Aims
This course aims to:
• provide detailed information on each case study
• explain the historical and political context of each incident
• explore the broader issues relating to the unpredictable exigencies of political life
Content
You will be informed as to how and why some of the ideal hopes and plans of political life are sometimes undermined, revised or stalled by the intrusion of actual and unexpected events. Detailed case studies each day will include the death of one politician, the unintended union of two countries, the unwanted elevation to the peerage of a sitting MP, the impact of a campaign of civil disobedience on a Prime Minister, and a ‘cash for honours’ scandal on another. These discussions, while working as vivid self-contained stories, will also combine to illustrate how the challenge for any political figure or group involves not just planning policy but also reacting to sudden incidents and issues, and trying to balance principles with pragmatism.
Presentation of the course
The course will consist of lectures accompanied by PowerPoint presentations.
Course sessions
1. Scotland, Darien and the birth of the UK (1698)
Concerning an attempt at independence that led to its loss.
2. The Murder of Spencer Perceval (1812)
An account of the death of a Prime Minister and its most significant consequences.
3. Herbert Asquith, feminism and a game of golf (1913)
The story of how and why certain women’s suffrage activists targeted the incumbent
Prime Minister.
4. Lloyd George's price list for peerages (1921)
A discussion of one of the most notorious cases of corruption in British political history.
5. The banning of Tony Benn from the Commons (1960)
How the traditional process of the hereditary peerage system challenged an elected MP and led to a change in legislation.
Learning outcomes
You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course.
The learning outcomes for this course are:
• knowledge of certain political events
• a more in-depth understanding of their impact on their particular historical periods
• an appreciation of the complexity of political processes when theory gives way to practice
