For daily up to date examples and advice on how to do well in A Level Politics, make sure to follow the Politics Explained TikTok.

For detailed videos going through all of the A Level Politics content, make sure to follow the Politics Explained YouTube Channel.

All of the below examples will be added to the updated textbooks and detailed essay plans (where relevant/better than the existing examples) on the Politics Explained website, which are both updated regularly.

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 Government Examples

Parliament

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 - Example Of Parliament’s Representative Function:

• The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 passed in March 2026, formally removing the remaining 92 hereditary peers' right to sit and vote in the UK Parliament. This represents the most significant reform to the House of Lords since 1999, when Tony Blair’s Labour government removed around 600 hereditary peers. 

  • Peers passed the Act after the government offered concessions to opponents in the Lords, granting life peerages to some of the Conservative and crossbench hereditary peers. 

    • In response, the Conservatives withdrew their opposition to the bill. This shows how the House of Lords is effective in influencing government legislation, as they can use their delaying powers to pressure the government into making compromises. 

• This bill also highlights a strength of Parliament's representative function, as there is no longer a hereditary basis to the House of Lords. For centuries, hereditary peers held the right to make and scrutinise laws in Parliament purely by virtue of birth, genetically inherited from fathers and passed onto sons.

  • The Act means hereditary peers will no longer have the automatic right to sit in the upper chamber for life, influencing legislation solely because of their ancestry.

    • This reform modernises the Lords and enhances its legitimacy. Life peers have made the chamber more professional and legitimate, meaning it has become more assertive in scrutinising legislation and effectively constraining executive power.

UK Politics Examples

Direct and Representative Democracy

Citizen’s Assembly On Digital ID - Example Of Direct Democracy:

• In March 2026, the UK government announced a Citizens Assembly named the ‘People’s Panel for Digital ID’, to advise on the development of a new national digital ID system. 

  • The assembly consists of 100 individuals, randomly selected through sortition and reflecting the demographic diversity of the population. 

  • Members will meet to examine digital ID in detail, deliberate over areas of disagreement, and reach conclusions about the proposed systems. 

    • This follows the Labour government’s controversial plans to introduce digital ID, which faced significant public opposition including a petition gaining 3 million signatures.

  • The panel will key concerns raised, such as what information should be on the ID and whether there should be a minimum age requirement for access.

• This is a crucial example of direct democracy being used in the UK to address complex policy issues, complimenting the UK’s system of representative democracy. 

  • Citizens assembled provide informed, public-led recommendations that can build public trust and ensure policy is responsive to the concerns of the electorate. 

  • They are especially valuable on controversial issues, by allowing citizens to shape policy directly where trust in traditional politicians is low. 

    • The assembly will produce a detailed report in June 2026, with recommendations likely reflected in government policy.

US Politics and Government Examples

Congress

Department Of Homeland Security Shutdown - Example Of Gridlock In Congress:

• Since February 2026, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been shut down after Democrats refused to approve appropriations unless Republicans agreed to implement safeguards on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and Customs and Border Patrol. 

  • The House Freedom Caucus has exerted significant influence over the legislative process, rejecting a Senate compromise in April 2026 that would have separated DHS and ICE funding. Instead, they passed their own proposal, which Senate Democrats vowed to block using the filibuster. 

• As a result, the partial shutdown of DHS has become the longest in US history, with Republicans continuing to resist reforms to immigration enforcement policy. 

  • This illustrates how Congress can utilise its “power of the purse” to force negotiations. 

    • As all government spending must be authorised by Congress, Democrats have been able to leverage funding authority to challenge immigration policy and push for constraints on ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), following the fatal shooting of two American citizens by federal agents earlier this year.

• This also shows how increasing partisanship has led to gridlock in Congress. In April 2026, House Republicans rejected a bipartisan Senate agreement that would have reopened most of DHS while omitting funding for ICE and CBP. Instead, the House passed a short term plan that maintained full funding for those agencies, which the Senate subsequently ignored. 

  • This deadlock demonstrates Congress’s inability to effectively carry out its legislative function, with partisan divisions preventing compromise and prolonging the shutdown.