Using recent events in A Level Politics: The EU referendum Part 1

All exam boards require A Level Politics students to use specific examples to prove their points. Textbooks often include some examples, but there have been lots of crucial developments in UK politics since many of the books were written. In this series of posts, I hope to identify recent events relevant to the A Level courses, and identify how they may be of use in exam answers. I hope that the analysis may be of interest to the casual reader too! NB: This series will cover British politics, and therefore will be relevant to AQA Papers 1 and 3, and Edexcel Components 1 and 2. I expect the series to include a variety of events from the past year and current developments.

The EU referendum: What happened?

On 23^rd June 2016, a referendum was held in the UK. Voters were asked whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union (EU), or leave, an option popularly known as ‘Brexit’. The result was a victory for ‘Leave’, 52% voting in favour of Brexit.

How is it relevant to A Level Politics?

Parliamentary sovereignty

AQA paper 1: The government and politics of the UK

• The government of the UK
• The nature and sources of the British constitution

Edexcel component 2: UK government and non-core political ideas

• UK government
• The constitution

Sample question: To what extent can it still be claimed that Parliament is sovereign in the UK?

Sovereignty was a key issue during the referendum campaign. The Leave campaign argued that the UK had lost its sovereignty as a result of EU membership. This is because EU law overrides law made by the UK Parliament. This principle was first established by the Factortame Case in the 1990s. This case was brought by a Spanish fishing company, Factortame, which pointed out that a certain UK law contradicted EU law. The courts ruled in Factortame’s favour, establishing the precedent that, should UK law and EU contradict each other, the UK law should be disapplied. This, argued the Leave campaigners, meant that the UK had lost its sovereignty. There is, however, an argument to suggest that the UK Parliament retained sovereignty. The UK is a member of the EU as a result of the European Communities Act, passed in 1972 by the UK Parliament, so it was a decision by Parliament to place the UK under EU law – the changes to the law, it could be argued, were effected by Parliament, rather than any other body, implying that Parliament is sovereign. Moreover, Parliament retains the power to repeal the European Communities Act, and to withdraw the UK from the EU. This, it could be argued, means that the UK Parliament has retained its sovereignty, as it has the ultimate decision on whether or not EU law applies in the UK. There is a further twist: the referendum itself could have represented a challenge to the sovereignty of Parliament.  Parliament passed an Act that allowed for the referendum to be held, but this Act did not explicitly specify anything about what should happen following the result. Therefore, when ‘Leave’ won, this raised the question: ‘Was the UK bound to follow the outcome of the referendum, and leave the EU?’ If the answer was yes, this would imply that changes to the law in the UK would be effected without the explicit consent of Parliament. This would mean that Parliament is not sovereign. The stage was set for a court battle, which I hope to cover in another post.

The prime minister and presidentialism

AQA paper 1: The government and politics of the UK

• The government of the UK
• The prime minister and cabinet

Edexcel component 2: UK government and non-core political ideas

• UK government
• Prime minister and executive

Sample question: Assess the factors affecting the power of the prime minister.

The referendum shows how a prime minister can be constrained to take a certain course of action as a result of pressure from within his or her party. David Cameron was prime minister at the time of the referendum. Holding the referendum had been a Conservative manifesto pledge at the time of the 2015 General Election. Cameron probably did not want to hold a referendum, as he believed strongly in keeping Britain in the EU. However, a significant proportion of the Tory Party was Eurosceptic (opposed to EU membership). Cameron has since stated that the issue of Europe had been ‘poisoning’ the party for decades. Therefore, in order to heal this rift within the Tory Party, Cameron felt obliged to promise the referendum, against his personal judgment. The referendum could have increased Cameron’s power. In 2015, the Conservatives won a surprise majority in the Commons. This arguably left Tory backbenchers as the main threat to Cameron’s authority. Had the referendum resulted in a victory for ‘Remain’, Cameron would have successfully dealt with the Eurosceptics, the most serious source of opposition within his own party. He would have therefore been left with effective control of his party, the government and Parliament. However, the referendum also had the potential to damage Cameron’s reputation by inviting criticism from his cabinet colleagues. Key ministers, such as Justice Secretary Michael Gove, opposed Cameron’s wish for the UK to remain in the EU. Disagreements with such figures would have made Cameron seem less ‘presidential’, and potentially would have limited his authority, affecting his ability to assert his will over the government. The fact that he campaigned hard in favour of ‘Remain’, and was defeated, fatally damaged Cameron’s authority. He resigned immediately. I will cover the ensuing leadership contest in another post, but it demonstrates how a single event can send a prime minister from a position of considerable power to an abrupt change of career.

The cabinet and ministers

AQA paper 1: The government and politics of the UK

• The government of the UK
• The prime minister and cabinet

Edexcel component 2: UK government and non-core political ideas

• UK government
• Prime minister and executive

Sample question: ‘The formulation of policy is often based on individual ministers’ pursuit of the own interests.’ Discuss.

 The referendum highlights the importance of ministers in shaping policy, and how ministers’ careers can be determined by such events. Various individuals used the campaign to position themselves effectively for promotion and career progression:

• George Osbourne, Cameron’s Chancellor, sided strongly with ‘Remain’, perhaps in the hope that showing loyalty to the prime minister would make him the natural successor. This did not pay off, as when Cameron lost his position, he lost his too.
• Boris Johnson, Mayor of London until 2016 and a key figure in the Tory Party, may have taken on leadership of the ‘Leave’ campaign in order to raise his own profile and to present himself as an ‘anti-establishment’ figure, an alternative to Osbourne when Cameron stepped aside.
• Theresa May, Home Secretary, supported ‘Remain’, but was criticised for doing so half-heartedly. Since the result, she has whole-heartedly pushed for Britain to leave the EU. She may have sided with ‘Remain’ in order to claim credit with Cameron if ‘Remain’ won, but avoided doing so strongly in order to make herself acceptable as a candidate for leadership of the party to Eurosceptic Tories. She thus presented herself as a figure who could unite the fractured Tory Party when ‘Leave’ won. This proved to have been a shrewd move, as she swept to leadership of the party.