That's funny, Shady. Because from what I can tell, you get awfully prickly about Global Politics (even on the smallest thing), as well as a whole lot of other subjects. And for whatever reason, you take these things as a personal offense, and you lash out in an unconsidered, personal manner.
Look, I've been out of LSE for several years now. I'm applying for a Ph.D. in poli sci in the best programs in the U.S., I've worked in top jobs in top companies in foreign policy, and I've published several papers while working. I won two awards for my dissertation, and I was the student-staff rep my year and played a critical role in fundamentally revamping three IR courses. I regularly advise and talk with people about LSE, especially in comparison to other MA schools, because I hire from that pool.
So, when I say that the IR department has a slightly better reputation than the Government department, I mean exactly what I say, based on a pretty wide range of discussion with lots of people - in both the academic and professional worlds. This has nothing to do with a personality tick, which you seem to reach for as an argument far too often when you disagree with someone on this board. I deeply respect the Government department. But outside of LSE, the difference in reputation is the reality of it, particularly for Ph.D. programs, and it does no good to give people advice about their educational decisions without some perspective. Nor to jump down peoples' throats without careful consideration of their views.
For your question about jobs, Americanguy, it's not that you would be turned down for a job because of your degree. But when applying for something in, say, a DC-based development firm, they tend to use the most marginal criteria cull through the (literally) hundreds or thousands of applications they get for each position. But, by far more important than any of this is your enjoyment of program and how free you are to pursue your interests or (more importantly) incorporate your studies into what you are interested in. Which is why I was discussing the different foci of the programs, as their overall approach affects how engaging you find the coursework.
And, to answer the latest question, yes, the IR degree typically has a lower acceptance/matriculation rate. In my year, it was around 4%, which was by far the lowest of any govt, IR, dev. master's program. On development studies, my friends who did the program did not have a good time with the classes, but perhaps surprisingly, more of them are doing development work than are comparative people doing government work, say. Or the History of IR people unfortunately. But that's not an indication of where you will end up. As I said, you should consider the different approaches and how they relate to what you are interested in. And Phoenix has the right of it in that you should take a close look at the courses on offer in each program.
The extracurriculars don't matter quite as much, and I would actually say that work experience is weighted less, as a general rule, in the UK. But, that's not to say that work experience doesn't help. Particularly for your circumstances, it can help in rounding out the "narrative" of what you want to do, and perhaps provide some perspective or thoughts to consider when you apply. So, in short, it helps, but it all depends on the admissions people.