ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights ways in which the political environment and policy interact. A range of these interactions are illustrated from cases outlining how the turbulent political environment and cross national political linkages can impact on policy (1970s oil crisis and the global financial crisis 2008) to politics and wicked policy problems, Brexit and civil service capacity and then an illustration of the political consequences of not addressing housing policy. The chapter examines how policy is viewed through a shifting political prism, analysing explanations of politics–policy interaction including the overloading of the system and the use of instruments to attempt depoliticisation of policy. The way in which politics and policy play out is analysed through the multi-level government system in the UK, as evidenced through the devolution process, a process with a potential for tension and turbulence in the UK, which is a traditionally centralised state. Finally, an account is given of the media in politics and policy, the political influence of interest groups and the increasing use of public inquiries to investigate and rectify political and policy failures.
