Making Your Mind Up: Key Debates in A-Level Politics

Key Debates

You need to pick a side in each debate (no fence-sitting allowed) and know which reasons you will use to justify your position.

Paper 1: UK Politics & Core Political Ideas

• Democracy & Participation:
  • Is direct democracy better than representative democracy or vice versa?
  • Is our representative democracy in need of reform?
  • Has the franchise been extended far enough?
  • Do pressure groups or collective organisations (including think tanks, lobbyists and corporations) succeed in their attempts to influence policy makers?
  • Are our rights sufficiently protected in the United Kingdom?
• Political Parties:
  • Are political parties still fit for purpose?
  • Does the party funding system need reform?
  • What is needed for a political party to succeed?
  • Is there a one-, two-, or multi-party system at play in the United Kingdom?
  • Is there any difference between the political parties in the United Kingdom?
• Electoral Systems:
  • Do the advantages of First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) / Additional Member System (AMS) / Single Transferable Vote (STV) / Supplementary Vote (SV) outweigh the disadvantages?
  • Is the electoral system used by the devolved body in Scotland / Wales / Northern Ireland better than that deployed for Westminster elections?
  • Do referenda have a place in a representative democracy?
  • Should the United Kingdom use just one electoral system?
• Voting Behaviour & the Media:
• Core Political Ideas: Conservatism:
• Core Political Ideas: Liberalism:
• Core Political Ideas: Socialism:

Paper 2: UK Government & Non-Core Political Ideas

• The Constitution.
• Parliament.
• The Prime Minister & the Executive.
• The Relationship between the Branches of the Government.
• Non-Core Political Ideas: Anarchism.

Paper 3: Comparative Politics - the Government & Politics of the USA

• The Constitution.
• Congress.
• The Presidency.
• The Supreme Court & Civil Rights.
• Democracy & Participation.

Return to "Politics"

• Politics