Crossbench
UK PoliticsOverviewDemocracy and participationPolitical partiesElectoral systemsVoting behaviour and the media
UK GovernmentOverviewThe constitutionParliamentPrime Minister and executiveRelations between the branches
Political IdeasOverviewLiberalismConservatismSocialismFeminismComparison framework
Global PoliticsOverviewComparative theoriesThe state and globalisationPower and developmentsRegionalism and the EUGlobal governance: political and economicGlobal governance: human rights and environmental
Current AffairsPower MapVoter ProfileParty IndexGlossaryExam Support Site Policies

Understand Politics.Explore the Evidence.Develop Your Arguments.

Your continuously updated guide to Edexcel A-level Politics, combining essential political knowledge with contemporary examples, expert explanations and examination support.

Latest developments

The specification

Explore the specification

Organised exactly as Pearson structures the course, so you always know which paper a topic belongs to.

Component 1 · Paper 1

UK Politics

How people take part in UK democracy, how parties compete, how votes are counted and what shapes the way people vote.

Component 2 · Paper 2

UK Government

The UK constitution and the institutions that work within it: Parliament, the Prime Minister and executive, the Supreme Court, and where sovereignty lies.

Papers 1 and 2 · Section B

Political Ideas

The three core ideas (liberalism, conservatism and socialism, assessed in Paper 1) and the non-core idea studied here (feminism, assessed in Paper 2). Each covers core principles, internal tensions and five set thinkers.

Component 3 · Paper 3B

Global Politics

The optional comparative study. How states, international institutions and non-state actors interact, and how realism, liberalism and anarchical society theory explain global politics.

Current affairs

Latest political developments

Each development is a sourced example record linked to the specification points it informs.

Go to Current Affairs
Global governance: political and economic

Security Council straw polls fail to agree the next UN Secretary-General

Under the UN Charter, the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. To choose a successor to António Guterres, whose second term ends in 2026, the Council has held a series of informal, anonymous straw polls in which members encourage or discourage each candidate.

16 and 30 October 2026 (sixth and seventh straw polls) · International · DevelopingApproved

Also in the news

Electoral systems

Wales holds its first election under the Closed Proportional List System

7 May 2026 · ElectionApproved
Parliament

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 ends hereditary membership

18 March 2026 (Royal Assent) · LegislationApproved
Democracy and participation

Representation of the People Bill proposes votes at 16 for all UK elections

12 February 2026 (introduced) · Legislation · DevelopingApproved
Prime Minister and executive

Deputy Prime Minister resigns after breaching the Ministerial Code

5 September 2025 · EventApproved
Parliament

Labour backbench rebellion forces concessions on welfare reform

1 July 2025 (second reading) · EventApproved

AI draft · unreviewedThese records are AI drafts with their sources checked automatically. They will not appear in Student view until a human reviewer approves and publishes them.

Data

Explore the data

Interactive maps and charts for evidence on representation and voting behaviour.

Power Map

Who holds power?

The government and Shadow Cabinet post by post, the House of Lords as the chamber sits, and the make-up of the Commons, the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Government, Parliament and the devolved legislatures todayOpen
 Voter Profile

How Britain voted

General elections, referendums, devolved elections and regional mayors: the results, how different groups voted and the factors that explain each outcome.

Elections, referendums and mayorsOpen
 Party Index

How the parties are doing

Current polling, membership since 1945 and party finances for the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, the Greens and the SNP.

Six partiesOpen

Debates

Featured political debates

Each debate sets out the strongest case on both sides before you reach a judgement.

AI draft · unreviewed

Is the UK experiencing a participation crisis?

Case forStrongest arguments, with evidence
Case againstStrongest counterarguments
Democracy and participationOpen
AI draft · unreviewed

Should first-past-the-post be replaced for Westminster elections?

Case forStrongest arguments, with evidence
Case againstStrongest counterarguments
Electoral systemsOpen
Template slot

Has the Prime Minister become presidential?

Case forStrongest arguments, with evidence
Case againstStrongest counterarguments
Prime Minister and executiveOpen
AI draft · unreviewed

Should the UK adopt a codified constitution?

Case forStrongest arguments, with evidence
Case againstStrongest counterarguments
The constitutionOpen

Political ideas

Explore political ideas

Core principles, internal tensions and the set thinkers for each ideology.

Ideas comparison
Core idea · Paper 1, Section B

Liberalism

Classical · Modern

John LockeMary WollstonecraftJohn Stuart MillJohn RawlsBetty Friedan
5 set thinkersExplore
Core idea · Paper 1, Section B

Conservatism

Traditional · One-nation · New Right: neo-liberal · New Right: neo-conservative

Thomas HobbesEdmund BurkeMichael OakeshottAyn RandRobert Nozick
5 set thinkersExplore
Core idea · Paper 1, Section B

Socialism

Revolutionary socialism · Social democracy · Third Way

Karl Marx and Friedrich EngelsBeatrice WebbRosa LuxemburgAnthony CroslandAnthony Giddens
5 set thinkersExplore
Non-core idea · Paper 2, Section B

Feminism

Liberal · Socialist · Radical · Post-modern

Charlotte Perkins GilmanSimone de BeauvoirKate MillettSheila Rowbothambell hooks
5 set thinkersExplore

Exam support

Examination and essay support

How each paper is structured, and how to plan answers that analyse and evaluate.

Exam support
1Paper 1

UK Politics and Core Political Ideas

2 hours84 marks33⅓%
  • Section A, UK Politics: one 30-mark source question from two, and one 30-mark essay from two
  • Section B, Core ideas: one 24-mark question from two
2Paper 2

UK Government and Non-core Political Ideas

2 hours84 marks33⅓%
  • Section A, UK Government: one 30-mark source question from two, and one 30-mark essay from two
  • Section B, Non-core ideas: one 24-mark question from two
3Paper 3

Comparative Politics: Global Politics

2 hours84 marks33⅓%
  • Section A: one 12-mark question from two
  • Section B: one compulsory 12-mark question on comparative theories
  • Section C: two 30-mark questions from three
Introduction
Define the key terms in the question and state a clear line of argument.
Paragraph
Argument, supporting evidence, then the strongest counterargument.
Evaluation
Weigh the two sides and explain which is more convincing, and why.
Conclusion
A judgement that follows from the paragraphs, not a summary of them.