government

• Constitution


  A set of laws and guidelines setting out how a political system works, and where power is located within the system. It defines the powers and functions of government and the rights of ordinary citizens in relation to the government.
• Codified constitution


  • Laws and practices are set out in a single document
• Entrenched constitution


  • Protected by a higher court and requiring special procedures to amend it
• Unitary political system


  Where all legal sovereignty is contained in a single place
• Parliamentary sovereignty


  The principle that parliament can make, amend or unmake any law, and cannot bind its successors or be bound by its predecessors
• Rule of law


  The principle that all people and bodies, including government, must follow the law and can be held to account if they do not
• Statute law


  Laws passed by parliament
• Common law


  Laws made by judges where the law does not cover the issue or is unclear
• Conventions


  Traditions not contained in law but influential in the operation of a political system
• Authoritative works


  Written by experts describing how a political system is run, which are not legally binding but are taken as significant guides
• Treaties


  Formal agreements with other countries, usually ratified by parliament
• Devolution


  The dispersal of power, but not sovereignty, within a political system
• Parliament


  The British legislature (law-making body), made up of the House of Commons, House of Lords and monarch
• House of Commons


  The primary chamber of the UK legislature, directly elected by voters
• House of Lords


  The second chamber of the UK legislature, not directly elected by voters
• Backbenchers


  MPs who do not have a ministerial or shadow ministerial position. They occupy the benches in the debating chamber behind their leaders. Their main role is to represent their constituencies. They are also expected to support the leaders of their respective parties.
• Opposition


  The official opposition is usually the party with the second-largest number of seats in the Commons. Its role is to criticise the government and to oppose many of its legislative proposals. It also seeks to present itself as an alternative government.
• Select committees


  Consisting of backbench MPs, the composition of Commons select committees reflects the make-up of the Commons. Select committees in the Commons investigate and report on the activities of government departments. Their counterparts in the Lords (such as the Constitution Committee and the Science and Technology Committee) carry out topic-based inquiries.
• Confidence and supply


  A type of informal coalition agreement sometimes used in the event of a hung parliament where the minority partner agrees to vote with the government on key issues, usually in exchange for policy concessions
• Salisbury convention


  The convention whereby the House of Lords does not delay or block legislation that was included in a government's manifesto.
• Legislative bills


  Proposed laws passing through parliament
• Public bill committees


  Committees responsible for looking at bills in detail
• Parliamentary privilege


  The right of MPs or Lords to make certain statements within parliament without being subject to outside influence, including law
• Executive


  The decision-making branch of government, centred on the prime minister and Cabinet and its committees
• Cabinet


  The group of senior ministers, chaired by the prime minister, which is the main collective decision making body in the government
• Minister


  A member of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords who serves in government, usually exercising specific responsibilities in a department
• Government department


  A part of the executive, usually with specific responsibility over an area such as education, health or defence
• Secondary legislation


  Powers given to the executive by parliament to make changes to the law, within certain specific rules
• Individual responsibility


  The principle by which ministers are responsible for their personal conduct and for their departments
• Collective responsibility


  The principle by which ministers must support Cabinet decisions or leave the executive
• Presidential government


  An executive dominated by one individual. This may be a president but can also describe a strong, dominant prime minister.
• Supreme Court


  The highest court in the UK political system
• Judicial neutrality


  The principle that judges should not be influenced by their personal political opinions and should remain outside of party politics
• Judicial independence


  The principle that judges should not be influenced by other branches of government, particularly the executive
• Judicial review


  The power of the judiciary to review, and sometimes reverse, actions by other branches of government that breach the law, or that are incompatible with the Human Rights Act
• Ultra vires


  Literally 'beyond the powers' in Latin. An action that is taken without legal authority
• Elective dictatorship


  A government that dominates parliament, usually due to a large majority, and therefore has few limits on its power
• European Union (EU)


  An association of 28 states (including, at present, the UK), originally founded as the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957, which has evolved into a political and economic union
• Four freedoms


  The principle of free movement of goods, services, people and capital within the EU's single market
• Legal sovereignty


  The right to ultimate legal authority in a political system; in the UK, this belongs to parliament