Politips... for A-Level Politics and Beyond

In this second episode in our mini series on political thinkers, we explore the ideas of John Locke, the so-called "father of Liberalism". We consider the biography of Locke and the context within which he was writing. We then reveal his ideas on human nature, society, the state and on the economy, before offering some tentative conclusion on his wider legacy.

How effective are Select Committees at holding the government to account? This short episode explores what select committees are and how they function. It considers recent case studies including appearances by Dominc Cummings, Boris Johnson and Sir Olly Robbins.

Thomas Hobbes gave us the idea of the Leviathan, a metaphorical figure for an all powerful sovereign. In this episode we explore his life and works to determine why he came up with this novel idea. This episode is the first in a new series providing profiles on the political thinkers who created modern political ideologies, and figure on the A Level politics specification.

In this episode we visit Washington DC. We ask our intrepid students for their initial impressions on the federal capital; before discussing the role DC plays in US politics, how the city has changed under Trump, and federal shutdowns.

In this episode we talk to Simon Lemieux, an experienced politics teacher who has co-authored several A Level Politics textbooks and writes for Politics Review. We discuss the impact of UK general elections and the likelihood of electoral reform before considering likely future trends in UK politics.

Who is more powerful, Prime Ministers or Presidents? Presidents obviously. Yet within each system, the answer is more nuanced and complex. Join us in this episode to review the powers of Presidents and Prime Ministers and decide which is the more powerful position.

How significant is judicial review in the UK Supreme Court? This short episode of Politics Explains looks at how judicial review operates, and then explores three case studies; the Article 50 ruling of 2017, the Prerogation of Parliament ruling in 2019, and the gender ruling of 2025.

In this episode of Politics Explains, our series explaining important political concepts, we look at the historic sources of the UK constitution. What are the main milestones in the development of Britain's parliamentary democracy? How significant are they? Are they still relevant today? Listen to this episode to join the discussion.

Join our discussion on whether Donal Trump is an imperial president. We look at where the term first originated in the work of Arthur Schlesinger, before considering the presidency of Richard Nixon. We discuss whether or not the term had any real merit by 2016, before looking at how the two terms of Donald Trump are redefining and reinvigorating the concept.

In this episode we discuss five key things that we learnt about US presidential elections following the contest between Trump and Harris. How significant was money in determining the outcome? Was it all about the economy? Do demographics really matter? Join the discussion in this episode of Politips.

In the third episode of our US presidential elections mini series, we talk all things electoral college. What are the origins of the electoral college, how does it work today, and what states should we watch out for in a presidential election? We finish the episode with a discussion on electoral polls and whether we should pay them any attention.

In this second episode in our mini series on the US presidential elections, we explore the primaries and conventions process for each party. What are they, how do they work and how important is it to get an early lead as the first states decide? Join the discussion in this episode as we continue our comprehensive guide on how to become the President of the United States.

Welcome to the first episode of our new mini-series on how to become the US President. This series will run act as a guide to the mechanics of US Presidential elections; how they work and what you need to look out for. In this episode we explore both the official, and, more interestingly, the unofficial qualifications needed.

In this episode we analyse in full the general election; why was it called? what happened in the campaign? what do the results reveal? The election has resulted in a huge landslide victory for the Labour Party. But it is also an election that has set some new records. Under the first past the post electoral system, it has resulted in the most disproportional outcome in history when comparing seats...

What is Federalism and how different is it to Devolution in the UK? In this episode, we compare the two concepts, using recent case studies to reach a conclusion on this question.

In this episode we look at how the UK political parties select their leaders. What are the challenges in selecting a popular leader using a fair and democratic system? What if there is no consensus? How effective and democratic are the leadership selection processes? Politips explains!

In this episode we look at how the Supreme Court first created an effective law on abortion through its Roe V Wade ruling. How did this then evolve over the next decades to reach its final overturning? What are the consequences on America politics and on federalism? Politics Explains!

What are Congressional Committees? What types are there? How do they check the executive? Are they really that boring? Listen to this episode to find out!

In this episode we explore what the power of the purse is. Why is it a check on presidential power? How easy is it for funding deals to pass in Congress, and what does that tell us about the state of American politics?

In this episode we discuss Affirmative Action in the United States. What was the policy and why was it introduced? How did the Supreme Court out an end to the policy, and what are the consequences?

In this episode, we look at the attempts to increase devolution in England, and the reasons why it has been a slow and incomplete process. This is a short episode from the Politips Explains series, where we look at important political concepts.

In this episode we look at each step of the UK legislative process. We then look at the Rwanda Safety Bill as a case study of the legislative process in action. This is a Politips Explains episode, aimed at providing short explanations of important political concepts.

The UK has an unmodified constitution, so how do we work out what it is? In this episode we explore the different sources of the UK Constitution. This is a Politips Explains episode; short explanations of important political concepts.

In this episode we explore what constitutions are, the difference between codified and uncodified constitutions, and what the features of the UK constitution are. This is an episode of Politips Explains, the short episodes that aim to explain political terms and concepts.

Introducing Politips Explains, our new short episodes aimed at explaining important political concepts and ideas. These will be shorter than our usual episodes and aim to explain key concepts, rather than the discussion style of our normal episodes. They will be particularly useful for anyone revising for their politics exams.