Read
Read How Westminster Works… and Why It Doesn’t by Ian Dunt.
Continue reading a quality newspaper regularly, paying particular attention to UK politics, elections, Parliament, government and the courts.
Preparing for L6
Starting
A-level Politics
You are not expected to complete everything on this page. Think of it as a menu rather than a checklist. Anything you do now will make September a little easier — and a little more enjoyable.
1. Essential
Begin here.
Listen
Listen regularly to The News Agents. Do not worry about understanding every detail. Concentrate on who is exercising power, who is resisting it and why.
Watch
Watch Inside the Commons. It remains one of the clearest introductions to Parliament as a living institution rather than a diagram in a textbook.
2. Desirable
Build range.
Read
Read The Economist, particularly articles dealing with British politics, institutions, elections and public policy.
Read Chris Mullin’s political diaries. They are funny, observant and very good on the gap between political myth and political practice.
Listen
Listen to Political Thinking with Nick Robinson. The longer interviews are especially useful because they show how political beliefs, personality and experience fit together.
Watch
Watch Brexit: A Very British Civil War. Whatever your view of Brexit, it is an excellent study of campaigning, political communication, leadership and the forces that reshape party politics.
3. Even Better If…
Go beyond the obvious.
Read
Read either the New Statesman or The Spectator — or, ideally, both from time to time. The point is not merely to find writers with whom you agree. The internet already provides that service rather too efficiently.
Read Why We Get the Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman.
Listen
Listen to Political Currency. It is particularly useful on the relationship between politics, government and economics.