Edexcel A-Level Politics | Paper 2 | 2027 Predicted Paper
2027 Predicted Paper 2
UK Government and Non-core Political Ideas
Paper reference: 9PL0/02
Time: 2 hours
Total marks: 84
Instructions
There are two sections and you must answer three questions.
In Section A, answer either Question 1(a) or 1(b) and then either Question 2(a) or 2(b).
In Section B, answer either (a) or (b) from the one non-core political idea you have studied.
The marks for each question are shown in brackets.
SOURCE BOOKLET
Paper 2: UK Government and Non-core Political Ideas
Source 1(a)
Ministerial responsibility and accountability
The conventions of individual and collective ministerial responsibility remain important features of the UK executive. Individual ministerial responsibility provides a means by which ministers can be held accountable for their own conduct and for the work of the government departments for which they are responsible. Ministers are part of an executive that proposes legislation, develops policy and manages government departments. Requiring ministers to account for their actions therefore helps connect executive power with political responsibility.
Collective ministerial responsibility can also strengthen accountability. Cabinet ministers are expected to support agreed government policy publicly. This means that the executive presents a clear and united position for which the government as a whole can be held responsible. A minister who is unable to support the collective position faces a conflict between remaining in government and publicly opposing government policy. Collective responsibility can therefore promote coherence and make it clearer which policies belong to the government.
However, there are reasons to question how effectively these conventions hold ministers to account. Ministerial responsibility is a constitutional convention rather than statute law, so its operation depends on political practice rather than an automatic legal sanction. Individual responsibility does not mean that every problem within a large government department must result in the departure of the minister responsible. Accountability may involve explaining decisions and defending departmental performance rather than necessarily losing office.
Collective responsibility can also limit open disagreement within the executive. Public unity may make it harder to identify differences between Cabinet ministers and can strengthen the position of the Prime Minister and the collective government rather than Parliament. The Prime Minister's influence over the selection of ministers also affects the relationship between individual ministers, Cabinet and the head of government.
Ministerial responsibility therefore creates important expectations about accountability, but its effectiveness depends on whether political conventions provide a sufficiently strong restraint on those who exercise executive power.
Source 1(b)
Parliament and the legislative process
Parliament plays an essential part in turning proposals into law. A bill must pass through a series of stages before it can become law, giving parliamentarians opportunities to debate, scrutinise and amend proposed legislation. Both the House of Commons and House of Lords take part in the legislative process, so legislation may be examined more than once and from different perspectives.
This gives Parliament significant influence. Members of both Houses can scrutinise the content of bills, while interaction between the Commons and Lords can result in proposed legislation being reconsidered. The House of Lords can perform an important revising role, while the House of Commons possesses particular authority because of its elected status and exclusive powers. Public bill committees can also contribute to parliamentary examination of legislation.
There are, however, important limits to Parliament's influence over law making. The executive possesses the power to initiate legislation, and proposing legislation is one of its major roles. A government able to maintain sufficient support in the Commons is therefore in a strong position to turn its programme into statute law. Parliament may scrutinise government proposals without being able to replace the executive as the main source of legislative initiative.
The relationship between the two Houses also limits the ability of the Lords to block the will of the elected Commons indefinitely. The Salisbury Convention further affects the relationship between the Houses during the passage of government legislation. The Lords may revise and scrutinise legislation, but its unelected character places political limits on its ability to frustrate measures associated with an elected government's programme.
Executive power also extends beyond the initiation of primary legislation. Secondary legislation allows ministers to make more detailed legal provisions using powers granted through existing legislation. This can increase the executive's role in making law even though Parliament remains constitutionally central to the legislative process.
Parliament therefore possesses important opportunities to debate, amend and revise legislation, but the executive retains significant advantages in initiating legislation and directing the government's policy programme.
SECTION A
UK Government
Answer ONE question from Question 1(a) OR Question 1(b) and then answer ONE question from Question 2(a) OR Question 2(b).
Question 1
EITHER
Look at Source 1(a) in the Source Booklet.
Question 01(a)
Using the source, evaluate the view that the conventions of ministerial responsibility remain effective in holding government ministers to account.
In your response you must:
compare and contrast the different opinions in the source
examine and debate these views in a balanced way
analyse and evaluate only the political information presented in the source.
(30 Marks)
OR
Look at Source 1(b) in the Source Booklet.
Question 01(b)
Using the source, evaluate the view that Parliament has sufficient influence over the process of making laws.
In your response you must:
compare and contrast the different opinions in the source
examine and debate these views in a balanced way
analyse and evaluate only the political information presented in the source.
(30 Marks)
Total for Question 1 = 30 marks
AND
Question 2
EITHER
Question 02(a)
Evaluate the view that leaving the European Union has significantly increased the sovereignty of the UK Parliament in relation to policy making.
In your answer you should draw on relevant knowledge and understanding from your study of Component 1: UK Politics and Core Political Ideas.
You must consider this view and the alternative to this view in a balanced way.
(30 Marks)
OR
Question 02(b)
Evaluate the view that Royal Prerogative powers are the most important source of power available to the UK executive.
In your answer you should draw on relevant knowledge and understanding from your study of Component 1: UK Politics and Core Political Ideas.
You must consider this view and the alternative to this view in a balanced way.
(30 Marks)
Total for Question 2 = 30 marks
SECTION B
Non-core Political Ideas
Answer ONE question, either (a) or (b), from the political idea that you have studied.
Anarchism
EITHER
Question 03(a)
To what extent do collectivist and individualist anarchists agree that individual liberty is incompatible with political authority?
You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your answer and consider differing views in a balanced way.
(24 Marks)
OR
Question 03(b)
To what extent do anarchists agree that social order can arise naturally without government or political authority?
You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your answer and consider differing views in a balanced way.
(24 Marks)
Total for Question 3 = 24 marks
Ecologism
EITHER
Question 04(a)
To what extent is ecologism divided over the importance of environmental consciousness?
You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your answer and consider differing views in a balanced way.
(24 Marks)
OR
Question 04(b)
To what extent do ecologists disagree about how sustainability should be achieved?
You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your answer and consider differing views in a balanced way.
(24 marks)
Total for Question 4 = 24 marks
Feminism
EITHER
Question 05(a)
To what extent is feminism divided over the significance of intersectionality in explaining women's experiences of patriarchy?
You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your answer and consider differing views in a balanced way.
(24 Marks)
OR
Question 05(b)
To what extent do feminists agree that the state can be used to achieve gender equality?
You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your answer and consider differing views in a balanced way.
(24 Marks)
Total for Question 5 = 24 marks
Multiculturalism
EITHER
Question 06(a)
To what extent is multiculturalism united in its support for the politics of recognition?
You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your answer and consider differing views in a balanced way.
(24 Marks)
OR
Question 06(b)
To what extent do multiculturalists disagree about whether cultural diversity can be combined with civic unity?
You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your answer and consider differing views in a balanced way.
(24 Marks)
Total for Question 6 = 24 marks
Nationalism
EITHER
Question 07(a)
To what extent do nationalists agree that shared culture is the most important basis of national identity?
You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your answer and consider differing views in a balanced way.
(24 Marks)
OR
Question 07(b)
To what extent do the different forms of nationalism agree on the principle of national self-determination?
You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your answer and consider differing views in a balanced way.
(24 Marks)
Total for Question 7 = 24 marks
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