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Introducing British Politics
British Politics
R. Leach , B. Coxall and L. Robins Palgrave, Basingstoke, 2006, 487pp, £20.99
ISBN 1403949220
; Exploring British Politics
M. Garnett and P. Lynch Pearson, Harlow, 2007, 499pp, £22.99
ISBN 058289431
British Politics is the successor to the textbook Contemporary British Politics (which ceded four different editions between 1989 and 2003). Under Robert Leach's stewardship, British Politics keeps many of the characteristics of the old textbook but introduces new features, while also revising and extending material to take account of recent transformations in British politics. Impressively, the book has a companion website which promises to update material within the book every six months.
More generally, this volume makes every effort to be student-friendly, providing copious bullet-point summaries, boxed case studies and highlighted key terms to make the material as digestible as possible. The new text includes the innovative addition of 'key thinker' and 'controversies' boxes that highlight the thoughts of important figures (such as Keynes) and key political controversies (e.g. why voting turnout is falling).
The book comprises three general sections. Part 1 covers 'People and Politics', covering issues such as democracy, postwar British politics, contemporary society and politics, political participation, voting, ideologies, parties pressure groups and media. In general, these chapters provide lucid, clear and commendable introduction to these key contextual issues. Where this book may have an edge on some of its competitors is on its acknowledgement of the range of contrasting academic perspectives on issues such as the continuing...