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Contents

List of boxes; List of tables; Leaders of the two main parties in Britain since 1945; US presidents since 1945; Votes and seats in British general elections since 1945; 1. The Setting of British Politics: British Society and the British People; Introduction; The historical background; British society and the British way of life; Immigration and religion: their impact; Underlying British ideas and values; 2. The Constitution; PART A THE CONSTITUTION; Introduction; The growth of interest in constitutional revision; The characteristics of constitutions; The constitution of the United Kingdom; The Blair government and the Constitution; PART B, THE PROTECTION OF RIGHTS IN BRITAIN; Introduction; The protection of rights in Britain; The case of South Africa; The case of the USA; 3. The Legislature; Introduction; What is the legislature?; The structure of legislatures; The British House of Lords; The main functions of the House of Commons; The House as a watchdog over government; Elected representatives: the duties and responsibilities of British MPs; Parliamentary reform in recent years; The social composition of elected legislators; The pay and conditions of legislators; The case of Denmark; The case of the USA; 4. The Executive; Introduction; The Executive in parliamentary and presidential systems of government; The distribution of power within political executives: the trend towards first ministerial dominance; The British Cabinet; The role of Prime Minister; The debate about prime ministerial power; Constraints on the British Prime Minister; A presidential prime minister?; British ministers and their civil servants; The conventions of Ministerial Responsibility; The case of Holland; The case of the USA; 5. The Judiciary; Introduction; Judicial independence; Judicial neutrality; The growing importance of judicial review; The developing trend towards judicial activism; The politicisation of British judges: growing judicial power; The case of the European Court on Human Rights; The case of the USA; 6. Government Beyond the Centre; Introduction; The devolved United Kingdom; Devolution in Scotland; Devolution in Wales; Is Britain becoming a federal state?; English local government; The case of Spain; The case of the United States; 7. Political Parties; Introduction; The role of political parties and the nature of party systems; The history of the two main parties since 1945; The attitudes and beliefs of political parties: the notions of Left and Right; The British Conservative Party; The Labour Party; Blairism in practice: 1997 onwards; Third and minor parties in Britain and elsewhere; Party membership and finance; Party organisation: general trends; The organisation of British political parties; Party conferences in Britain; Party leaders: how the main British parties choose them; The powers and security of party leaders; The decline of political parties: do they still matter?; The case of Italy; The case of the USA; 8. Pressure Groups; Introduction; Group activity in modern societies: pressure groups and movements; Pressure groups and political parties: their differences and similarities; Classifying pressure groups; The methods employed by pressure groups; The European dimension to British pressure group activity; Pressure groups under recent governments; Factors influencing the success of different groups; The benefits and disadvantages of pressure groups; The case of Scotland; The case of the USA; 9. Voting and Elections; Introduction; Election campaigning; British election campaigns and campaigning; Electoral systems; Types of electoral systems; British experience: the operation of FPTP in the general election of 2010; Some arguments surrounding the debate over FPTP v PR; Voting behaviour; Voting in Britain; Turnout in elections; Turnout in the United Kingdom: the 2010 election; Direct democracy: initiatives and referendums; The use of referendums in the United Kingdom; The case of France: the use of referendums; The case of the USA: election campaigning; 10. Britain and the European Union; Introduction; The development and character of the EU; Democracy and the Union: the 'democratic deficit' it its workings; Britain and the EU: the intergovernmentalist approach in action; The impact of the EU on government and politics in the UK; Political and popular reactions to Europe in EU member states; Europe: a problem area in British politics; Britain, Europe and the future of the EU; Conclusion: Democracy in Theory and Practice; Introduction; The development of democracy; Democracy: its main forms; The characteristics of representative and liberal democracies; British democracy in practice.

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