comp gov: UK

Backbenchers

Members of Parliament (MPs) from the majority party who have less status and seniority than leaders and senior MPs; they sit in the benches farther from the floor in the House of Commons[

Brexit

the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union following a UK-wide referendum in June 2016[

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

a state-funded media company that operates and reports independently and free from state interference[

Collective responsibility

a custom of British politics in which cabinet ministers hold themselves responsible to support all policies of the government collectively or to resign if they do not feel capable of doing so[

Conservative (Tory) Party

Britain's center-right party; one of the main competitors for power in Britain’s two-party system[

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)

a unionist political party in Northern Ireland favoring British identity; the DUP evolved from the Protestant Unionist Party and has historically strong links to the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster. During the Troubles, the DUP were opposed to power-sharing with Irish nationalists or republicans as a means of resolving the conflict[

European Economic Area (EEA)

an international agreement which enabled the extension of the European Union’s single market to member states of the European Free Trade Association; when entering into force in 1994, the EEA parties were 17 states and two European communities (membership has grown to 30 states as of 2020)[

European Union

the political and economic union of more than a dozen European member states, all of which surrender some sovereign control over their own country in order to promote trade and cooperation among the member states[

Fixed-Term Parliaments Act of 2011

a law passed by Parliament that established a fixed five-year election cycle starting in 2015; the prime minister retains the power to call snap elections but now needs a two-thirds majority instead of a simple majority[

Good Friday Agreement

a pair of agreements signed on April 10, 1998 that ended most of the violence of the “Troubles”, a political conflict in Northern Ireland that had been going on since the 1960s. The agreement also created a number of institutions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Hereditary Peers

members of the House of Lords who inherit their position by. birth status

House of Commons

the lower house of Britain’s Parliament, where political power is concentrated

House of Lords

the upper house of Britain’s Parliament, which has very limited powers as a result of gradual reforms

Hung Parliament

a situation in which no party secures a majority in parliamentary elections and the parties are unable to agree on a combined coalition government; its result is new elections

Imperialism

the policy of colonizing other countries (literally, establishing empires)

Labour Party

Britain's center-left party; one of the main competitors for power in Britain’s two-party system[

Life Peers

members of the house of Lords who are appointed for a lifetime term; their seats are transferred to their firstborn child[

Loyal opposition

the principal party in opposition to the party that forms the government; it is opposed to the policies of the government but loyal to the country and the regime[

Magna Carta

an agreement made between England’s king and nobility in 1215 that established limitations on the power of the king; an early example of constitutionalism[

National Health Service (NHS)

Britain’s public health service system, which provides health care to all British citizens at taxpayer expense[

Noblesse oblige

a concept from medieval times of the nobility’s responsibility to care for their serfs, reimagined during the collectivist period as the wealthy’s responsibility to pay for welfare-state benefits to care for the poor[

Parliamentary sovereignty

the British constitutional principle that acts of Parliament are considered supreme in law; courts do not possess the power of judicial review to overturn these acts[

Plaid Cymru

a regional minority party concentrated in Wales[

Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs)

a televised event once a week where the prime minister responds to questions from the opposition leader and other MPs[

Public Schools

elite private secondary schools in Britain where students are trained for a future in public service[

Quangos

acronym for “quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations,” semi-independent agencies with regulatory power over a particular policy area or industry[

Speaker of the House

a member of Parliament in Britain chosen to preside over proceedings and maintain order in the House of Commons[

U.K. Independence Party (UKIP)

a national British minority party that advocates withdrawing from the EU and other institutions that limit Britain’s national sovereignty[

Scottish National Party (SNP)

a regional minority party concentrated in Scotland[

Shadow Cabinet

leaders of the opposition party who would become the new prime minister and cabinet if their party won an electoral majority[

Thatcherism

an economic policy agenda that emphasized neoliberal reforms, such as privatization of state-owned enterprises, reductions in welfare-state spending, and deregulation of business[