I'm sorry to say it, but in a word, yes - it really is that bad!
I'm coming to the end of my final year doing a single honours politics degree, and have really disliked the degree from start to end.
I think the module choice is extremely poor, and very much caters for people who have a major interest in political theory or international relations. If, like me, you enjoy learning about particular countries and their political systems, such as Britain, then you will be sadly disappointed. When I came to Durham such modules were available in the second and third years, but most of them were withdrawn before I had a chance to take them. The whole department has shifted focus, and those who joined wishing to pursue an interest in such comparative politics have been left very dissapointed and without much support (particularly if you wish to do a dissertation on such a topic).
I did have the opportunity to take a British politics module in my second year, but the lecturer who was supposed to be taking the course left and his replacement simply dictated out of a textbook. My A-Level politics course was more informative! At the start of the module, so many people came to the lectures that there were not enough chairs for everyone, yet by the end only 4 to 5 people turned up each week. Numbers also dwindled for my other second year modules.
Despite hiring British politics staff last summer, the department decided not to offer a third year module, and reduced the British element in the second year to half a module. Indeed, there were no so-called comparative politics modules offered in the third year (in which the political system of a country is studied in depth), and this resulted in a mass protest from the students. A petitition was launched which eventually resulted in an American politics module (which fuses theory and comparative politics) being offered. Many students, including myself, still feel that this is unsatisfactory.
The quality of teaching in many modules leaves a lot to be desired. I do not know one politics student who is satisfied with their degree, and therefore I would really think hard before choosing to come to Durham to study politics.
I hope this has been of some help.