AP CoGo - UK Vocabulary

Comparative Government

Alternate Voting

a preferential system where the voter ranks the candidates in order of preference.

Austerity

When a government severely cuts spending to try and get its finances under control.

Backbenchers

Members of a parliament who are not in the government or shadow cabinet.

Blair, Tony

Labour prime minister from 1997-2007. Promised to create a "new labour" party and rule in a "third way".

Brexit

The British Exit from the European Union

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

A state-funded media company that operates and reports independently and free from state interference.

British National Party

Extreme far right party formed in 1982, never been represented in Parliament. Historically overtly anti-Semitic but has recently also been against the presence of Muslims in GB. Received 1.9% of the vote in 2010 and failed to win any seats, but still influential in the Brexit 'leave' campaign.

Cameron, David

Conservative prime minister from 2010 to 2016; resigned following the Brexit referendum, which he promised to call as part of his re-election campaign, but also campaigned to remain.

Chancellor of the Exchequer

The British Cabinet minister responsible for financial and economic matters and in charge of the Treasury.

Clegg, Nick

Former leader of the Liberal Democrat Party and deputy prime minister from 2010-2015.

Coalition Government

When two or more parties necessarily join together to form a majority Parliament.

Collective Consensus

Postwar consensus between the UK's major parties to build and sustain a welfare state.

Collective Responsibility

Tradition that requires all members of the cabinet either to support government policy or to resign.

Common Law

A system of law based on precedent and customs.

Conservative Party (Tories)

One of the UK's two largest parties. In favor of free market economics and traditional values.

"Constitution of the Crown"

The "constitution" of the UK that evolved over time;

composed of:

1. important documents

2. common law

3. tradition/customs

Devolution

The process whereby regions within a state gain political strength and increased autonomy at the expense of the central government.

Euroskeptics

People opposed to the UK's membership in the EU and the expansion of the EU's power.

First Past the Post (FPTP)

An electoral system where the person with the most number of votes is elected. Victory is achieved by having one more vote than other contenders - it is also called a plurality system.

Good Friday Agreement (1998)

An agreement brokered by the government of Tony Blair to end the conflict in Northern Ireland, signed in 1998 by Protestants and Catholics

The Government

The Prime Minister, Cabinet Members, the bureaucracy of Whitehall, and Collective Responsibility.

Hereditary Peers

Seats in the House of Lords that were granted to aristocratic families in perpetuity but were largely eliminated by recent legislation.

Hung Parliament

A situation after an election when no single party comprises a majority in the House of Commons.

Johnson, Boris

Former British prime minister and member of the Conservative Party who was instrumental in the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union.

Labour Party

Traditionally leftist, social democratic party. Led the change to a welfare state before Thatcher. Grew out of the trade union movements of the 19th century, believe in guaranteed services for all (health care, education, income).

Law Lords

Members of the House of Lords exercising judicial functions.

The Liberal-Democrats (Lib-Dems)

The third largest political party in the UK. Formed as a merger between two parties in the 1980's, this is the one that has been most disadvantaged by the electoral system in recent elections.

Life Peers

Distinguished members of the society who are given lifetime appointments to the House of Lords by the House of Commons.

Loyal Opposition

A role that the party out of power plays, forming a shadow government and highlighting its objections to policies and priorities of the government in power.

May, Theresa

Former prime minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. Stepped down after failing to get her Brexit deal approved by Parliament.

Neoliberalism

A strategy for economic development that calls for free markets, balanced budgets, privatization, free trade, and minimal government intervention in the economy.

Parliamentary System

A system of government in which the chief executive is the leader of the party that holds the most seats in the legislature after an election or whose party forms a major part of the ruling coalition.

Parliamentary Sovereignty

The doctrine that grants the legislature the power to make or overturn any law and permits no veto or judicial review.

Plaid Cymru

The nationalist party in Wales that advocates more rights for the Welsh people, including use of the Welsh language.

Quangos

Quasi-autonomous nongovernmental organization. These organizations have considerable amount of influence over policy making in health care, education and housing.

Question Time

In the United Kingdom, the times set aside Monday through Thursday every week for His Majesty's Loyal Opposition (the party out of power) to criticize and scrutinize the actions and decisions of the government (the party in power); twice each week, the prime minister must answer hostile questions fired at him or her by the opposition.

Referendum

A method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation.

Scottish National Party (SNP)

A Scottish nationalist and social-democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence.

Shadow Cabinet

The official leadership of the opposition party (2nd largest party in the Commons) that "shadows" the prime minister's cabinet.

Sinn Fein

An Irish republican political movement founded in 1905 to promote independence from England and unification of Ireland.

Speaker of the House of Commons

MP elected by fellow MPs to impartially chair debates, keep order and call MPs to speak in the Commons chamber. Parliament's referee.

Thatcher, Margaret/Thatcherism

Conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990. Her policy was a platform emphasizing free markets with restrained government spending and tax cuts coupled with British nationalism.

Third Way

A term used to describe the new and more central left-wing parties of the 1990s, most notably Britain's "New Labour" under Tony Blair.

UK Independence Party (UKIP)

Eurosceptic, conservative, right-wing, populist political party in the UK. It called for the UK's exit from the European Union (when Nigel Farage was leader). It promotes a British unionist and nationalist agenda, encouraging a unitary British identity in opposition to growing Welsh and Scottish nationalisms. It has also placed emphasis on lowering immigration, rejecting multiculturalism, and opposing what it calls the "Islamification" of Britain.

Unitary Government

A centralized government in which all government powers belong to a single, central agency.

Vote of No Confidence

Vote taken by a legislature as to whether its members continue to support the current prime minister. A successful vote of no confidence can force the resignation of the prime minister and lead to new parliamentary elections.

Welfare State

A governmental system under which the government directly or indirectly provides pensions, healthcare, unemployment insurance, and assistance to the poor and others in need.

Whitehall

The British civil service/bureaucracy, named after a wide street in London stretching from Trafalgar Square to the Houses of Parliament. Main British government offices.