British Politics

Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Publications)

by Richard S. Grayson

No one saw it coming. No pundit, no pollster and no political leader predicted David Cameron’s Conservative Party would win a majority of seats in Parliament and his three main opponents would resign as party leaders. The consequences of the coalition also became clear as the Liberal Democrats fell dramatically from grace, and lost their spot as Britain’s third party. And despite Scotland voting ‘NO’ to independence in 2014, the election result also threatens the Union, with the Scottish National Party winning all but three of the country’s seats.

In this timely edition, Richard S. Grayson analyses Britain’s changing political landscape, and explores the role of the media, the European Union and the UK’s ‘special relationship’ with the US. Thorough and incisive, British A Beginner’s Guide is the perfect introduction to the structure, parties and personalities of British Government today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

Reviews

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

AI summary:

Richard Grayson's *Beginner's Guide to British Politics* provides a concise overview of the UK's political system. It covers:

- **Government Structure**: Roles of the Prime Minister, Parliament, and the differences between the House of Commons and Lords.
- **Political Parties**: Summaries of major and minor parties, their ideologies, and key figures.
- **Elections**: How general and local elections work, including the voting systems used.
- **Policy Making**: The process of creating laws and the influence of parties and public opinion.
- **Constitution**: An overview of the UK's uncodified constitution and its key principles.
- **Current Issues**: Discussion of contemporary political debates and challenges.
- **Engagement**: Tips on getting involved in politics, from voting to activism.

It’s a basic, easy-to-understand guide for those new to British politics.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm taking the fact that this is a "beginner's guide" into account in my rating and review. The book gives a pretty vague overview, and at times confuses more than it clarifies, often not going into nearly enough detail on important points while dithering over and revisiting some trivial ones repeatedly. But it does cover a lot of information, and gives a grounding in the history of politics, prominent figures, turning points and such as opposed to just focussing on politics now. The writer does a fair job of keeping his bias out of the way for the most part (he was the Liberal Democrats' Director of Policy for five years, and a former speechwriter for Charles Kennedy). Essentially, for what it is, it doesn't do half badly, and could have done very much worse with a subject so difficult to write a "beginner's guide" on.

[Dean Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

His fawning over Nick Clegg aside, Grayson does a relatively decent job of offering an impartial analysis of the role of parliament in British politics and the traditions it’s built upon. Ultimately, I’d have preferred more words were devoted in each chapter to the issue being discussed than to declarations that he didn’t have enough to do it adequately but that’s me being fussy.

[William Gower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad read, went into great depth on the history of uk politics and shed light on the differences between political groups

[Kalle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, interesting, and short read, but I still would hesitate to call this a beginner's guide. You need to have some basic ideas about (British) politics before diving into it. I feel like this could have used some terminology clarifications or info boxes at times also, to make it even more readable.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to British politics and offers a historical catch-up as well, charting key moments in 20th century Britain up to the present day. I found it tremendously useful as I wanted to cover the basics after the recent general election.