ACTUAL 2025 AQA A-LEVEL POLITICS Paper 1 Government and Politics of the UK Question
Paper & Mark Scheme (Merged)
Tuesday 20 May 2025 [VERIFIED]
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Section A – Short Questions
Answer questions 1, 2 and 3.
0 1 Explain and analyse three ways in which UK membership of the EU has had an impact upon
UK politics and policy making.
[9 marks]
0 2 Explain and analyse three powers of the UK prime minister.
[9 marks]
0 3 Explain and analyse three ways in which judicial impartiality is upheld in the UK.
[9 marks]
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Section B – Extract Question
Read the extracts below and answer question 4 that follows.
The effects of First Past the Post upon the party system in the UK Extract 1
How the Electoral System Worked in 2019
Recently, Britain’s single-member plurality electoral system has not been living up to its traditional
billing. In both 2010 and 2017, the election produced a hung parliament. Although the 2015 contest
did produce an overall majority, it was relatively small.
A small party whose vote is much the same from one constituency to another will, inevitably, tend to
be a loser more or less everywhere. On the other hand, a small party whose vote is geographically
concentrated may be relatively strong – and thus capable of winning – in some seats. The 2019
election proved to be the third in a row in which the outcome in Scotland departed radically from that
in the rest of Britain, with its representation dominated by a party other than the Conservatives or
Labour. In that respect, Scotland is now much like Northern Ireland, where parliamentary
representation has been dominated by small parties ever since the early 1970s.
Extract from Parliamentary Affairs, September 2020, by John Curtice, Professor of Politics at
Strathclyde University. Parliamentary Affairs is an academic journal.
Extract 2
The 2019 Election – Voters Left Voiceless
In 2019, the electoral system did what it is supposed to do in manufacturing a majority for one party at
the expense of voters’ choices, the largest for the Conservatives since 1987. This is an extraordinary
shift given the previous election had seen the Prime Minister lose her majority on a similar vote share.
A quarter of votes went to parties other than the largest two, but they returned less than 13 percent of
seats. Our analysis shows that across the UK, over 22 million votes (70.8%) were ignored because they
went to non-elected candidates or were surplus to what the elected candidate needed. First Past the
Post is brutal in denying millions of voters any representation at all.
Extract taken from the Electoral Reform Society, March 2020. The Electoral Reform Society is an
independent organisation campaigning for democratic rights.
0 4 Analyse, evaluate and compare the arguments in the above extracts regarding the effects
of First Past the Post upon the party system in the UK.
[25 marks]
Turn over for Section C
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Section C – Essay Question
Answer either question 5 or question 6.
In your answer you should draw on material from across the whole range of your course of study in
Politics.
Either
0 5 ‘Constitutional changes since 1997 have enhanced democracy in the UK.’ Analyse and evaluate
this statement.
[25 marks]
or
0 6 ‘The most important role of MPs in the House of Commons is to support their parties, not to
exercise their personal judgements.’ Analyse and evaluate this statement.
[25 marks]
END OF QUESTIONS
for more: tyrionpapers.com
IB/G/Jun25/7152/1
Paper & Mark Scheme (Merged)
Tuesday 20 May 2025 [VERIFIED]
for more: 7152/1
tyrionpapers.com
IB/G/Jun25/G4
004/E7
, 2
Section A – Short Questions
Answer questions 1, 2 and 3.
0 1 Explain and analyse three ways in which UK membership of the EU has had an impact upon
UK politics and policy making.
[9 marks]
0 2 Explain and analyse three powers of the UK prime minister.
[9 marks]
0 3 Explain and analyse three ways in which judicial impartiality is upheld in the UK.
[9 marks]
for more: tyrionpapers.com
IB/G/Jun25/7152/1
, 3
Section B – Extract Question
Read the extracts below and answer question 4 that follows.
The effects of First Past the Post upon the party system in the UK Extract 1
How the Electoral System Worked in 2019
Recently, Britain’s single-member plurality electoral system has not been living up to its traditional
billing. In both 2010 and 2017, the election produced a hung parliament. Although the 2015 contest
did produce an overall majority, it was relatively small.
A small party whose vote is much the same from one constituency to another will, inevitably, tend to
be a loser more or less everywhere. On the other hand, a small party whose vote is geographically
concentrated may be relatively strong – and thus capable of winning – in some seats. The 2019
election proved to be the third in a row in which the outcome in Scotland departed radically from that
in the rest of Britain, with its representation dominated by a party other than the Conservatives or
Labour. In that respect, Scotland is now much like Northern Ireland, where parliamentary
representation has been dominated by small parties ever since the early 1970s.
Extract from Parliamentary Affairs, September 2020, by John Curtice, Professor of Politics at
Strathclyde University. Parliamentary Affairs is an academic journal.
Extract 2
The 2019 Election – Voters Left Voiceless
In 2019, the electoral system did what it is supposed to do in manufacturing a majority for one party at
the expense of voters’ choices, the largest for the Conservatives since 1987. This is an extraordinary
shift given the previous election had seen the Prime Minister lose her majority on a similar vote share.
A quarter of votes went to parties other than the largest two, but they returned less than 13 percent of
seats. Our analysis shows that across the UK, over 22 million votes (70.8%) were ignored because they
went to non-elected candidates or were surplus to what the elected candidate needed. First Past the
Post is brutal in denying millions of voters any representation at all.
Extract taken from the Electoral Reform Society, March 2020. The Electoral Reform Society is an
independent organisation campaigning for democratic rights.
0 4 Analyse, evaluate and compare the arguments in the above extracts regarding the effects
of First Past the Post upon the party system in the UK.
[25 marks]
Turn over for Section C
for more: tyrionpapers.com Turn over ►
IB/G/Jun25/7152/1
, 4
Section C – Essay Question
Answer either question 5 or question 6.
In your answer you should draw on material from across the whole range of your course of study in
Politics.
Either
0 5 ‘Constitutional changes since 1997 have enhanced democracy in the UK.’ Analyse and evaluate
this statement.
[25 marks]
or
0 6 ‘The most important role of MPs in the House of Commons is to support their parties, not to
exercise their personal judgements.’ Analyse and evaluate this statement.
[25 marks]
END OF QUESTIONS
for more: tyrionpapers.com
IB/G/Jun25/7152/1
