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Find below this week's Politics Explained Newsletter which includes 5 recent examples from UK Politics, UK Government and US Politics, as well as a free quiz to test your knowledge of A Level Politics and help year 13s revise what they learned last year!

From now on, the Politics Explained Newsletter will be released every Wednesday! 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.

Politics Explained Weekly Quiz

In this week's quiz, test you knowledge with 5 questions on each of Electoral Systems, Pressure Groups and the UK Supreme Court!

UK Politics Examples

Think Tanks

Labour Together’s Close Ties With The Government As An Insider Think Tank: 

• Labour Together is an insider policy Think-tank formed under Corbyn’s leadership, designed to get labour re-elected and guide the party. Nearly all prominent Labour figures who were crucial in forming Labour Together now hold frontbench positions, includig Racheal Reeves, Shabana Mahmood and Wes Streeting.

• Furthermore, former MP and member of Starmer's Shadow Cabinet, Jonathan Ashworth has been appointed as chief executive, whilst former director Morgan McSweeney is now Starmer's Chief of Staff.

  • This highlights the “revolving door” of politics, and how Think Tanks and pressure groups often try and influence government via “access points” and former MPs.

• Labour Together is a highly influential Think Tank under the leadership of Kier Starmer, and was crucial to his election victory, further increasing their status in government influence.

• This shows how insider methods such as private lobbying, political donations and hiring ex MPs are highly effective at securing insider groups privileged access to government.

• Additionally, Labour Together has a large supply of capital resources - raising over £4 million since 2020. Major donors include hedge fund managers and financiers. They have used this to provide special advisors to front-bench MPs such as Racheal Reeves, allowing them to influence policy formulation directly.

  • This raises concerns as the funding of Labour via a middle man shields wealthy donors of scrutiny and accountability.

The Conservative Party

Kemi Badenoch's Remarks Show The Strength Of Thatcherism Within The Conservative Party

• Following former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Premiership, the UK Conservative Party has continued to shift towards a more right-wing stance on both social and economic policy. 

  • This move was solidified following the 2024 General Election, as the Party lost a huge number of votes to Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK Party. Many Conservative MPs are voicing support for right wing policy in order to win back votes. 

• Former Minister for Women and Equalities Kemi Badenoch, a leading front runner for the Conservative Party leadership election, spoke on the first day of the 2024 Conservative Party Conference claiming the statutory maternity pay was “excessive”.

  • In an interview with Times Radio, Badenoch expressed her view that maternity pay is a form of regulation by the state, and a redistributive tax which she opposes, believing it harms business. She claimed that the state should interfere less with business and people should take more personal responsibility, rather than relying on the state.

• This demonstrates a clear alignment with the New Right ideology and Thatcherism, which favours personal responsibility, neoliberal economic policies such as reduced state intervention and limited spending in order to boost growth. This reflects the broader shift of Conservative factions such as the Conservative Growth Group even further to the right.

UK Government Examples

Devolution and Select Committees

Constitution Committee Calls For The UK Government To Respect The Sewel Convention

• The UK Parliament’s Constitution Select Committee released a report last week on the importance of an effective union and calling on it to be a priority for the new Labour government.

• One key recommendation was for the UK government to respect the Sewel Convention as part of efforts to improve relations with devolved bodies.The Sewel Convention holds that the UK Parliament shouldn’t legislate on devolved areas for the whole of the UK without a consent motion from the devolved bodies.

  • This wasn’t respected by the previous government, however, which ignored the devolved bodies’ lack of consent on a number of laws including the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and a number of laws related to Brexit.

• This led to significant tensions with the devolved bodies and the committee’s report emphasises the importance of meaningful consultation and cooperation to rebuild trust, calling for greater transparency and collaboration in decision-making. 

• This report shows how select committees, such as the Constitution Committee, play a crucial role in scrutinising government actions. 

  • By leveraging their expertise and platform, they can recommend actions and reforms to the government.

  • Their key weakness is that they can’t compel the government to do anything, however, and it is yet to be seen whether Starmer’s government will comply.

US Government and Politics Examples

Congress - Gridlock and Bipartisanship

The Enhanced Presidential Security Act As An Example Of Bipartisanship:

• On the 24th of September 2024 the Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan reform bill which mandated the secret service to provide the same number of security agents to both sitting presidents and presidential candidates. 

• The Enhanced Presidential Security Act 2024 was introduced by Republican House Member Mike Lawler and Democratic House Member Ritchie Torres, and passed just 65 days after the assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump.

  • The bill also passed with a rare 405-0 vote in the House, with no opposition despite Congress currently being divided.

• This clearly demonstrates the ability of Congress’s legislative function, as they are able to act with huge bipartisan consensus on urgent national matters, and prioritise legislation on critical issues, rather than always being stuck in hyper-partisan gridlock.

Continued Gridlock In Congress Over Funding Legislation:

• Congress has consistently failed at its key role of appropriating all federal government spending. Congress; “Power of the purse” is a key check on the other branches, however continued legislative gridlock and looming shutdowns has undermined its efficacy.

• Following 2023 budget negotiations - which required 4 short term “continuing resolutions” (CR) to prevent a government shutdown, the budget for 2024 has similarly failed to pass, with Congress relying on a stopgap bill to fund the government into December.

  • The bill was a bare bones CR with very few “anomalies” (additional funds allocated to federal agencies), including no further aid to Ukraine.

• However, a notable anomaly in the bill was a further $231 million in funding to the Secret Service, in response to the 2 assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump. This was negotiated via an anomaly request submitted by the Office for Management and Budget (OMB) to Congressional Committees. 

  • This highlights how EXOP plays a crucial role in negotiations between the White House and Congress.