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This recent example pack for the UK Politics section of Edexcel A Level Politics
includes key recent examples/knowledge updates you can use in the summer 2026
exams! Once purchased, the example pack will update automatically in your account
with new examples every week, all the way up until the exams.
Though these recent examples will be very useful in the exam, it is also important to
recognise that you shouldn’t just use examples from the past year. Having a range of
examples is important to do well and you should always pick the example that best
supports and demonstrates your point. Often this will be from a previous Prime
Minister, Parliament, election or period of time.
Making this document took a lot of time and it should only be used by the student that
purchased it on the Politics Explained website. Please don’t share it around.
Democracy and Participation 2
Debates Over Suffrage 2
Direct and Representative Democracy 2
Participation Crisis 4
Pressure Groups 5
Rights In Context 7
Political Parties 10
Party Funding 10
The Labour Party 11
The Conservative Party 15
Comparing Major Party Policy 15
Minor Parties 16
Party Systems 18
Electoral Systems 22
First Past The Post 22
Supplementary Vote 22
The Impact Of Electoral Systems 23
Voting Behaviour and the Media 23
The Media 23
Follow Politics Explained For More Help With Your Politics A-Level 25
,2026 Local And Devolved Elections Explainer:
● On 7 May 2026, local elections took place in England, and Parliamentary elections
took place in Scotland and Welsh devolved bodies.
English Local Elections:
● In England, Reform UK and the Green Party made major gains, while Labour and the
Conservatives suffered heavy losses.
○ Reform won +1451 councilors.
○ Labour lost -1498 councilors.
○ The Conservatives lost -563.
○ The Greens Party gained +441 councilors.
○ The Liberal Democrats gained +155 councilors.
● Under the leadership of Nigel Farage, Reform gained control of 14 councils for the
first time, including Sunderland, Gateshead and Essex. The Greens gained control of
their first councils and won the directly elected mayoralty in Hackney.
Scottish Devolved Elections:
● In Scotland, the SNP remained the largest party, winning 58 seats but falling short of
an outright majority (65 seats).
● Reform rose to second place winning 17 seats, and the Greens achieved their best
ever result with 15 seats, including their first constituency wins.
○ Labour and the Conservatives recorded their worst Scottish Parliament
performances, with Labour’s seat share falling for the sixth election in a row.
Welsh Devolved Elections:
● The 2026 election in the Senedd was the first to use the new party-list proportional
representation. Plaid Cymru became the largest party with 43 seats, and Reform UK
secured second place with 34 seats, ending a century of Labour dominance.
○ Welsh Labour fell to third place winning just 9 seats, losing government and
its status as the largest party for the first time since devolution began in 1999.
■ The Conservatives won just 7 seats, losing 22 and coming fourth.
Turnout:
● Turnout in the 2026 Senedd election was 51.6% (up from 46.6% in 2021), rising
above 50% for the first time in a devolved Welsh election.
○ This shows that devolution can be seen as a success, as it has engaged
voters with local democracy.
● However, voter turnout for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election fell to 53.2%, a
significant decrease of 10.1% from the record 63.5% in the 2021 election.
○ This suggests widespread voter apathy and that many people have lost
confidence in devolved institutions. This raises concerns that devolved
governments with increasing powers lack popular support, creating a
democratic deficit.
● In England, turnout increased significantly in several councils, showing that voters
are still willing to participate when they feel change is possible.
○ In Hackney, the Green Party won a historic landslide, taking control of the
council and the elected mayor from Labour for the first time, winning 42 of 57
, seats. Turnout was 40.98%, the highest for a mayoral contest since 2010 and
up from the 31% turnout recorded at the 2025 local elections.
○ In Sunderland, Reform UK gained control of the council from Labour, winning
58/75 seats. Voter turnout rose to 40.5%, considerably higher than the 30%
turnout recorded during the area's last election in 2024.
■ Local election turnout in England is historically low (around 35%),
however these increases suggest that low participation stems from
frustration with traditional parties, and the rise of challengers can
motivate voters.
