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What is it about the violently egotistical, easily corrupted, self-doubt-riddled nature of your typical politician that makes them such a perfect target for comedy?

From the tiny machinations of local government to the blundering excesses of Heads of State, the political world has provided the perfect environment for sitcoms through the ages and on both sides of the Atlantic.

With the new Radio 4 series Lobby Land joining the exulted list of ballot box based buffoonery, here’s a brief list of the finest constitutional comedies.

The Manifesto

The beautifully bizarre structure of the British government was explored in Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn’s beloved 1980s ´óÏó´«Ã½ comedy. Based on painstaking research and mind-boggling reality, Jay and Lynn used their inside knowledge of parliamentary procedure to show the real power behind the throne. Perpetually befuddled Minister of Administrative Affairs Jim Hacker thought he was in charge but found himself constantly undermined and redirected by his machiavellian Permanent Secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby and Principal Private Secretary Bernard Woolley.

Finest Hour

The episode entitled "The Death Watch" dealing with government surveillance in a way that feels painfully relevant.

Best Soundbite

Bernard: “They can’t stop us eating the British sausage, can they?”

Hacker: “No, but they can stop us calling it a sausage. Apparently it’s got to be called the Emulsified High-Fat Offal Tube.”

Bernard: “And you swallowed it?”

The Manifesto

The American cousin to The Thick of It, created by Armando Iannucci and utilising many of the same writers, is a goofier, slightly less fraught incarnation of the British show. Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays former Maryland senator Selina Meyer who finds herself in the unenviable position of second banana to a President who doesn’t appear to particularly like her. Her political survival as Vice President, bounce-backs from scandals and clumsy lurches for power allow the satire to be almost as ridiculous as the current American political scene.

Finest Hour

The episode "Helsinki", written by the great Ian Martin, which features Selina’s staff abandoning their own infighting and bonding over their hatred for the Finnish Prime Minister’s sleazy husband.

The Manifesto

If Yes Minister had the quaint, polite personality of a Victorian drawing-room play, Armando Iannucci’s acclaimed The Thick of It had more of a Tarantino aspect, obsessed as it was with spin, scandal and many, many swear words. Centring on the fictional Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship, various Ministers, policy wonks and advisers are beaten into shape by Malcolm Tucker, the foul-mouthed, terrifying spin doctor and whip enforcer around whom the whole show orbited. The baffling inefficiency, casual cynicism and non-stop manoeuvring of government are presented through a fog of Tucker’s exquisite vitriol.

Finest Hour

The second episode of series 3 which sees the brand new head of the Ministry, Nicola Murray (played brilliantly by Rebecca Front), lose thousands of immigration documents and have to face the wrath of the press and, more worryingly, Malcolm.

Best Soundbite

Malcolm Tucker (before the swearing starts): “I just wanted to say to you, by way of introductory remarks, that I am extremely miffed about today's events and, in my quest to try and make you understand the level of my unhappiness, I'm likely to use an awful lot of what we would call ‘Violent Sexual Imagery’ and I just wanted to check that neither of you would be terribly offended by that.”

The Manifesto

If The Young Ones and Yes Minister had a baby then the obnoxious, back-combed, ludicrous offspring might slightly resemble Alan B’Stard AKA The New Statesman. This late-1980s ITV comedy cast Rik Mayall in the unlikely role of Tory Boy Alan, a vicious, conniving, utterly corrupt disciple of Mrs Thatcher. Certainly the comedy wasn’t subtle – Alan gleefully indulges in assassination, blackmail and sexual deviance to get what he wants. Though true blue through-and-through, it’s eventually revealed that he was actually the architect of New Labour and helped his protégé Tony Blair to power.

Finest Hour

The 1987 special, "Who Shot Alan B’Stard?" which, in true soap opera style, sees Alan as the victim of an assassination attempt that is in fact a ruse to bring back capital punishment. Unfortunately for Alan, he finds himself to be the first man to face the gallows.

Best Soundbite

Typical B’Stard: “We hear an awful lot of lefty whingeing about NHS waiting lists. Well the answer's simple. Shut down the health service. Result? No more waiting lists. You see, in the good old days, you were poor, you got ill and you died. And yet these days people seem to think they've got some sort of God-given right to be cured.”

The Manifesto

You don’t have to be an elected official to get the full political comedy treatment. The Radio 4 series (with a later ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two TV version) Absolute Power follows the completely amoral spin doctors Charles Prentiss and Martin McCabe who run the "government-media relations consultancy" Prentiss McCabe. Completely driven by their own financial self-improvement, the PR firm often finds itself promoting the interests of rival groups at the same time. Which is fine for them, as long as the cheque clears.

Finest Hour

The episode "Relaunch of the Sun" which sees Prentiss McCabe employed by the government to make the European Union more popular with the public while attempting to increase sales of the eurosceptic Sun newspaper.

The Manifesto

Political comedies don’t have to to be all backstabbing and cynicism. The delightful American sitcom Parks and Recreation concerns the trials and tribulations of a small town Parks Department in Pawnee, Indiana. Amy Poehler plays the ever- enthusiastic, eternally optimistic and constantly derailed Leslie Knope, who loves her town and the bureaucracy of local government, but is frequently scuppered by a citizenry that fails to see the point in her department. On the surface, sweet and quite surreal, it does occasionally display a harder edge and illustrates the frustrations generated by democracy.

Finest Hour

There are so many gags and great character in Parks and Rec that an episode dedicated to a small horse that the entire town appears to worship as some sort of a god might sound quite odd. But by the time you’ve reached the end of season three, an episode called "Li’l Sebastian" makes absolutely perfect sense.

The Manifesto

While some of the politicians on the list are vicious manipulators, purely out for themselves, there is still room for the odd idealist in the political comedy realm. And the characters in Party are certainly odd idealists. Mainly set in a garden shed, Tom Basden’s beautifully scripted and structured Radio 4 comedy sees a group of students attempting to start their own political party and ultimately change the world. It’s just that no one can quite agree on a name or a direction.

Finest Hour

The Splits from series 3 involves a somewhat timely discussion about Europe and issues with its dairy products:

Best Soundbite

Phoebe: “You don’t like Europe? All of Europe?”

Simon: “Not really.”

Phoebe: “What exactly don’t you like about it?”

Simon: “Well… They have weird milk.”

Listen to Lobby Land on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4.