Politics UK

This revised and updated ninth edition of the bestselling textbook Politics UK is an indispensable introduction to British politics. It provides a thorough and accessible overview of the institutions and processes of British government, a good grounding in British political history and an incisive introduction to the issues and challenges facing Britain today, including the European referendum and Brexit.

The ninth edition welcomes brand new material from seven new contributors to complement the rigorously updated and highly respected chapters retained from the previous edition. It delivers excellent coverage of contemporary events including a new chapter on Euro-scepticism and the European referendum, an assessment of the performance of Labour’s leadership, the trials and tribulations of the Liberal Democrats and UKIP, and the evolving devolution debate in Scotland, led by the Scottish Nationalist Party.

Features of the new edition include:

• Britain in context boxes offering contrasting international perspectives on key themes in British politics
• A comprehensive ‘who’s who’ of politics in the form of Profile boxes featuring key political figures
• And another thing . . . pieces containing short articles written by distinguished commentators including Mark Garnett, Sir David Omand, Richard Wilkinson and Sir Simon Jenkins
• An epilogue analyzing the turbulent state of UK politics following the European referendum

With chapters written by highly respected scholars in the field and contemporary articles on real-world politics from well-known political commentators, this textbook is an essential guide for all students of British politics.

Bill Jones joined the Extra-Mural Department at Manchester University in 1972 as the person in charge of politics and government, serving as Director 1987–92. He was Vice Chair and Chair of The Politics Association 1979–85, being made a Life Fellow in 2001. In 2006 he took up a part-time teaching position at Liverpool Hope University being made a professor in 2009. Bill also occasionally broadcasts on radio and television. He now lives in retirement in Beverley, East Riding, continuing with his writing and teaching adult classes for the University of the Third Age.

Philip Norton (Lord Norton of Louth) is Professor of Government at the University of Hull. When he was appointed in 1986, he was the youngest professor of politics in the country. He was also appointed Director of the University’s Centre for Legislative Studies in 1992. He is the editor of The Journal of Legislative Studies and chair of the Higher Education Commission. He is the author or editor of 32 books. He was elevated to the peerage in 1998. He chaired the Commission to Strengthen Commission, which reported in 2000, and was the first Chairman of the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution. He has been described by the House Magazine – the journal of the two Houses of Parliament – as ‘our greatest living expert on Parliament’.

Oliver Daddow is Assistant Professor in British Politics and Security at the University of Nottingham (2016–) and also a Bye Fellow at Robinson College at the University of Cambridge (2018). His main research interests are in Brexit, British European policy and Euroscepticism, and he is also the author of a textbook on International Relations Theory.