Scottish Parliament:
● The election was held under the Additional Member System, where voters cast two
ballots: one for a local constituency representative (73 seats) and one for a regional
party list (56 seats), ensuring overall seats more closely reflect the popular vote.
○ The SNP won 38% of the vote and 58 constituency seats, so received no
regional top-up seats, bringing their final seat share to 45%, more closely
aligned with their vote.
○ Reform UK won 15.8% of the vote but no constituency seats, so received 17
regional top-up seats, bringing their seat share to 13.2%
● The results also show how AMS allows voters to “split ticket”. The Green Party won
just 2.3% of the constituency vote, but 14% of the proportional regional vote,
demonstrating how PR systems encourage voters to support minor parties. .
○ This also shows how proportional electoral systems lead to greater party
fragmentation, as no party has a majority and all parties other than the SNP
have fewer than 20 seats.
Welsh Parliament:
● As no party won an overall majority, Plaid Cymru formed a minority government
rather than a formal coalition. Instead, the plan to govern with only Plaid ministers,
relying on informal cooperation and abstensions from other parties to pass legislation
and budgets.
○ This highlights a key weakness of proportional systems, as they often lead to
no party securing an overall majority and minority governments who struggle
to get consistent legislative support.
■ As Plaid hold only 43 out of 96 seats, the government must negotiate
with other parties on every bill, including the annual budget, since
opposition parties can combine to defeat government motions.
● For the 2026 Senedd election, Wales moved to a fully proportional closed-list system.
It is divided into 16 constituencies, each electing 6 members. Parties submit a ranked
list of candidates for each area.
○ Voters cannot pick specific individuals, instead voting for the party, and seats
are filled according to order on each party’s list.
● Seats are allocated based on the D’Hondt Formula based on each party’s share of
the vote.
○ Plaid Cymru won 35% of the vote and 45% of seats
○ Reform won 29% of the vote and 35% of seats
○ Labour won 11% of votes and 9% of seats
This recent example pack for the UK Politics section of Edexcel A Level Politics
includes key recent examples/knowledge updates you can use in the summer 2026
exams! Once purchased, the example pack will update automatically in your account
with new examples every week, all the way up until the exams.
Though these recent examples will be very useful in the exam, it is also important to
recognise that you shouldn’t just use examples from the past year. Having a range of
examples is important to do well and you should always pick the example that best
supports and demonstrates your point. Often this will be from a previous Prime
Minister, Parliament, election or period of time.
Making this document took a lot of time and it should only be used by the student that
purchased it on the Politics Explained website. Please don’t share it around.
Democracy and Participation 2
Debates Over Suffrage 2
Direct and Representative Democracy 2
Participation Crisis 4
Pressure Groups 5
Rights In Context 7
Political Parties 10
Party Funding 10
The Labour Party 11
The Conservative Party 15
Comparing Major Party Policy 15
Minor Parties 16
Party Systems 18
Electoral Systems 22
First Past The Post 22
Supplementary Vote 22
The Impact Of Electoral Systems 23
Voting Behaviour and the Media 23
The Media 23
Follow Politics Explained For More Help With Your Politics A-Level 25
,2026 Local And Devolved Elections Explainer:
● On 7 May 2026, local elections took place in England, and Parliamentary elections
took place in Scotland and Welsh devolved bodies.
English Local Elections:
● In England, Reform UK and the Green Party made major gains, while Labour and the
Conservatives suffered heavy losses.
○ Reform won +1451 councilors.
○ Labour lost -1498 councilors.
○ The Conservatives lost -563.
○ The Greens Party gained +441 councilors.
○ The Liberal Democrats gained +155 councilors.
● Under the leadership of Nigel Farage, Reform gained control of 14 councils for the
first time, including Sunderland, Gateshead and Essex. The Greens gained control of
their first councils and won the directly elected mayoralty in Hackney.
Scottish Devolved Elections:
● In Scotland, the SNP remained the largest party, winning 58 seats but falling short of
an outright majority (65 seats).
