united kingdom

• Alternate Voting (AV)


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


  government deficit reduction program is a series of sustained reductions in public spending, intended to reduce the government budget deficit and the welfare state
• Backbencher


  a Member of Parliament (MP) or a legislator who holds no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the "rank and file".
• Tony Blair


  British statesman; prime minister 1997-2007.

  He was elected leader of the Labour Party. George Bush's puppy. Lost favor with support of Iraq War.
• British National Party


  is a far-right British nationalist political party.'

  The BNP also advocates the reintroduction of capital punishment and opposes same-sex marriage, multiculturalism and what it calls the Islamification of the UK.
• David Cameron


  British Conservative statesman; prime minister 2010-16 (2010-15 in coalition with the Liberal Democrats) Continues Austerity Measures. Promises referendum on EU
• Chancellor of the Exchequer

  the finance minister of the United Kingdom, responsible for preparing the nation's annual budgets.
• Nick Clegg


  is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Lord President of the Council from 2010 to 2015 in the Cameron coalition ministry
• Coalition Government


  A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate, reducing the dominance of any one party within that coalition. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament.
• Collective Consensus


  After World War II, the sense of unity inspired by the shared suffering of war and the need to rebuild a war-ravaged country helped crystallize the collectivist consensus as the British state both broadened and deepened its responsibilities for the overall performance of the economy. Government should work to narrow the gap between rich and poor through public education, national health care, and other policies of the welfare state. State responsibility for economic growth and full employment. Keynesianism
• Collective Responsibility


  -cabinet makes important decisions together and stand united behind their decisions

  -members must publicly support all decisions made

  -if a vote of no confidence is passed by Parliament on the cabinet, all are expected to resign together

  -if a member disagrees with a decision made, they are expected to resign

  ---this is one of the only checks on the power of the Prime Minister
• Conservative Party


  Center-right. Support austerity plan and huge cuts in governmental spending to reduce deficit. Oppose further integration with Europe (i.e. don't want to switch to euro). Want to reduce the number of quangos.
• Constitution of the Crown


  the "constitution" of Britain that evolved over time

  composed of:

  1. important documents

  2. common law

  3. tradition/customs
• Devolution


  the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states
• Euroskeptics


  People opposed to the UK's membership in the EU and the expansion of the EU's power.
• First-Past-the Post Voting System


  is the election process for representatives in the House of Commons; it means winner take all. Therefore, the candidate who receives the most votes is elected and there is no need for a majority nor an element of proportional representation
• Good Friday Agreement


  a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s.

  
  

  Northern Ireland's present devolved system of government is based on the agreement. 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.

  
  

  The agreement is made up of two inter-related documents, both agreed in Belfast on Good Friday, 10 April 1998:

  
  

  a multi-party agreement by most of Northern Ireland's political parties;

  an international agreement between the British and Irish governments
• The "Government"


  parliament that is being led by the Majority Party
• Hereditary Peers


  members of the House of Lords appointed by the monarch and whose title automatically passes down to their sons.
• Hung Parliament


  a parliament in which no single party has majority control in the House of Commons
• Labour Party


  British political party founded in 1900 with the help of trade unions to represent the interests of the urban working class
• Law Lords


  five members of the House of Lords who serve as Britain's highest court of appeals
• Liberal Democrats


  Party formed by a combination of the Labour and Social Democratic parties, promotes individual rights and a welfare state for people's necessities (center/center-left).
• Life Peers


  Distinguished members of the society who are given lifetime appointments to the House of Lords
• Loyal Opposition


  a role that the party out of power plays, highlighting its objections to policies and priorities of the government in power
• Neo-Liberalism


  Revival of classic liberal values that support low levels of government regulation, taxation, and social expenditures and the protection of individual property rights.
• Parliamentary System


  is a system of democratic governance of a state where the executive branch derives its democratic legitimacy from the legislature and is also held accountable to that legislature.
• Parliamentary sovereignty


  --a principle of government by which Parliament may overturn any law without having to consult/work with the judiciary or the monarchy.

  
  

  -->Parliament holds the power to make or overturn ANY law, and are elected officials therefore exist to please the public. This is unlike the Supreme Court in that the SC determines the constitutionality, protects minorities, and are judges for life.

  
  

  This constitutional principle has been challenged by Britain's membership in the EU.
• Plaid Cymru


  the Party of Wales, is a social-democratic political party in Wales advocating for Welsh independence from the United Kingdom within the European Union.
• Quangos


  semi-public advisory and administrative body supported by the government and having most of its members appointed by the government

  
  

  They have become an increasingly important part of the British govt. since 1970. They combine the private sector with the government and operate outside of a lot of the red tape that tends to characterize the civil service and bureaucracy.
• Question Time


  an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to question government ministers about matters for which they are responsible.
• Referendum


  a general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been referred to them for a direct decision.
• Scottish National Party


  Pretty self-explanatory! This party favors devolving power back to Scotland.
• "Shadow Cabinet"


  is a feature of the Westminster system of government. It consists of a senior group of opposition spokespeople who, under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition, form an alternative cabinet to that of the government, and whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the Cabinet.
• Sinn Fein


  is an Irish republican political party active throughout Ireland. The phrase " is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves
• Margaret Thatcher


  First female Prime Minister "Iron Lady" (1979-1990). Member of the Conservative Party. She was a firm proponent of monetarism and believed there was a natural rate of unemployment directed by the economy. This translated into a reduced role for the govt. in the economy. She cut taxes, social expenditures, and overall governmental spending. The BEST EVIDENCE of this is her privatization of public housing. However, even she did not make substantial cuts to the NHS. She reduced the power of the government and the power of unions. She strongly opposed British membership in the EU.
• The Third Way


  a political movement in which the development of business is balanced with the needs of society: Tony Blair claimed that New Labour is the Third Way between capitalism and socialism.
• UK Independence Party (UKIP)

  a Eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom
• Unitary Government


  there are no powers reserved for subcentral units of governments

  -->no distribution of powers like in the US, where power is shared between the central government and state or regional governments

  
  

  ---this constitutional principles has been challenged by devolution.
• "Vote of Confidence"


  a vote that PM says if it doesn't pass they will dissolve the cabinet.