Politics in Action video interviews
Accompanying this textbook is a series of video interviews with key figures in the field, who offer their thoughts on a number of important issues. Bringing politics to life, these videos invite you to expand your learning beyond this textbook.
Each interview maps onto a Part of the textbook, picking up on some key questions and ideas that are examined in the relevant chapters of the book.
Part 1: From Past to Present
Emily Robinson
Emily Robinson is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Sussex and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Her publications include The Language of Progressive Politics in Modern Britain (Palgrave, 2017) and History, Heritage and Tradition in Contemporary British Politics (Manchester University Press, 2012).
Over 4 videos, Emily talks about the following topics:
- why the study of history is important to understand politics
- the idea of consensus after World War Two
- what made Thatcherism so distinctive
- how New Labour marked a departure from the Conservatism of Thatcher and how it's viewed looking back today
Part 2: Government and Governance
Catherine Haddon
Dr Catherine Haddon is the Institute for Government’s resident historian. She joined in November 2008 from academia and leads the Institute’s work on the history of government and civil service, general elections, changes of government, constitutional issues and government reform. She often features as a commentator on radio and TV.
Over 4 videos Cath discusses the following areas:
- what life is like working at the Institute for Government
- what is meant by 'the Westminster model'
- the balance of power in the legislative and executive
- different levels of governance
Part 3: People and Politics
Rosie Campbell
Professor Rosie Campbell is a Professor of Politics at Birkbeck University of London. She is the principle investigator of the ESRC funded Representative Audit of Britain, looking at the 2015 and 2017 British General Elections, and co-investigator of a Leverhulme funded study of British parliamentary candidates and MPs from 1945–2015. Rosie has presented four episodes of Radio 4’s Analysis programme on British politics.
The videos with Rosie touch on the following points:
- her experience observing, studying and working around the area of British politics
- the current state of the electoral system
- how representative British politics is of society, and the idea of engagement and participation
Part 4: Politics and Policy-making
Patrick Diamond
Dr Patrick Diamond has held positions at the University of Manchester, and Nuffield College,
Oxford and is currently Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Queen Mary, University of London. He was a local councillor in the London Borough of Southwark and Chair of the thinktank Policy Network. Patrick held a number of senior posts in British central government between 2000 and 2010, and was formally Head of Policy Planning in 10 Downing Street. He comments regularly on national media outlets.
Patrick shares his views on the three topics below:
- what a special advisor does
- where new policies come from and how changes to the Westminster model have changed policy-making
- how policies are implemented effectively (or not)
