Making Your Mind Up: Key Debates in A-Level Politics
Contents
Instructions
- Decide what your opinion is, have your reasons to justify your point of view, and do so well before the exam. Also, pick a side: no fence-sitting!
Key Debates in Paper 1
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
Key Debates in Paper 2
The Constitution
- Has the reforms to Parliament gone far enough?
- Should the UK Constitution be codified?
- Does there need to be further devolution to Northern Ireland, Scotland, or Wales?
- Is there any need for an English Parliament or English regional assemblies?
- Would the UK be better off as a federal rather than a unitary state?
