Welcome to

a2 politics
POLITICAL
IDEOLOGIES
 Key Resources
Politics A2 – Core textbook
• It is essential that you have your own copy of the core
textbook:
• Andrew Heywood – Political Ideologies An
Introduction (5th edition)
Additional Resources
• Edexcel Revision Guides - These would be useful but
are not essential.

• Student’s aiming for high grades should make use of

original texts by key political thinkers such as Karl
Marx, John Stuart Mill and Edmund Burke.
Course Structure
• Unit 3 – Introducing Political Ideologies (Sept – Dec)
• Liberalism
• Conservatism
• Socialism
• Anarchism
• Unit 4 – Other Ideological Traditions (Jan – April)
• Nationalism
• Feminism
• Ecologism
• Multiculturalism
• Revision – May/June
 Assessment for Unit 3 and Unit 4
• Each examination lasts one hour thirty minutes.
• You will answer:
• Three fifteen mark questions from a choice of five
• One 45 mark question from a choice of three
 15 Mark Questions
• AO1 (knowledge) = 5 marks
• AO2 (analysis) = 7 marks
• AO3 (communication) = 3 marks

• Structure
• Define term, 3/4 key points Focus of A2 Politics is
far more on analysis. (This involves analysing
arguments for and against. Evaluate strengths and
weaknesses of arguments/weigh the evidence)
45 Mark Questions
• AO1 (knowledge) = 12 marks
• AO2 (analysis) = 12 marks
• AO2 (synoptic) = 12 marks
• AO3 (communication) = 9 marks

• Structure
• Ensure you have detailed introduction and conclusion
• You must have a clear sustained line of argument
• Evaluate and discuss throughout
• Synoptic Links – This involves referring to key ideologies. You need
to identify competing viewpoints/perspectives, and show insight
into how they affect the interpretation of political events/issues
and shape conclusions.
 Synoptic links – 12 marks

Showing awareness of competing viewpoints or perspectives.

The synoptic skills that are assessed by the 45 mark essay questions in Units 3
and 4 are:

• The ability to identify alternative viewpoints or perspectives on an issue or

question
• An awareness of the nature and extent of rivalry between these viewpoints
• An awareness of the significance of the viewpoints for an understanding of
the issue or question.
 The importance of
ideologies

• Can be seen in the significance of Labour’s

Leadership since September 2015
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34223157

• ‘We don’t have to be unequal. It does not have to

be unfair, poverty isn’t inevitable. Things can, and
they will change’

Q) How has Corbyn’s leadership symbolised a

changing shift of ideology within the party
Q) What impact has this change had on policy ideas?
 The Importance of
Ideologies
• Can be seen in the stance of the new Conservative Prime Minister

• In Theresa May’s first speech as PM she vowed to lead a "one nation" government that
works for all not just the "privileged few“
• She promised to give people who were "just managing" and "working around the
clock" more control over their lives.
• "That means fighting against the burning injustice that if you're born poor you will die
on average nine years earlier than others," she said.
• "When it comes to opportunity, we won't entrench the advantages of the fortunate
few, we will do everything we can to help anybody, whatever your background, to go as
far as your talents will take you.“
• She has promised a radical programme of social reform, underpinned by values of One
Nation Toryism, to promote social mobility and opportunity for the more
disadvantaged in society.
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36788782

Q) How has does this show a shift of ideology within the party?
Q) What impact might this have on policy ideas?
 Unit 3 Ideologies
• Each ideology emerged out of the economic, social and
political upheavals that brought the modern world into
existence.
• They provide contrasting answers to questions about
how society should be organised.
• They are ideologies that can be categorised on the basis
of the left/ right divide, reflecting differing attitudes to
issues such as equality and economic organisation.
• These issues also reflect differences within each
ideology; e.g. the individualist and collectivist aspects of
anarchism can be seen as an example of both extreme
right-wing thinking and extreme left-wing thinking..