British government and politics: a comparative guide

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.