This introductory politics module focuses on the institutions of the British state and how UK constitutional design compares to that of other democracies, and with what consequences. It outlines the traditional conception of the British political system as the ‘Westminster Model’ and considers the implications of this model for how democracy is conceived, and how political power is mobilised and how public policy is made and implemented. The Westminster Model in the UK is compared both to the West European norm of consensus democracy and to former British colonies and dependencies which developed wide-ranging variants of the Westminster Model. The implications of Britain’s colonial legacy for democratisation is critically assessed, as is the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU on both the UK polity and on the UK as a global political actor. The module assumes no prior knowledge of the British political system or the particular issues under consideration.