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UK Politics Examples

The Labour Party

The Labour Government's Right Wing Immigration Policy Announcements:

• In May 2025, Starmer made a number of important immigration announcements aimed at significantly reducing net migration and tightening border controls. 

  • Key measures include doubling the residency requirement for permanent settlement from five to ten years, raising English proficiency standards and restricting visas for care workers. 

  • Further, Starmer attracted significant criticism for stating that immigration had made Britain an “island of strangers”.

• This shows a shift in Labour Party Policy towards a stricter, more right wing approach to immigration, having previously based their immigration policy around a firm opposition to the Illegal Migration Act and the Safety of Rwanda Act, which they scrapped after winning the 2024 election. 

• Additionally, this highlights the significant impact of minor parties on Government Policy - Reform UK has increased in its poll ratings considerably since the election and was the most successful party in the May 2025 local elections, posing a major threat to the Labour Party at the next election.

  • Reform UK has pushed a strong anti-migration message, and has increased the saliency of the issue on the political agenda pushing the Labour Party to take a stronger stance further to the right.

The Labour Government’s Announcement Of Funding To Help Get Disadvantaged Pupils Into AI Careers As An Example Of Consistency With Both Old Labour And New Labour:

• In May 2025, the government announced £8.2M for maths support programmes to help girls and pupils from disadvantaged secondary schools into AI careers.

• Secretary of State for Education Bridget Philipson said the government is “breaking down barriers to opportunity” and “opening the door for groups who have so far been left behind in the AI revolution”.

  • Such emphasis on breaking down barriers is consistent with Old Labour and New Labour’s commitment to equality of opportunity.

• This is especially in line with New Labour’s focus on education, which was clearly exemplified when Blair said ‘education, education, education’ were his 3 most important priorities in 1997.

Comparing Party Policy

Attitudes Towards Net Zero Carbon Emissions Targets As An Example Of Environmental Policy Differences Between Political Parties:

• Environmental policy used to be one on which there was wide consensus, with the net zero by 2050 target being passed under Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019 with cross-party supportHowever, ideas on environmental policy now differ wildly.

• The current Labour government remains committed to the target, as well pushing to reach clean power by 2030.

  • Starmer has even said that tackling the climate crisis and bolstering energy security were “in the DNA of my government”.

•  The Liberal Democrats wish to take this further, advocating a 2045 net zero target.

  • The Green Party are also promoting an earlier target in pushing for net zero more than a decade ahead of the 2050 target. 

• On the other hand, the Conservative Party and Reform are quite against this.

  •  In March 2025, the Conservative Party abandoned their 2050 net zero target, with party leader Kemi Badenoch saying it was “impossible”.

  • Reform UK wants to scrap net-zero targets as well as impose taxes on the renewable energy sector.

•  Such differences clearly show great contrast between the current political parties, with those on the right expressing a deep scepticism towards climate change and those on the left remaining committed or even pushing for further reform on an issue that was once central to all parties.

UK Government Examples

Devolution

The Welsh First Minister’s Criticisms Of The Government As An Example Tensions Between Devolved Bodies And Westminster:

• In May 2025, Welsh FM Eluned Morgan said she will "call out" Labour in Westminster when it "gets it wrong for Wales”.

  • She called for UK ministers to halt part of its plans to cut disability benefits, rethink cuts to the winter fuel allowance, and demanded Wales benefit more from wind power via the Crown Estate as Scotland does.

  • The fact that the leader of a devolved body is calling out the government clearly shows tensions between the Senedd and Westminster.

    • These tensions are exacerbated by the fact that this is a Labour Welsh FM which thereby shows the increasing autonomy that devolved bodies feel as the FM went above party loyalty to serve the Welsh people’s interests.

• Furthermore, this speech was made following a YouGov opinion poll saying Welsh Labour has slumped to a historic low, being supported by just 18% of the Welsh public, with Plaid Cymru in the lead at 30%.

  • This demonstrates how devolution is threatening the unity of the UK as there is increasing support for independence movements and even the Labour Party in Wales seem to be supporting divergence from central government.

Prime Minister and the Executive

The UK-India Trade Deal As An Example Of The Royal Prerogative:

• In May 2025, the UK signed a trade deal with India, to reduce tariffs and levies on imports/exports. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will formally sign the deal, and it is the biggest bilateral trade deal the UK has struck since leaving the EU. However, there has been a significant lack of Parliamentary input - demonstrating the executive’s foreign policy powers and the presidentialisation of the PM.

  • Parliament does not debate the objectives, see the papers or have a meaningful vote on trade deals - despite Starmer committing in 2021 to let Parliament debate and vote on trade deals.

• This is because unlike legislation, trade deals are made under the royal prerogative. 

  • Parliament cannot amend treaties, including trade deals, and debates and votes on treaties remain largely at the discretion of the minister. This allows the executive to ratify treaties without a binding Commons vote.

• This also shows the presidentialisation of the Prime Minister - Prime Ministers are becoming more like US Presidents who are able to act unilaterally and distance themselves from the Parliamentary party. 

  • The prerogative powers allow them to drive through policy personally, alongside photo opportunities and media attention, side-lining Parliament.

Global Politics Examples

Globalisation

The UK’s Trade Agreements With India and the United States - Example That Globalisation Isn’t Under Threat:

• In May 2025, the UK signed two important trade agreements with other major economies:

  • On 6 May it signed a free trade agreement with India, which cut tariffs on 90% of British goods exported to India and granted tariff-free access to 99% of Indian exports to the UK.

