Lecture One: Introduction Lecture 25.09.

2017

Assessment: 15 minute group presentation + visual aid (poster, pptx, etc.)

-knowledge
-critical understanding
-analysis

With specific focus on Great Britain, critically discuss the historical and political
context of one of the three subject areas below:

A) The demographic right to vote

B) The implementation of punishment
C) The media portrayal of crime

!!! Due date: 15 Ian-22 Ian

Lecture Two: Introduction to Politics 02.10.2017

What IS Politics?! (What is it SUPPOSED to be?!)

The Ancient Thinkers Aristotle – philosopher, political theorist, scientist (born 384 AD)

Politics e.g.:
Father seeks to influence soccer manager to give his son a place on the team
Chancellor ignores claims for increased salaries
Oil prices continue to rise as war spreads in Middle East
Thousands demonstrate in favour of climate change measures

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“Politics is a process that seeks to manage or resolve conflicts of interest between people,
usually in a peaceful fashion. In its general sense it can describe the interactions of any group of
individuals, but in its specific sense, it refers to the many and complex relationships that exist
between state institutions and the rest of society” (Jones and Norton, 2014)

Key Concepts - “A concept is more than a proper noun or the name of a thing. There is a
difference between talking about a chair, a particular and unique chair, and holding the concept
of a ‘chair’, the idea of a chair. The concept of a chair is an abstract notion, composed of the
various features which give a chair its distinctive character- in this case, for instance, the
capacity to be sat upon” (Heywood, 1994)

Democracy in Britain:

In 1215, the tenants-in-chief secured Magna Carta from King John, which
established that the king may not levy or collect any taxes (except the feudal
taxes to which they were hitherto accustomed), save with the consent of his
royal council, which gradually developed into a parliament.

Key Traits in Democracy:

Participation
Party Membership
Knowledge
Funding
Lying in Politics
Media

Seminar Two - Introduction to Politics 06.10.2017

- group assessment - group 4

www.inews.co.uk
The Guardian App

Lecture Three: Professor Steven Hall 09.10.2017

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Seminar Three – What is British Politics? 13.10.2017

Democracy = a political system in which a government is removable by the people, and in

which they should be the ultimate decide of who should govern

Capitalism = an economic and political system in which property and the means of
production and distribution are in private ownership and good are produced for private profit

Economy = a social domain that emphasizes the practices, discourses, and material
expressions associated with the production, use, and management of resources

Recession = a business cycle contraction which results in a general slowdown in economic

activity

Neoliberal Economy = an economic system that uses the state to promote deregulation and
derivatisation to stimulate market activity and the economy

Neoliberalism = a modified form of liberalism tending to favour free-market capitalism

Liberalism = a political and philosophical view which emphasises freedom and equality

1. The decline of traditional British Industries

2. The first past the post voting system
3. The introduction of voting for women in the United Kingdom
4. The Great Depression (continuous fall in economy)

Lecture Four: Conservative and Labour Parties 16.10.2017

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The historical content
- a time of evolution and instability
- American war of INDEPENDENCE 1775-1783
- French Revolution 1789 –liberte, fraternite, egalite

Britain - industrial revolution

- A growing, impoverished working class in the newly industrialised cities

- Possibility of revolutionary socialism/communism

“A spectre is haunting Europe; the spectre of communism” – Karl Marx

Conservative party: -Right

- promotion of private property
- the maintenance of a strong military
- preservation of cultural values and tradition

Robert Peel (1834-1835; 1841-1846)

- 1829- started the metropolitan police force
- peelian idea of police
- emphasised the importance of landed interest and trade and industry
- vote if you own property, male, white, extremely rich
- Laissez-faire economics

Benjamin Disraeli (1874-1880; 1868-1868)

- one nation conservatism –‘the rich must help the poor’ , tame the poverty
- emphasised the responsibility the rich have to have help the poor

Labour Party: -Left

- go into power themselves

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 - formed with the cooperation of the Trades Union Congress ‘Labour Representation
Committee’ – 1900 - became the ‘Labour Party’ – 1906
- made few strides until 1918 extended right to vote –all men over 21 + women over
30 with property
- became formally socialist:
 full employment
 minimum wage
 maximum work week
 democratic control of industry
 expansion of education & social services
 progressive taxation – ‘what you work you keep’, ‘the state should only be
there for defence’

