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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, Global Politics and US Politics & Government) from the past year in our 📋 2026 example packs! There are now over 250 key recent examples altogether across these packs.

UK Government Examples

Prime Minister and the Executive

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

• During PMQs on 4 February 2026, Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer to confirm that “full due process” had been followed 3 times, after it emerged that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting prior to his appointment as UK ambassador to the United States. Although the vetting agency advised against clearance, Foreign Office officials overruled this decision.

  • In a Commons statement on 20 April 2026, Starmer claimed he had not knowingly misled Parliament, arguing officials had deliberately withheld the vetting failure from him. While he admitted his statements were incorrect, he maintained this was due to incomplete information and was not intentionally misleading. 

• On 16 April, he dismissed senior civil servant Olly Robbins for failing to pass on the vetting outcome. However, Badenoch and SNP leader Stephen Flynn accused Starmer of shifting blame onto officials to avoid accountability, and opposition parties urged Lindsay Hoyle to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee to investigate whether he breached the Ministerial Code by misleading Parliament.

  • Under the Ministerial Code, ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament are expected to resign, and critics argue Starmer also breached the requirement to correct the record at the "earliest opportunity”.

• This suggests a weakening of Individual Ministerial Responsibility (IMR). Rather than accepting responsibility for a major diplomatic appointment, the Prime Minister attributed the failure to civil servants, allowing civil servants to be held accountable for failings within departments, rather than government ministers. 

  • Traditionally, civil servants remain anonymous and are not held publicly accountable, with ministers bearing ultimate responsibility for departmental actions. 

    • Enforcement of the Ministerial Code is also dependent on the Prime Minister. They are advised by the Prime Minister’s Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests however any sanctions for breaching the code are determined by the Prime Minister, making it limited in its ability to hold the Prime Minister personally accountable.

The Appointment Of Peter Mandelson - Example Of The Influence Of SPADs:

• Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s former Chief of Staff, reportedly pushed for the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador despite warnings that Mandelson’s past links to Jeffrey Epstein posed a "general reputational risk". 

  • He resigned in February 2026, taking "full responsibility" for advising the Prime Minister to make the appointment. 

• McSweeney was considered the "driving force" behind Lord Peter Mandelson's appointment, and is alleged to have personally demanded the approval of the vetting process. 

  • Reports indicate that senior Cabinet members, including David Lammy and Ed Miliband, opposed the appointment but were bypassed by McSweeney. 

    • As the Chief of Staff, McSweeney was central to government strategy and decision-making,  with allegations that key details about the failed vetting were withheld from both ministers and the Prime Minister. Notably, the Foreign Office and the Foreign Secretary David Lammy were not informed of the vetting outcome. 

• This shows the significant influence of unelected SPADs. McSweeney’s central role in driving the decision, while elected Cabinet ministers were entirely bypassed, shows how SPADs can centralise power away from Cabinet, allowing the PM to dominate.

Parliament

Emily Thornberry and Peter Mandelson - Example Of Select Committee Scrutiny:

• Emily Thornberry, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, has played a leading role in scrutinising the vetting of Peter Mandelson for his appointment as Ambassador to the US. 

  • In a high-profile Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in April 2026, she questioned former senior civil servant Sir Olly Robbins on why he failed to inform the Prime Minister that security agencies had advised against Mandelson’s clearance. 

    • She has extensively challenged the executive, accusing the government of providing a partial truth and misleading parliament, highlighting that the PM claimed due process had been followed despite documents showing the UK Security Vetting had raised serious concerns. 

  • This shows how the independent election of Select Committee chairs enables senior backbench MPs to assertively challenge executive authority, independent of party leadership and the government. 

• It also highlights the efficacy of Select Committees as a scrutiny mechanism. The Committee was able to demand specific documents from the Foreign Office related to the vetting process, expose departmental failings, and question senior officials directly. 

  • Televised evidence sessions involving figures such as Robbins and Morgan McSweeney attracted significant media attention. As Select Committees rely on detailed, evidence-based investigations, their findings often have significant impact.

Emergency Debate On The Appointment Of Peter Mandelson - Example of the Opposition and Debates:

• On the 21st April 2026, a 3 hour emergency debate was held in the House of Commons to scrutinise the government over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. 

  • Starmer maintained that he had not been fully informed, blaming former senior civil servant Olly Robbins for withholding information about Mandelson’s failure to pass security vetting. He rejected claims that he had misled Parliament, despite failing to disclose the full details surrounding Mandelson’s vetting.

• The debate was triggered after Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch appealed to the Speaker of the House under Standing Order 24, arguing it was a matter of national security and accused the Prime Minister of appointing a serious security risk to a highly sensitive diplomatic post.

  • The debate focused on the government's accountability and the vetting process for high-level diplomatic roles. Kemi Badenoch said there should be “serious consequences” if the prime minister had been truthful about what he knew regarding Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. 

    • Emily Thornberry, the Labour Chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, raised concerns about how such a high-risk appointment was allowed to proceed. 

• This shows how the official opposition can use Parliament to publicly challenge the government and apply pressure, amplifying media scrutiny. 

  • Emergency debates, granted by the Speaker, also strengthen the role of backbench MPs by giving them greater control over the parliamentary agenda and ensuring urgent and significant issues are formally debated in the House of Commons.