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Find full lists of recent examples (UK Politics, UK Government and US Politics and Government) from the past year in our 📋 2026 example packs!

UK Politics Examples

Party Factions

The Launch Of Prosper UK - Example Of Conservative Party Factions:

• On the 26th of January 2026, Prosper UK was launched as a new Conservative campaign group led by Andy Street (former Mayor of the West Midlands) and Ruth Davidson (former leader of the Scottish Conservatives). 

  • The group is calling for the party to return to a One-Nation position, arguing the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch have shifted too far to the right in an attempt to compete with Reform UK. 

    • Prosper UK includes several former ‘big beasts’ of the party, such as Ken Clarke (former Chancellor and Home Secretary), Amber Rudd (former Home Secretary), and David Gauke (former Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor). 

• This shows the prominence of factionalism within the Conservative Party, with One-Nation centrists opposing the rightward direction of the party who see their focus as tackling the threat of Reform UK.

  • The faction aims to influence Conservative policy and leadership by engaging voters who feel stranded between the main parties.

    • Prosper UK promotes moderate, pro-grown, pro-EU and electorally broad conservative policies, whilst the Thatcherite wing of the party believe the party must prioritise issues like cutting immigration, opposition to net zero policies, reducing welfare spending and lower taxes to stop voters defecting to Reform. 

• Overall, the creation of Prosper UK is evidence that the Conservatives are no longer united around a single ideological identity and strategy, but are instead split between competing factions.

Labour Divisions Over Andy Burnham - Example Of Party Factions:

• In January 2025, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham was blocked from standing as a Labour candidate in the Gordon and Denton by-election by Labour’s National Executive Committee, which is closely aligned with Keir Starmer’s leadership. 

  • On January 25th, the NEC voted 8-1 against allowing Burnham to stand as the party’s candidate. Only Deputy Leader Lucy Powell supported him, while Starmer voted to bar him.

• After Burnham was blocked, Labour’s divisions became increasingly visible, as the NEC’s decision triggered public criticism from senior Labour MPs, trade union leaders and activists, many of whom called it a mistake and appealed to the party to reconsider. 

  • Around 50 Labour MPs signed a letter objecting to the decision to block Burnham. 

• This highlighted significant divisions within the Labour Party, Burnham is widely seen as a potential future leadership contender, and a figure with strong public appeal. 

  • The Tribune Group in Parliament, comprising around 80 MPs including Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband, strongly support Burnham’s bid to become an MP, and provide an alternative to Starmer’s leadership and policy direction. 

    • This contrasts with the centrist, Starmer-ite wing of the party, many of whom hold cabinet positions. This is organised into the Labour Together faction, composed of influential MPs such as Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who back Starmers strategy of moving Labour towards the centre ground in order to win over swing voters. 

• This shows the current factions in the Labour Party, with the party split between the more left-wing faction which opposes Starmer’s shift to the centre, and the centrist leadership.

UK Government Examples

Legislative Scrutiny

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill - Example Of Poor Scrutiny:

• On the 27th of January 2026, the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was fast-tracked through all its Commons stages in a single sitting (a maximum of 6 hours), after being introduced on an emergency timetable. 

  • Despite its potential effect on thousands of doctors, the Bill received limited scrutiny in the House of Commons. 

• Rushing legislation through Parliament risks possible adverse consequences of the bill not being considered, as backbenchers and opposition parties are unable to examine the bill line-by-line or propose meaningful amendments. 

  • The Bill would create a system for prioritising the allocation of medical training places, with priority given to graduates of UK medical schools. Whilst the British Medical Association (BMA) broadly welcomed the Bill, they criticised the lack of reforms to the overall number of training posts.

    • This example highlights how government control of the Commons timetable can weaken legislative scrutiny, and has in recent years increasingly rushed legislation through the House of Commons, limiting the influence of backbenchers. 

• However, the bill was not fast-tracked rapidly through the House of Lords. Its Second Reading, Committee, Report and Third Reading all took place on separate days.

  • This is because the House of Lords has greater independence from the government and has powers to determine the timetable of legislation, providing more detailed and effective scrutiny than the Commons. 

    • As peers aren't elected, there is less pressure to vote along party lines, and they have more time, energy and expertise to devote to scrutinising government policy and legislation line by line.

Devolution

Northern Ireland Introduced Graduated Drivers Licences - Example of Devolved Bodies as Policy Laboratories:

• In January 2025, the Northern Ireland Executive introduced a Graduated Driver Licencing (GDL) scheme for young drivers, to reduce serious accidents. 

  • Key measures include a minimum number of learning hours, a 6-month learning period and limits on the number of passengers new drivers under the age of 24 will be allowed to carry. 

• Road traffic law is a devolved power in Northern Ireland, meaning the responsibility has been delegated to the Northern Ireland Assembly, allowing it to make its own laws and implement policy independently of the rest of the UK. 

  • This is a crucial example of devolved regions acting as “policy laboratories”, as they can introduce new policies and examine their impact and wider effects before being introduced nationwide. 

    • Northern Ireland has become the first UK country to introduce the scheme, arguing 17-23 year olds account for 24% of fatal or serious road traffic incidents.