James Ramsey McDonald

- 1924 – governed for less than a year  accused of Soviet Sympathies
- 1929-1935
- 1931 – Cons and Lib parties into coalition – destroyed Labour support

 WW2:
- Neville Chamberlain: ‘Peace of our time’
- Winston Churchill: ‘We will fight them on the beaches…’
 Labour would join a unity government during 1940 and WW2

‘The Post-War Consensus’

- Labour under the premiership of PM Clement Attlee
- NHS (national health service) – medicine open for all
- Expanded social welfare provision
- Nationalisation – everything under gov’s control

 Labour, 1945 Manifesto – “the labour party is a socialist party, and proud of it”

John Maynard Keynes

- advocates the government becoming a major market player
- socialism or social democracy?
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-the government CAN intervene the economy

Margaret Thatcher – election in 1979

What is IDEOLOGY?
= ‘applied philosophy”
= it links philosophical ideas to the contemporary world
= provides a comprehensive and systematic perspective whereby human society can
be understood
= provides a framework of principles from which policies can be developed
= right-left continuum

The horizontal left-right continuum – economic and social policy

Classifying ideologies The vertical axis continuum

Political parties and the left-right continuum

LEFT = Equality, Collectivism, Collective Ownership (Communism, Labour)

CENTRE = Less inequality, Some collectivism, Mixed economy
RIGHT = Freedom, Individualism, Free enterprise

The Liberal Tradition – LIBERALISM:

- 19th century, ‘Classical Ideology’

- most people think liberal = open-minded, tolerant, generous or rational

Philosophical Liberalism:
Rationality
Toleration

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 Natural rights and the consent of the governed
Individual liberty
Constitutional checks and balances – ‘separation of powers’
Limited government
Representation

Classical Liberalism – seeks to maximize the realm of unconstrained individual action, typically by
establishing a minimal state and a reliance on market economics
Human nature
Freedom
Utilitarianism
Minimal government – middle-class values
Laissez-faire economics – ‘leave to do’, econ. activity should be free from gov. interference
Peace through trade

‘New Liberalism’ - provides a qualified endorsement for social and economic intervention as a mean
of promoting personal development
State responsibility for welfare
The mixed economy: Hobsonian and Keynesian economics
Internationalism
Further development for democratic government

“Party spokesman say not what they mean but what they agreed to say.”
– Michael Portillo

Seminar Four: Political parties in Britain 20.10.2017

*Universal Credit

Lecture Five: Conservative and Labour Parties II 23.10.2017

- The specter of Thatcherism -

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Post-war consensus:
 Oil crisis
 ‘Stagflation’ – prices go up, wages stay the same
 Industrial unrest

Margaret Thatcher was leader of opposition in 1975.

‘The new right’ – ‘neo-liberalism’

THATCHERISM:
 Overturn the mixed economy of the Post-War consensus
 Swung the Conservative party to the right
 Influenced by Friedrich von Hayek
 The market is the foundation of freedom
 Very limited role of government
 Extremely hostile trade unions
 Dedicated to individualism – the right to BUY
 Deregulate the financial markets

The influence of Thatcherism:

-“New Labour” – Her greatest achievement?
- New Labour won in 1997 overthrowing John Mayor’s government
- New Labour was to be centrist, not overtly left or right but in the middle
- Tony Blair attacked the power of the trade unions
- overturned “Clause Four” – labour constitution

WHAT IS ‘BLAIRISM’?
 Pro-market
 People are born into and shaped by communities
 Communities must be shaped around responsibility
 Privatisation of nationalized industries
 Social liberalism

Labour and Conservative Post-Brexit

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 - Labour: Leftward shift under surprise election and re-election of Jeremy
Corbyn as leader
- Conservative: severely diminished majority after 2017 election
- Both parties roiled by internal battles and struggles
- A vague approach to the EU and Brexit

Seminar Five – Labour and Conservative Parties 27.10.2017

- Ultrarealism
National Action – far right, terrorism

Labour Manifesto 1992 – ‘It’s time to get Britain working again’

*Jock Young
- CCTV and alleygating projects
Labour Manifesto 1997- ‘Britain will be better with New Labour’

Conservative Manifesto 1992 – ‘The best future for Britain’

*Major Giuliani
Conservative Manifesto 1997 – ‘You can only be sure….’

