Key term
Edexcel A-Level Politics 9PL0
Democracy and Participation
Political Parties
Electoral Systems
Voting Behaviour and the Media
Liberalism
Conservatism
Socialism
The Constitution
Parliament
The Prime Minister and the Executive
Relations Between the Branches
AnarchismNon-core
EcologismNon-core
FeminismNon-core
MulticulturalismNon-core
NationalismNon-core
The US Constitution and FederalismUSA
US CongressUSA
Topic overviewThe structure of Congress and congressional electionsThe distribution of powers within CongressRepresentation: incumbency and influences on how members voteThe legislative process and gridlockOversight and relations with the presidencyChecks on the other branches, and debates about Congress
The US PresidencyUSA
The US Supreme Court and Civil RightsUSA
Topic overviewThe living Constitution and originalismJudicial review, appointments and the current CourtJudicial activism, restraint and public policyHow effectively the Supreme Court protects rightsThe limits of Supreme Court rights protectionAffirmative action: successes and failuresRacial rights campaigns, voting rights and representationImmigration reform and equality
US Democracy and ParticipationUSA
Comparative Theories and the UK-US ComparisonUSA
Topic overviewComparing the UK and US legislatures: structure and powersComparing the UK and US legislatures: strengths and approachesComparing the executives: powers and selectionComparing the executives: accountability and approachesComparing the Supreme Courts: powers and appointmentsComparing rights protection and interest group litigationComparing party systems and party ideasComparing campaign finance and pressure groupsApplying the three approaches to democracy and participationComparative theories: rational, cultural and structuralComparing the UK and US constitutions
The State and GlobalisationGlobal
Global Governance: Political and EconomicGlobal
Global Governance: Human Rights and EnvironmentalGlobal
Topic overviewInternational law and human rights institutionsHumanitarian intervention and the Responsibility to ProtectEnvironmental governance: the UNFCCC and the IPCCThe effectiveness of international law and international courtsDeep and shallow green ecology and the tragedy of the commonsInternational environmental agreements from Rio to ParisGlobal civil society and NGOs
Power and DevelopmentsGlobal
Topic overviewDifferent types of power: hard, soft and structuralGreat powers, superpowers and emerging powersPolarity and the changing world orderSystems of government and their consequences for global orderThe development and spread of liberal economies, the rule of law and democracyHow power and developments address contemporary global issues
Regionalism and the European UnionGlobal
Topic overviewRegionalism: forms and growthRegionalism, sovereignty and levels of integrationNAFTA, the USMCA and the African UnionThe Arab League and ASEANThe treaties that built the European UnionEU institutions and enlargementEconomic and Monetary Union and the euroSupranationalism, intergovernmentalism and the drivers of integrationThe EU's political and economic influenceThe EU's military influence and normative powerHow regionalism addresses conflict, poverty and rightsThe limits of regionalism in resolving global issues
Global Comparative TheoriesGlobal
Political Parties
- 4 subtopics
- 12 things to know
- Component 1
What Political Parties covers
Covers what parties are for and how they are paid for, the ideas and internal divisions of the established parties, the smaller parties that shape policy without governing, and whether the UK still has a two-party system.
Where it is assessed
Component 1
UK Politics and Core Political Ideas.
Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗The 4 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Political parties and their fundingRecall questions on the functions of a party, where party money comes from, the case for state funding, and the rules that govern donations.Open →
- Established political partiesRecall questions on the origins of the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, New Labour and Clause IV, each party’s traditional policy profile, the Liberal Democrats in coalition and in their 2024 manifesto, and the welfare and foreign policies of Starmer’s Labour and Badenoch’s Conservatives.Open →
- Emerging and minor political partiesRecall questions on why minor parties have grown in importance, what counts as a minor party, the aims of the Greens and the SNP, why Plaid Cymru has won less than the SNP, how UKIP changed policy without power, and minor parties in the devolved legislatures and under first past the post.Open →
- Party systems and parties in contextRecall questions on two-party and multi-party systems, the party system at Westminster and in the devolved bodies, the factors that decide internal party unity, and the divisions within the Conservative and Labour parties.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Why does the electoral system limit minor parties at Westminster?
Key term
Why are political parties sometimes said to be in decline?
Key term
What is meant by a party's policy profile?
Key term
Give an example of how the Conservative Party has shifted from its traditional policy profile.
Process
Name three parties that hold significant power in UK devolved assemblies.
Evaluation
How does the strength of party whips affect internal party unity?
Key term
What are the main functions of political parties in a representative democracy?
Key term
What is meant by a party’s role in "making government accountable"?
Key term
Name the three established UK parties the spec requires you to study.
Numbers
Why have minor and emerging parties become more important in the UK?
Key term
What defines a multi-party system?
Take Political Parties further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Left wing vs Right wing
Left wing: priority given to equality and collective provision. Right wing: priority given to hierarchy, markets, and individual responsibility.
One-nation conservatism vs New Right
One-nation conservatism: paternalistic acceptance of social obligations. New Right: free-market economics combined with social authority.
Clause IV vs Third Way
Clause IV: historic commitment to common ownership. Third Way: revision combining social justice with market economics.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What are the main functions of political parties in a representative democracy?
Model answer
Representation, participation and recruitment of politicians, formulating policy and offering choice, forming government or opposition, and educating and mobilising the electorate.
- 2
How do parties provide representation?
Model answer
They aggregate diverse individual interests into broad programmes, giving voters organised options that represent sections of society and opinion.
- 3
How do parties help recruit and train political leaders?
Model answer
They select candidates, develop members through party structures, and provide the pool from which ministers and leaders are drawn.
- 4
What is meant by a party’s role in "making government accountable"?
Model answer
The governing party can be held responsible for its record at elections, while opposition parties scrutinise and offer an alternative government.
- 5
Why are political parties sometimes said to be in decline?
Model answer
Falling membership, weaker partisan loyalty and the rise of single-issue pressure groups and social media have reduced parties’ traditional dominance of participation.
- 6
What is campaign finance?
Model answer
The money raised and spent by political parties and candidates to fund electoral campaigns, including advertising, staffing, and events.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Political Parties revision questions
- What does Political Parties cover in Edexcel A-Level Politics?
- 4 subtopics: political parties and their funding, established political parties, emerging and minor political parties and party systems and parties in context. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Political Parties organised?
- By the Edexcel 9PL0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Political Parties, on a schedule.
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