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 The
Contemporary
British Politics website
An Internet Guide to Contemporary British Politics This guide includes links to many websites relevant to topics explored in the 4th edition of Contemporary British Politics. There is an enormous quantity of information now available on the Internet. Some of this is more up to date than can be found in any textbook. The latest election results, the most recent government reshuffles, new policy initiatives, current legislation, key speeches and much much more can all be downloaded from the Internet. Government departments and many other governmental institutions, local councils, political parties, and countless pressure groups all have their own websites. There is thus no shortage of information that can be obtained through the Internet. Indeed, you are more likely to find the opposite problem. Surfing the net, looking for the particular details you want, can be time-consuming and sometimes frustrating. Some websites are awkwardly designed, and not easy to find your way around. A more serious problem is that there is no quality control on the Internet, nor is there any obligation for the material presented on websites to be dispassionate and balanced. Party websites of course one would expect to be partisan. Pressure groups advance their own interest or cause, and cannot be expected to provide counter arguments or inconvenient facts. Government departments present initiatives and reforms in a positive light - and some government sites are frankly propagandist. Newspapers have their own political bias, which should be taken into account when checking out material on their websites. Often it is necessary to check other sites to obtain different perspectives. Material may not even always be factually accurate, sometimes because a site has not recently updated and revised. Yet if the Internet is used critically and sceptically it is a fantastic resource for studying contemporary politics, and an invaluable research tool. The website links listed below are grouped under headings for each of the five parts of Coxall (2003) The context of British politics A very full and useful guide to politics web sites has been provided by Richard Kimber of Keele University, www.psr.keele.ac.uk. The Politics Association www.politics-association.org.uk provides a brief list of key Internet links, and a handy listing of the contents of past numbers of its journals Talking Politics and Citizenship. The Political Studies Association has a much fuller website www.psa.ac.uk, which includes useful web links under various heading, although membership is necessary to visit its various journals on line. Social
and economic statistics can be obtained from the Office for National
Statistics, www.ons.gov.uk.
Participating in politics On elections, see the Electoral Commission site, www.electoralcommission.org.uk. Another useful site is the long-established pressure group the Electoral Reform Society www.electoralreform.org.uk. See also relevant material on www.charter88.org.uk. For further information on election sites and UK elections consult Richard Kimber’s political science resources guide listed above. The main British party websites are www.conservative-party.org.uk, www.labour.org.uk and www.libdems.org.uk. You can also consult www.greenparty.org.uk, www.snp.org.uk and the Welsh nationalist party site, www.plaidcymru.org.uk. Just about every significant pressure group now has its own website. Useful sites include those of the Confederation of British Industry, www.cbi.org.uk, the Trades Union Congress, www.tuc.org.uk, the Countryside Alliance, www.countryside-alliance.org, Greenpeace, www.greenpeace.org.uk, Friends of the Earth, www.foe.co.uk, the League Against Cruel Sports, www.league.uk.com, the National Farmers Union, www.nfu.org.uk, the Ramblers’ Association, www.ramblers.org.uk. Important media sources include the BBC www.bbc.co.uk and broadsheet newspapers such as www.guardian.co.uk, www.independent.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk www.timesonline.co.uk www.FT.com
British Government: Westminster and Whitehall There is masses of material available on the Internet on British government institutions. See especially www.cabinet-office.gov.uk, www.number-10.gov.uk and www.ukonline.gov.uk for the organization of central government. Central departments have their own websites of varying quality, such as www.homeoffice.gov.uk and www.fco.gov.uk. There is a very full parliament website, with masses of information on parliamentary institutions and processes as well as current and past legislation www.parliament.uk. For official publications see www.hmso.gov.uk. For constitutional reform see www.charter88.org.uk , www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit, www.hansard.society.org.uk. For the official perspective see www.lcd.gov.uk the old Lord Chancellor’s Department in process of transformation into the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Multi-level governance: government and politics above and below Whitehall and
Westminster The European Union is well served on the Internet. The main site is www.europa.eu.int, with links to specific institutions. The European Parliament website is www.europarl.eu.int. For devolved government see www.devolution.info, and www.scotland.gov.uk for the executive and www.scottish.parliament.uk for Scotland, and www.wales.gov.uk for Wales. To keep up to date on developments in English regional government see the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, www.odpm.gov.uk. For local government consult www.local.gov.uk and the website of the Local Government Association www.lga.gov.uk. Nearly all local councils now have their own websites. On open government and the secret state see the Campaign for Freedom of Information www.cfoi.org.uk. Remarkably, MI5 now has its own official website www.mi5.gov.uk while information on another key institution can be found on www.gchq.gov.uk. Policies and Issues
Useful official websites on economic policy include www.hm-treasury.gov.uk, www.number-10.gov.uk, www.cabinet-office.gov.uk and www.bankofengland.co.uk. Further independent analysis can be gained from think tanks (e.g. www.ippr.org.uk, www.fabian-society.org.uk for a left of centre view, and www.iea.org.uk and www.adamsmith.org.uk for the free market alternative) as well as from the financial press, political parties and relevant pressure groups. Departmental websites for information on key public services include the Department of Health www.iea.org.ukk, the Department for Social Security www.dss.gov.uk Department for Education and Skills www.des.gov.uk and for law and order the Home Office www.homeoffice.gov.uk. The police web site is www.police.uk On the politics of diversity see the official sites for the Equal Opportunities Commission www.eoc.org.uk and for the Commission for Racial Equality www.cre.gov.uk. Pressure groups for gays and lesbians include www.outrage.org.uk and www.stonewall.org.uk. For environmental policy the main official government sites include www.defra.gov.uk (the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and www.transport.gov.uk as well as the Environment Agency www.environment-agency.gov.uk. The main pressure groups www.greenpeace.org.uk and www.foe.co.uk can also be consulted, as well as the website of the radical environmentalist journalist George Monbiot www.monbiot.com For foreign and defence policy the relevant departmental sites are www.fco.gov.uk, and www.mod.gov.uk. See also www.dfid.gov.uk for international development. The websites for international organizations include www.nato.int, www.europa.eu.int and www.un.int (the United Nations).
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