POL231

Question 1

What is the headline: “It’s the Sun Wot Won It” referring to?

Answer 1

The 1992 General Election. The Sun was widely believed to have influenced the outcome of John Major beating Neil Kinnock to Number 10.

Question 2

What are Private Eye’s circulation figures?

Answer 2

233,000 as of 2018. Private Eye’s circulation has actually being going up since 2016 despite the general trend of falling print circulation. Ian Hislop puts this down to the recent debates about ‘Fake News’.

Question 3

What is The Sun’s daily circulation figure?

Answer 3

1.4 million

Question 4

What is noteworthy about The Guardian’s funding model?

Answer 4

The Guardian has chosen not to erect a paywall unlike some of its competitors and instead asks readers to consider making a small donation to fund their journalism. Since doing this, it has made a profit for the first time in 15 years. Arguably this makes The Guardian more accessible and democratises investigative journalism.

Question 5

Who are the IEA?

Answer 5

The Institute of Economic Affairs. Known as “Margaret Thatcher’s favourite thinktank” on account of its support for neoliberal ideas. It has charitable status.

Question 6

What did Boris Johnson do to help the IEA?

Answer 6

Waived the fees for hosting a policy launch party at the Foreign Office in his official capacity as foreign secretary, saving the IEA £1000s. This is problematic when you look at the IEA’s funding sources which are opaque but according to a Greenpeace investigation are mostly American backers who want to lobby for a hard Brexit based on free trade with America and the relaxation of UK standards to meet USA ones… aka: the infamous chlorinated chickens.

Question 7

When was the Freedom of Information Act passed?

Answer 7

2000. It came in to force in 2005.

Question 8

Name two successes of the Freedom of Information Act.

Answer 8

1. Revealing the MP’s expenses scandal
2. Food Hygiene Ratings- Not the most glamorous topic but food hygiene ratings were previously only request-able by FOI but now the FSA routinely publishes them on their website, showing how the FOI act promotes a general culture of openness and transparency

Question 9

What did Tony Blair dub ‘the biggest mistake of his career’?

Answer 9

Passing the Freedom of Information Act.

Question 10

Does Micheal Gove like experts?

Answer 10

… No. He disparaged “experts with organisations from acronyms”

Question 11

How many UK prisons are privately run?

Answer 11

14/150

Question 12

How much does the process of creating internal markets in the NHS cost?

Answer 12

£10billion per year

Question 13

Identify the benefits of ministerial delegation.

Answer 13

1. Centralised delivery just isn’t feasible
2. Sometimes an independent buffer is needed between citizens and the state- eg: the Independent Police Complaints Commission
3. It shelters Ministers from having to make difficult decisions- eg: NICE deciding wether to fund expensive new drugs

Question 14

‘Quango use has fallen’- True or False?

Answer 14

False. The data can be misleading:

• Devolution means that Scottish/Welsh Quangos are not in the statistics anymore
• Many Quangos have simply merged, like the CQC which was created from 3 previous QUANGOs.

Question 15

Name a ‘Quango casualty’.

Answer 15

Professor David Nutt.

Question 16

Name a scholar who gave a post-colonial critique of the Westminster Model

Answer 16

Blessing Miles Tendi

Question 17

Give an example which illustrates the problematic nature of FPTP

Answer 17

In the 2015 GE The Conservatives won 50.9% of seats for 36.9% of the vote

Question 18

How much of the vote went to Labour and the Conservative in the 2019 European Parliamentary Elections?

Answer 18

Just 23%

Question 19

Give an example of an event which illustrates how they have the potential to limit a Prime Minister

Answer 19

David Cameron and the “I’m afraid there is no money” note from Liam Byrne

Question 20

Give a quote from AV Dicey which illustrates the sovereignty of Parliament

Answer 20

“No person or body is recognised by the law of England as having the right to override or set aside the will of Parliament”