Politics Interview Questions

I have been doing some interview practice with a group of Politics students and I thought it would be interesting to share some of the questions posed to them which elicited some fascinating responses!

What - if anything - might change fundamentally about our politics (UK or international) post pandemic?

Brexit remains an important, contentious, and to some extent, unresolved issue - how might it be resolved?

What do you regard as the most undemocratic part of the UK constitution?

Is the use of a referendum a bad way to run a democracy?

Does direct action promote democracy?

Should there be limits to people’s right to protest?

Who runs Britain? Is the concept of an elective dictatorship now redundant?

Does politics need to become less ideological?

What is your stance on electoral reform? Now build an argument to counter your view

Civil War II - Nearly half of American citizens, according to recent polls, believe that it could happen in the next ten years - what are your views?

Is the art and skill of argument in decline? If so, what can be done to restore it?

What is populism? How does it spread? When (if at all) might it peak?

How resilient is the UK political system to black swan events - outlier events with extreme impacts (economic disaster, climate change)

What does a tragedy such as Grenfell tell us about Politics and Civil Society?

Should private schools get tax breaks?

Has devolution been a success in the United Kingdom?

Choose a writer / broadcaster and say something about how they have contributed towards your understanding of the subject

Is the House of Lords a laughing stock in a representative democracy? Do you favour reform? If so - how?

Should Trade Unions be given greater powers and legal protections to stage industrial action?

To what extent does economic inequality in Britain threaten political stability?

Is there a workable solution to the channel migrant crisis?

In the years before the pandemic, healthy life expectancy in the UK had stagnated for men at 62.9 years and had begun to fall slightly for women to 63.3 years. Should we be concerned about this?

Of the 13 postwar prime ministers who undertook higher education, only one did not go to Oxford. Should we be concerned?

Should British universities be educating fewer humanities students and more scientists?

How useful is taking an A level in Politics?

What have you read this year that changed your perspective on something?

How has British politics changed in the aftermath of Brexit?

What lessons might there be from the UK government’s handling of the pandemic?

Is the current era of globalisation in decline?

Why has food bank use surged so rapidly in the UK - what can be done about it?

Who has more power - governments or financial markets?

Which do you feel is most important - freedom of speech, freedom from fear or freedom from want?