The importance of A Level Politics

September 14, 2019

• A Levels
• / Topical

As the government attempts to pass its Brexit legislation, political conversation becomes deluged with jargon relating to the Parliamentary process. There have been amendments during ‘the report stage’, there has been controversy over ‘whips’ and ‘pairing’ and the Commons and the Lords seem to be stuck in a game of Parliamentary ‘ping-pong’. The need to understand these sorts of terms merely adds to the difficulty of understanding the Brexit process. However, for anyone wanting to understand what is happening in Parliament, the solution is simple: study A Level politics (or at least find someone who has studied it and ask them a lot of annoying questions).

Studying A Level politics equips students with knowledge of the UK’s Parliamentary system. It allows them to understand that the ‘report stage’ is the fourth stage of the legislative process, which is followed by the third reading. A student of A Level politics could also tell you that ‘whips’ are the MPs who try to make sure that other MPs vote as their leaders want them to; and that pairing is an agreement between the government and opposition parties which ensures that if an MP is unable to make a vote (if they have just had a baby, for example) an MP from the opposing party will miss the vote too. A Level politics students will also know that Parliamentary ‘ping-pong’ occurs when the Lords and Commons send bills between each other because they are unable to find agreement on whether a law should be passed in a particular form.

Of course, the A Level politics curriculum goes into much greater detail about Parliamentary process than an explanation of the terms above. For many students, this detail will be important and it could play in an important part in their degree and future career. For other students, namely those who do not pursue politics after their A-Levels, this much greater level of detail may not be needed in the future. This is why A Level politics is such an important qualification. Yes, it may inspire future MPs, civil servants and journalists, but it also equips lots of people with the knowledge they require to navigate and understand the politics and affairs of the country in which they live, pay taxes and vote. In our education system, there are few chances for students to acquire such knowledge. A Level politics is a welcome exception to this and the importance we place upon it should reflect its fairly unique position.