain areas such as LGBT rights, legalizing same-sex marriage in 2014. There are some tensions within the party between socially liberal and socially conservative elements. Additionally, there are ongoing divisions over Europe and Brexit. British Government and Politics on the Internet, from the School of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy, Keele University: http://www. keele.ac.uk/depts/por/ukbase.htm. European Consortium for Political Research: http://www.essex.ac.uk/ecpr. UKPOL: http://www.ukpol.co.uk. THE FIRST PRIME MINISTER George I communicated with his committee of ministers, or cabinet, as it had come to be called, via the most senior finance minister. For a long time this key intermediary was the First Lord of the Treasury, Robert Walpole: initially called the first ‘prime minister’, with an irony destined soon to disappear as Walpole came to dominate the mid-eighteenth-century government of the country. He was followed by a number of exceptional talents, especially Pitt the Elder and his son, Pitt the Younger, who became prime minister in 1783 at the astonishingly early age of twenty-four.