Recommended Reading
For students of British politics:
Comment is Free
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/
The best place on the web for opinion and understanding the debates that shape politics, from the welfare state to same sex marriage. A varied range of speakers from the left and right wing, though its contributors have been accused of a left-wing bias.
ConservativeHome
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/
A home for the 'grassroots' (ordinary members) of the Conservative Party and an excellent guide to Conservative opinion. Features contributions from Conservative Members of Parliament and the excellent editor Tim Montgomerie.
Left Foot Forward
http://www.leftfootforward.org/
A left wing, union-funded blog that analyses government policy and argues for social democratic policies. Respected on both sides of the political spectrum.
Guido Fawkes
The famed populist right-wing blog which continually demonstrates how online media has opened up politics and made politicians more accountable to the public every day. Whether you consider Guido's methods of unnamed sources and smear attacks good or bad, he is an essential read to understand the mindset of fear that politicans have towards the media.
For students of US politics:
The Living Room Candidate
http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/
It is impossible to understand modern American politics without realising the huge role of television in connecting the US President with the voters. This website has collected every single television advertisment for a presidential candidate since Eisenhower in 1952 and provides a fascinating visual guide to how the issues leading US politics have changed and how crucial money to spend on tv adverts has become today in the United States.
For students studying the EU:
Charlemagne's Notebook at the Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne
The European Union can seem like an especially dry subject to study and can be a difficult subject to break into unless already familiar with the history of this leviathan of bureaucracy. Charlemagne provides a window of light into Brussels, serving as an excellent introduction to how the EU works and with plenty of explanation of the big issues of the day.