Lecture Six: Policy 30.10.2017

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The executive:
• Prime Minister
• Cabinet
• Legal authority - Technically servants of The Crown
• Political authority - Majority vote
• Parliamentary sovereignty - ‘highest law in the land’

The Prime Minister:

• Chairs the Cabinet:
• Can appoint MPs who will head a government department and shift them or
dismiss them
• Sets cabinet meetings
• Controls Whitehall-Can abolish change or merge departments
• Can advise on peerages and public appointments
• Consults with the civil service headed by a permanent secretary
• Can consult special advisors (sometimes controversial)

*Peerages –>The House of Lords

Current PM:
• Theresa May
• Formerly Home Secretary
• Took over from David Cameron
• Called an election: Reduced majority
• Uncertain future

The Cabinet:
• Selected MPs
• Cabinet Committees-Headed by cabinet members on certain specialist topics
• Can enjoy public visibility and be able to form useful links with the media (Essential for
leaking)
• Can deal with a time-consuming number of issues under the media glare
• Approves the policies laid before Parliament
• Can constrain the Prime Minister
• Can become powerful rivals of the PM
• The closeness or distance between the PM, the cabinet and/or the Civil service varies
Selected Cabinet Members:
• Amber Rudd (Home Secretary)-Home Office

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 • Michael Fallon (Minister of Defence)-Ministry of Defence
• David Lidington (Minister for Justice)-Ministry of Justice

Current Cabinet Committees and Chairs:

• The National Security Council (Theresa May)
• National Security Council (Nuclear Deterrence and Security) sub-Committee (Theresa
May)
• National Security Council (Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingencies) sub-
Committee (Damian Green)
• National Security Council (Strategic Defence and Security Review Implementation)
subcommittee (Amber Rudd)
• Tackling Modern Slavery and People Trafficking (Theresa May)
• Immigration (Damian Green)

Parliament:
• House of Commons: Elected MPs from Government and Opposition
• MPs from different parties do not necessarily have to vote according to their leaders’
preferences
• The PM may hold a very small majority after an election i.e. Theresa May in 2017
• House of Lords: Appointed and hereditary peers

The Civil Service:

• Assists MPs who head a department
• Each department has a Permanent Secretary who answers to ministers on behalf of civil
servants
• Can have a degree of influence on departmental decisions despite not officially heading
it

Constrains on the executive:

• Some policy making devolved to parliaments and assemblies in Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland
• Until Brexit, certain areas of policy and implications limited by the EU
• The European Convention of Human Rights as introduced through the Human Rights Act
1998

Lecture Seven: The Legislative Process – How laws are made 13.11.2017

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 // There are three ways in which the process to create a law can be started \\
1. Government makes good on a manifesto promise.
2. A campaign group raises enough public awareness of an issue.
3. A crisis causes an immediate issue to be apparent.

Regardless of how it is started it always follows the same process.

Queen’s Speech:
 When Parliament is opened the incoming Government will announce it’s legislative aims
via the Queen’s Speech.
 This provides a clear indication of which manifesto pledges will be turned into law
during that Parliament.
 It is rare for a law to be created that hasn’t been included in the Speech but it can
happen via the other two start points.

Manifesto:
 The most common starting point for a law to be made in the UK.
 Political parties campaign for election based on their manifesto’s which contain their
ideas for a range of areas.
 The public reads these and votes for the party whose policies they most agree with.
 If a party wins a majority at the election they then become government and embark on
implementing their policies.

Crisis:
 A political, military or humanitarian crisis can lead to new laws being needed.
 This is the only time in which the following process will be significantly speeded up -
Prevention of Terrorism (temporary provisions) Act 1974
 Some of these are moral panic based e.g. Knife crime

The Next Step:

Green Paper
 Consists of loose ideas around an issue.

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  Put forward by either an MP or a party.
 Process often stops here.

