Great Britain Key Terms

Coalition government

No single party wins a majority and multiple parties agree to govern together

Conservative (Tory) Party

Right-leaning party, split between traditional wing and thatcher right wing, mostly supported by England, tend to be well off and better educated, generally the leading party in Parliament

Constituency

A geographic voting district that elects one rep to Parliament

Constitutionalism

Government is limited by law and officials must follow established rules

Devolution

Tony Blair, transfer of power from the central gov to regional govs in Scotland, Wales, and N. Ireland

European Union

Political/Economic organization that the UK joined in 1973 and left in 2020

First-past-the-post

Electoral system with plurality, candidate with most votes win, even w/o majority

Head of government

Prime minister, runs the government and sets policy

Head of state

Monarch, symbolic leader of the state

House of Commons

Elected lower house of Parliament where laws are debated and voted on

Labour Party

Left-leaning party, social welfare/programs, equality, middle/working class

Plurality

The most votes but not necessarily the majority of votes

Proportional representation

An electoral system in which parties receive seats in proportions to their share of the votes, uses party list - ranking of candidates for the party

Single-member-district

A constituency with only one representative

Vote of no confidence

Parliamentary vote to remove the prime minister/force a new government or election