● Reform rose to second place winning 17 seats, and the Greens achieved their best
ever result with 15 seats, including their first constituency wins.
○ Labour and the Conservatives recorded their worst Scottish Parliament
performances, with Labour’s seat share falling for the sixth election in a row.
Welsh Devolved Elections:
● The 2026 election in the Senedd was the first to use the new party-list proportional
representation. Plaid Cymru became the largest party with 43 seats, and Reform UK
secured second place with 34 seats, ending a century of Labour dominance.
○ Welsh Labour fell to third place winning just 9 seats, losing government and
its status as the largest party for the first time since devolution began in 1999.
■ The Conservatives won just 7 seats, losing 22 and coming fourth.
Turnout:
● Turnout in the 2026 Senedd election was 51.6% (up from 46.6% in 2021), rising
above 50% for the first time in a devolved Welsh election.
○ This shows that devolution can be seen as a success, as it has engaged
voters with local democracy.
● However, voter turnout for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election fell to 53.2%, a
significant decrease of 10.1% from the record 63.5% in the 2021 election.
○ This suggests widespread voter apathy and that many people have lost
confidence in devolved institutions. This raises concerns that devolved
governments with increasing powers lack popular support, creating a
democratic deficit.
● In England, turnout increased significantly in several councils, showing that voters
are still willing to participate when they feel change is possible.
○ In Hackney, the Green Party won a historic landslide, taking control of the
council and the elected mayor from Labour for the first time, winning 42 of 57
, seats. Turnout was 40.98%, the highest for a mayoral contest since 2010 and
up from the 31% turnout recorded at the 2025 local elections.
○ In Sunderland, Reform UK gained control of the council from Labour, winning
58/75 seats. Voter turnout rose to 40.5%, considerably higher than the 30%
turnout recorded during the area's last election in 2024.
■ Local election turnout in England is historically low (around 35%),
however these increases suggest that low participation stems from
frustration with traditional parties, and the rise of challengers can
motivate voters.
Scottish Parliament:
● The election was held under the Additional Member System, where voters cast two
ballots: one for a local constituency representative (73 seats) and one for a regional
party list (56 seats), ensuring overall seats more closely reflect the popular vote.
○ The SNP won 38% of the vote and 58 constituency seats, so received no
regional top-up seats, bringing their final seat share to 45%, more closely
aligned with their vote.
○ Reform UK won 15.8% of the vote but no constituency seats, so received 17
regional top-up seats, bringing their seat share to 13.2%
● The results also show how AMS allows voters to “split ticket”. The Green Party won
just 2.3% of the constituency vote, but 14% of the proportional regional vote,
demonstrating how PR systems encourage voters to support minor parties. .
○ This also shows how proportional electoral systems lead to greater party
fragmentation, as no party has a majority and all parties other than the SNP
have fewer than 20 seats.
Welsh Parliament:
● As no party won an overall majority, Plaid Cymru formed a minority government
rather than a formal coalition. Instead, the plan to govern with only Plaid ministers,
relying on informal cooperation and abstensions from other parties to pass legislation
and budgets.
○ This highlights a key weakness of proportional systems, as they often lead to
no party securing an overall majority and minority governments who struggle
to get consistent legislative support.
■ As Plaid hold only 43 out of 96 seats, the government must negotiate
with other parties on every bill, including the annual budget, since
opposition parties can combine to defeat government motions.
● For the 2026 Senedd election, Wales moved to a fully proportional closed-list system.
It is divided into 16 constituencies, each electing 6 members. Parties submit a ranked
list of candidates for each area.
○ Voters cannot pick specific individuals, instead voting for the party, and seats
are filled according to order on each party’s list.
● Seats are allocated based on the D’Hondt Formula based on each party’s share of
the vote.
○ Plaid Cymru won 35% of the vote and 45% of seats
○ Reform won 29% of the vote and 35% of seats
○ Labour won 11% of votes and 9% of seats