  • On 8 May, the UK and U.S. signed a trade framework that committed the U.S. to eliminating tariffs on British steel and aluminium, and committed the UK to remove tariffs on U.S. ethanol and increase its quota to accept more American beef.

• These agreements show that major economies continue to support reducing tariffs to support global trade as much as possible, including the U.S. which is willing to sign agreements with other countries to reduce tariffs.

  • Together, this therefore suggests that economic globalisation isn’t under threat.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO)

India’s Digital Trade Tariffs - Example Of The Failure Of The WTO To Uphold State Sovereignty:

• In late 2023, the World Trade Organisation’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) ruled that India’s tariffs on imported digital services, including cloud storage and software, violated the WTO’s free trade rules. These tariffs had been challenged by the EU, which argued they unfairly restricted access to India’s digital market.

  • However, India failed to comply with the ruling and hasn’t removed the tariffs. India claimed that the tariffs were necessary to protect national sovereignty and support their domestic tech industry.

  • In order to justify their lack of implementation of the ruling, India appealed the decision to the WTO’s Appellate Body in 2024, which they knew wasn’t currently functioning. The EU called this ‘appealing into the void’.

• This is a clear example of the limitations of the WTO. Powerful member states frequently ignore its rulings and the organisation can’t enforce the rulings due to national sovereignty. This is compounded by the fact that the Appellate Body isn’t currently working due to gridlock and the U.S. blocking appointments.

The International Criminal Court (ICC)

The Arrest Of Former President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte - Example Of The ICC’s Power To Hold Leaders To Account For War Crimes:

• In March 2025, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in Manilla and transferred to The Hague to face charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity. 

  • The charges relate to his administration’s brutal ‘War on Drugs’ during which thousands of alleged drug dealers and users were killed without trial between 2016 and 2019.

• Though Duterte had withdrawn the Philippines from the Rome Statute as President in 2019, the ICC still has jurisdiction over crimes committed by Duterte when the Philippines was still a member state and his arrest was made possible due to the current President of the Philippines cooperating with the ICC and handing Duterte over.

• This is therefore a good example of the effectiveness of the ICC at holding high ranking officials and politicians to account for crimes against humanity, including leaders outside of Africa where the vast majority of previous ICC cases were focused on, leading to allegations of bias.

Polarity and the World Order

The Expansion Of The BRICs in 2024 and 2025 - Example Of The Shift Away From A Unipolar World Order:

• In 2024 and 2025, the BRICs group significantly expanded its membership, with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates joining in 2024, and Indonesia becoming the first Southeast Asian nation to become a member in 2025. 

  • This expansion reflects a growing challenge to Western-dominated institutions like the G7, IMF, and World Bank, with countries more willing to align themselves with Russia and China who are dominant in the group.

• Along with holding annual conferences, the BRICs group has coordinated a number of policies that challenged U.S. hegemony, including seeking to move away from dependence on the dollar, cooperation on artificial intelligence and creating ‘BRICS Pay’; a system to allow financial transactions without having to rely on Western banks.

• This is a clear example of how U.S. hegemony and the unipolar world order that existed after the end of the Cold War is being challenged by Russia and China in particular, who are aligning themselves with a growing number of countries.

The European Union

The European Union Sidelined In Relation To Ukraine - Example Of Its Military Weakness:

• After Trump’s return to the Presidency in 2025, the European Union found itself completely sidelined in discussions about the Ukraine war and potential peace negotiations, despite the fact that EU countries were major financial supporters of Ukraine along with the U.S.

• Trump pushed strongly for a ceasefire and swift peace negotiations, even though this is likely to result in an agreement that is more favourable to Russia.

  • These peace negotiations were held between the U.S., Russia and Ukraine, however no EU leaders were invited.

• Further, the EU also found itself sidelined as it was unable to offer a credible military guarantee to Ukraine when the U.S. refused to do so, due to its collective lack of military strength because of decades of underinvestment.

• Together, this demonstrates how the EU’s military weakness has left it with limited geopolitical influence, even in questions about Europe that are strongly consequential for its security. This has meant that it continues to be very dependent on the U.S.

US Politics and Government Examples

Federalism

The State Of New York’s Ban On Phones In Schools As An Example Of Federalism:

• In April 2025, the Democrat Governor of New York Kathy Hochul announced a $254bn budget and a range of policy initiatives.

  • This included a ban on phones in schools, something that is not mandated by federal law.

• Doing this, New York joins eight other states including California, Florida and Ohio that have enacted measures banning or restricting phone use in schools.

  • This is a clear example of a state exercising its power when it comes to education, something over which the federal government has limited control.

Foreign Policy

Trump's Tariff Reversal As An Example Of Public Opinion Constraining A President's Foreign Policy Powers:

• In April 2025, Trump made a significant U-turn in his tariff policies, lowering the tariffs he had imposed on over 100 countries to 10%. These tariffs had caused intense market instability - removing trillions from the US stock market and hurting many voters' retirement savings. This sparked popular opposition to the tariffs from much of the public.

• Trump's overall favorability dropped, most significantly his approval on the economy, trade and tariffs which was one of the key reasons he was elected. According to YouGov, a majority of US voters believed Trump’s tariffs would have a negative effect on the American economy, with two-thirds of the public believing that they would raise prices.

  • This shows how the popularity of a President plays a crucial role in determining their power; whilst the president has significant constitutional control over foreign policy, this is constrained by public opinion. 

  • When measures become unpopular, the president becomes vulnerable to public disapproval, weakening their political capital and leading to tangible political reversals.