GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS WEEKLY REVIEW - WEEK COMMENCING 19TH OCTOBER 2020

JON BIGGER TUTORING THE BEST ARTICLES, PODCASTS, INTERVIEWS GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS AND ANALYSIS – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO

A-LEVEL KEEP UP TO DATE 1 Introduction Contents

A week is a long time in politics. Keeping up with The Covid 19 tiers and the backlash to them. P3-4 the headlines is useful but much more helpful is being able to analyse the trends. The headlines ’s Inner Circle p5 are a snapshot, the analysis is all about the long Last Week in Parliament p6 term impact of events. Scottish Independence Poll p7 US Election Update p8-10 This weekly review is designed to help you get as much out of the news events as possible. It isn’t a Global Governance p11 simple list of the things that have happened; it’s Podcast of the week! P12 content designed to help you analyse the events. I hope you find it useful! Please feel free to let Top Tips p13 me know.

Jon.

2 Image from Sky News THE COVID 19 TIERS - BACKGROUND

On Monday 12th October, Boris Johnson announced a three tier system of Covid related restrictions, designed to stem the spread of the virus. Later that day it emerged that the government group of scientific advisors (SAGE) had recommended a two week ‘circuit break’ lockdown. This was not taken up.

On Tuesday, Kier Starmer called for the two week lockdown, a subtle change in his approach of constructive opposition on the virus.

On Wednesday and Thursday, tensions between Westminster and English Mayors in the north of the country became apparent, with them resisting the call from the government to move into Tier 3. This article details how meetings between MP’s, Mayors and Westminster did go smoothly.

We have already seen how devolution has impacted British politics, with Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast willing and able to go in directions that are different from Westminster. Now, we are seeing the impact of English devolution.

3 THE COVID 19 TIERS - ANALYSIS • How the Covid-19 crisis has turned the UK into a “Frankenstate” Paul Mason . • This pandemic has been the making of England's elected mayors Simon Jenkins

Videos • Boris Johnson explains the three tiers. • Kier Starmer conducts a press conference, calling for a circuit breaker lockdown of two weeks. • Fellow Labour politician, Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, highlights what he sees as a north / south divide in the pandemic response by Westminster.

4 THE INNER CIRCLE OF BORIS JOHNSON

Here’s a diagram of some of the key people that are close to the Prime Minister. Notice how this doesn’t include the Cabinet.

The of , James Forsyth, is said to be Johnson’s most trusted journalist. He’s worth a follow on - @JGForsyth. Forsyth is also married to Allegra Stratton, the newly appointed Press Secretary to No 10.

Here’s an article written by Forsyth for the magazine that Johnson used to edit. What do you think about the article? What does Forsyth want us to think about the job that Johnson is doing?

5 LAST WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

• You can watch the BBC’s The Week in Parliament here. This is an excellent 26 minute digest of the main debates that have taken place in the last week. It includes footage from the devolved bodies as well as Westminster.

• There has been increased disquiet on the back benches around the number of people able to work remotely from Parliament. The Leader of the House, Jacob Rees-Mogg, does not favour remote working. This article highlights the ongoing debate.

• Kier Starmer suffered front bench resignations and voting rebellions on the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) Bill.

6 SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE

There is record public support for Scottish independence in Scotland, reports polling company Ipsos Mori. Why? How does devolution play into this? Is Covid a factor?

Their report on independence and the latest polling on seats for the Scottish Parliament can be found here.

7 US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Do you know what the two main presidential candidates stand for? The Daily Mirror has a handy guide to the policies. This is often lost in the day to day of personality politics.

Third parties in 2020. Tutor2U has a guide to how third parties have faired in the past and what to expect this time.

Trump has sought to blame violent protests in cities across the USA during the summer on anarchists. But what is anarchism? This US radio show aims to find out. *** Link to Ideologies (if your non core political idea is anarchism ***

8 US PRESIDENTIAL FORECAST

•As the general election gets closer the forecasts should become more accurate. On this and the next page you can see forecasts from the FiveThirtyEight website*.

•Could the Democrats be on course for a clean sweep? This video helps explain the chance that the Democrats have. How would that change the course of US Politics?

9 THE BATTLE FOR CONGRESS 10 GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

• The World Health Organisation calls for global levels of solidarity and co-operation between nations to deal with Covid 19.

• The USA and China trade war.

11 Each week I select a sample of really good podcasts to help you with your studies. I listen to several each week and so these are the best of the best. There are three but you’ll only need two. I recommend all students listen to the UK politics podcast of the week. I’ve also picked out a podcast for each of the US Politics and Global Governance options so pick the one that is relevant to your studies!

UK Politics Podcast of the Week- BBC Newscast 15th October Real Winter is Coming This covers the disunity in England between Westminster and the north, the SAGE advice and developments on the day the PM’s deadline for a deal was passed. US Politics Podcast of the Week – Crazy Uncle and Sleepy Joe – The BBC’s Americast looks at the two town hall debates that took place last week. Global Governance Podcast of the Week – The New Statesman’s podcast World Review looks at American foreign policy.

12 A LEVEL GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS – TOP TIPS

On this page I choose content that will help you get to grips with a particular part of the syllabus and / or study skills tips and exam help.

• The A Level Politics Show “How important is Presidential persuasion?”

• Tutor2U “When do Ministers Resign?”

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