Evaluation
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
Relations Between the Branches
- 4 subtopics
- 12 things to know
- Component 2
What Relations Between the Branches covers
Covers how the courts, Parliament and the executive check one another: the Supreme Court and judicial review, executive dominance of the Commons, the effect of EU membership and its ending, and where sovereignty now sits.
Where it is assessed
Component 2
UK Government, sat by everyone.
Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗The 4 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- The Supreme Court, judicial independence and judicial reviewRecall questions on the creation of the Supreme Court, what judicial independence and neutrality require, judicial review, ultra vires and declarations of incompatibility.Open →
- Parliament and executive dominanceRecall questions on question time, select committees, the whip system, the elective dictatorship thesis and what a small majority changes.Open →
- The European Union and its impact on the UKRecall questions on the aims of the EU, how membership affected parliamentary sovereignty and the courts, and what has replaced EU law since withdrawal.Open →
- The location of sovereignty in the UKRecall questions on legal and political sovereignty, the three parts of the sovereignty doctrine, and how devolution, referendums and the Miller cases have changed the picture.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
What has replaced EU law in the UK since withdrawal?
Process
How does judicial review enable the Supreme Court to constrain government power?
Key term
Why can't the Supreme Court strike down Acts of Parliament, and what can it do instead?
Evaluation
What does the term 'elective dictatorship' describe?
Key term
In which policy areas can the UK Parliament now legislate freely following Brexit?
Key term
How can legal sovereignty and political sovereignty diverge in the UK?
Key term
What does the principle that Parliament can make or unmake any law mean?
Numbers
How many justices sit on the Supreme Court?
Process
Besides PMQs and select committees, what other mechanisms allow Parliament to hold the Executive to account?
Numbers
What is the European Union and what is the UK's historical relationship with it?
Key term
What is legal sovereignty?
Take Relations Between the Branches further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Judicial independence vs Judicial neutrality
Judicial independence: the freedom of judges from political pressure, secured by tenure and guaranteed salaries. Judicial neutrality: the duty of judges to set their own opinions aside and decide only on the law.
An ultra vires ruling vs A declaration of incompatibility
An ultra vires ruling: a finding that a public body acted beyond the powers it was granted, quashing the action. A declaration of incompatibility: a finding that a statute conflicts with Convention rights, which leaves the statute in force.
Legal sovereignty vs Political sovereignty
Legal sovereignty: the formal authority to make law, which in the UK rests with Parliament. Political sovereignty: the real power to decide outcomes, which rests with the electorate and the executive.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is the Supreme Court's role in the UK judicial system?
Model answer
It is the highest court of appeal in the UK for civil cases and for criminal cases from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- 2
When was the Supreme Court established and what did it replace?
Model answer
It was established in 2009, replacing the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords as the highest court.
- 3
How many justices sit on the Supreme Court?
Model answer
12 justices, including a President and Deputy President.
- 4
How are Supreme Court justices appointed, and why is this method used?
Model answer
They are appointed by an independent selection commission, not by politicians, to protect judicial independence.
- 5
What does judicial neutrality mean?
Model answer
Judges must decide cases impartially, without political bias or personal prejudice, based solely on legal principles and evidence.
- 6
What does judicial independence mean?
Model answer
The judiciary must be free from interference or pressure from the executive and legislature when making decisions.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Relations Between the Branches revision questions
- What does Relations Between the Branches cover in Edexcel A-Level Politics?
- 4 subtopics: the supreme court, judicial independence and judicial review, parliament and executive dominance, the european union and its impact on the uk and the location of sovereignty in the uk. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Relations Between the Branches organised?
- By the Edexcel 9PL0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Relations Between the Branches, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.