By no means is this supposed to be exhaustive!
1. Election reform - democracy was enhanced, or perhaps even undermined by the Police and Crime Commissioners' election back in November; results can be found on the previous link (Conservative and Labour dominated, but there were 12 wins for Independents). Further analysis here; the primary concern was the very low turnout (on average under 15% across the UK).
2. The PCC election used the Supplementary Vote system.
3. Good examples of current Pressure Groups:
- Outsiders "Hacked off" campaign for a regulated press in response to the Levinson Inquiry last year. It has an e-petition which currently stands at 147,000 names.
- In September the Hillsborough Justice Campaign successfully get the government to release documents about the Hillsborough Disaster of 1989.
- In early January, an organisation, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, release a report into wasted food - it looks as though it supports calls by a variety of Pressure Groups (Feed the 5000 and Sustainable Restaurants Association) to change the way food is produced and traded.
4. Mandate / Manifesto: Unusually for a Government the Coalition has released an audit of its successes and failures over the course of its 2.5 years in office. BBC analysis can be found here. Useful when discussing political parties and the issue of legitimacy / mandate and manifesto. Don't forget that no-one actually voted for the Coalition agreement, which was hammered out between the parties after the election.
Good luck everyone!
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