How this works. Each stem starts an analytical sentence. Finish it in one or two sentences with a named case, a date and a clear analytical point. Press the hint button if you stall. Aim to write without checking notes - this drill is for fluency, not memorisation.
Sentence 1Truss
The Truss-Kwarteng mini-budget of September 2022 supports the inner-circle case because
Hint: Who drafted the mini-budget — and who was bypassed?
Sentence 2Truss counter
However, the Truss case also supports the Cabinet-veto argument because
Hint: After the mini-budget fell apart — what did Cabinet do, and how was the new Chancellor chosen?
Sentence 3Cummings
Dominic Cummings's role under Boris Johnson between November 2019 and November 2020 shows
Hint: Cummings vs Javid 2020: a SPAD pushing out a Chancellor. What does this say about ranks?
Sentence 4Sue Gray
The October 2024 ousting of Sue Gray from Starmer's No 10 confirms the inner-circle case because
Hint: Who decided Sue Gray's fate — Cabinet, or a faction inside No 10?
Sentence 5Johnson 2022
Boris Johnson's resignation in July 2022 supports the Cabinet-constraint case because
Hint: Cabinet collective action 5 July 2022 — what was the speed and scale of resignations?
Sentence 6May Chequers
Theresa May's Chequers Cabinet of July 2018 shows that
Hint: Davis and Johnson 2018: how durable was Cabinet endorsement of the Chequers position?
Sentence 7SPAD growth
The structural rise in the number of Special Advisers (SPADs) - from around 20 in the Major era to over 100 today - matters because
Hint: What kind of structure has grown around the PM as SPADs have multiplied?
Sentence 8Big Beasts
Cabinet ministers carrying their own political weight - Reeves, Streeting, Cooper under Starmer - matter because
Hint: What do Big Beasts have that ordinary ministers lack — and what does this do to PM power?
Sentence 9Braverman
Suella Braverman's November 2023 public letter accusing Sunak of breaking Rwanda promises shows
Hint: Braverman was sacked but got policy hardening — what does this show about a Cabinet member's leverage?
Sentence 10Starmer 2025
The Starmer government's spring 2025 retreat on the deepest welfare cuts illustrates
Hint: Spring 2025 welfare: who drafted, who pushed back, and which side won?
Sentence 11No fence-sitting
Edexcel mark schemes call top-band judgements a "clear and consistent line of argument" - so on this question I commit to View 1, which means
Hint: State the View 1 line and the everyday/crisis distinction that justifies it.
Sentence 12Source-question rule
In a 30-mark source question, you can bring in outside evidence as long as
Hint: Source-question rule: outside evidence must develop a point already in one of the source's two views.