White Paper
 More concrete ideas about what the Government wants to do about and issue.
 Put forward by a Minister or Committee.
 Almost all white papers become law.

Committee Debates:
 Once an issue has been identified and you have got an MP to support it you have to get
the relevant committee to debate it.
 This committee may produce a white paper, do nothing or produce a draft bill.
 Committee’s decide which issues will be bought to the attention of Ministers and thus
are a key gatekeeper.

Legislative Committees:
 If the sub-committee decides to support the issue it will create either a white paper or a
draft bill.
 This will then be sent to the Legislative Committee where ministers will decide if it
should proceed.
 If this committee agrees that is should proceed it will become an official draft bill.

All is fair in love and war:

 Sub-committees are made up of MPs and the Legislative Committee made up of
ministers.
 This makes them susceptible to political manoeuvring and the use of power. Knowledge
is the key to getting through this stage.
 Many MPs have second jobs, which often pay more than their MP wage, so that they
represent the view of lobby groups on these committees.

Cabinet creates a ‘bill’:

 If the issue gets through all of these stages then a draft ‘Bill’ is drawn up.

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  This is the first time that the issue will start to look like a piece of legislation and this will
contain the key elements of what the Government wants to achieve.
 The law as passed will probably look nothing like the draft Bill!

First Reading
 The Bill is taken to either House at Parliament and the title of the Bill is read out.
 The only time this does not happen in either House is if it is to do with taxation.
 The draft Bill is then made available for MPs and Peers to read and for amendments to
be suggested.

Second Reading
 This is the first debate stage of the process, with both Government and Opposition
considering the pros and cons of the proposed law.
 Any amendments proposed at first reading will also be debated and new amendments
can be proposed.
 A vote can be taken on turning the Bill into Law at this stage but this isn’t usually the
case unless it is controversial.

The role of whips:

 Each political party has a number of long serving, back bench MPs who are called Whips.
 Their role is to ensure that MPs vote according to the Party line during legislative
debates.
 Sometimes this will be suspended and MPs will be given what is known as a ‘free’ vote.
 The methods Whips use are interesting…

Committee Stage:
 After the Second Reading the Bill and any amendments will be sent to a government
Select Committee.
 This Committee will decide if the Bill is still worth pursuing or if it should be withdrawn.
 Should the Committee decide it is worth pursuing it is committing the Government to
this course of action.

Report Stage:
 Committing to that course of action can have serious political consequences for the
Government especially if the Bill fails to become law.

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  The Select Committee may ask for a series of Reports to be produced looking at the
impact the proposed law would have.
 The Select Committee may also take evidence from advisors at this stage, drawn from
academia and other relevant bodies.

Third Reading:
 This is the crucial stage for any Bill as it is where it will get the backing it needs to
become law.
 The amended bill is read in one of the Houses and a debate and a vote takes place as to
whether it should pass.
 No MP or Peer can leave during this process and the vote must take place within an
allotted time period which leads to filibustering.

TWO HOUSES, ONE PARLIAMENT

 Should the Bill make it through the Third Reading it will be sent to the other House for
the process to be repeated.
 Traditionally the HoC has superiority over the HoL meaning it is unlikely the HoL will
reject a Bill.
 However the HoL can send the Bill back to the HoC as unsuitable/ in need of
amendment.

ROYAL Assent:
 The final stage in the process is the Monarch signing the Bill.
 Once this happens the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament and is a law of the
United Kingdom.
 However, the Monarch retains the Royal Prerogative to refuse their assent to a
Bill and this would stop it becoming law – 1708 Scottish Militia Bill

Seminar Eight – Media portrayal of crime 24.11.2017

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Media, music and politics

‘Question Time’ – Dave:

PM-wasteful, ISIS, black and white- differential, working class, too much money on defence, still
crisis, university fees increasing, David Cameron left all the bullshit to other people, Jeremy
Corbin;

Social Media and Politics:

- Direct contact with Voter - public opinion, feedback
- Potential for content to go viral
- Free ads
- Tailored messages for specific audience
- Controversy
- Reaching a different demographic – young people…

For next week’s seminar: make a meme, a rap or a joke politically related

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