Politics and Parliament

An understanding of the role of parliament and the policies and beliefs of the major political parties is essential not only for your GS exam but also for your own general knowledge

First off, the sites of the three main parties. What are their headline topics ?
Do they really fit in with what the ‘man in the street’ is concerned about.
For example, surveys show that local issues are uppermost in most people’s minds .
Are the parties more concerned with the ‘big picture’ ?

Conservative Party

Labour Party

Liberal Democrats

Now onto specific policies. Each party has a particular stance on a wide variety of issues. You should be able to summarise these , at least in outline terms. I’ve picked what are probably the current major topics. What are the differences in each case ?; What are the similarities ?; Do the opposition parties simply have contrary policies because they are ‘the opposition’ ?

You may like to explore their sites further for other issues for example immigration, ID Cards, environment, public services etc

Health
Labour Policy
Conservative Policy
Lib-Dems Policy

Crime
Labour Policy
Conservative Policy
Lib-Dems Policy

Education
Labour Policy
Conservative Policy
Lib-Dems Policy

Now onto Parliament itself…
This is an extraordinarily complex institution, steeped in tradition. These links will give you some insight into its workings

Explore Parliament
Although much of this site is aimed at younger students, there is still a great deal of useful information to be gleaned.
Yes, you can play the games !

Parliament Videos
These videos provide an excellent overview of parliament and its everyday operation and function Do set aside some time to watch some of these

Parliament explained booklets
This series of booklets (in PDF format) cover a good range of topics. If time is short the ‘Introduction to… ‘ is a good start

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Set the video
The Politics Show
BBC2 Sunday 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm 30mins
Andrew Neil and Jenny Scott present the political stories of the week . You can alos watch the latest show on line here
Go Out
I know its a long way, but some of you may be in London . If you get a chance, do visit the Houses of Parliament. It is much more fascinating than you may think