UK Case Study Vocab (Textbook)

Question 1

Tony Blair

Answer 1

Labour prime minister from 1997 to 2007

Question 2

Brexit

Answer 2

British exit from the European Union, realized in a 2016 referendum

Question 3

cabinet

Answer 3

The appointed officials who serve the executive in overseeing the various state bureaucracies

Question 4

David Cameron

Answer 4

Conservative prime minister from 2010 to 2016, resigned following the Brexit referendum, which he campaigned against

Question 5

Celtic fringe

Answer 5

Refers to Scotland and Wales, which were not conquered by the Angles and Saxons.

Question 6

collective responsibility

Answer 6

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

Question 7

collectivist consensus

Answer 7

Postwar consensus between the United Kingdom’s major parties to build and sustain a welfare state.

Question 8

common law

Answer 8

Legal system based on local customs and precedent rather than formal legal codes.

Question 9

Commonwealth

Answer 9

Organization that includes the United Kingdom and most of its former colonies.

Question 10

Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

Answer 10

The United Kingdom’s most important group representing the private sector.

Question 11

Conservatives (Tories)

Answer 11

One of the United Kingdom’s largest two parties; in government from 2010 to 2024.

Question 12

Jeremy Corbyn

Answer 12

Leader of the opposition Labour Party from 2015 to 2020.

Question 13

Crown

Answer 13

Refers to the British monarchy and sometimes to the British state; head of state.

Question 14

English Civil War

Answer 14

17th-century conflict between Parliament and the monarch that temporarily eliminated and permanently weakened the monarchy.

Question 15

Nigel Farage

Answer 15

Outspoken leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) until 2016 and member of the European Parliament.

Question 16

Good Friday Agreement

Answer 16

Historic 1998 accord between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland that ended decades of violence.

Question 17

hereditary peers

Answer 17

Aristocratic family members with seats in the House of Lords; these seats were largely eliminated with recent legislation

Question 18

House of Commons

Answer 18

Lower house of the UK legislature.

Question 19

House of Lords

Answer 19

Upper house of the UK legislature, whose reform is currently being debated.

Question 20

hung parliament

Answer 20

An election result in which no party wins a majority of parliamentary seats, such as the 2010 and 2017 British elections.

Question 21

Boris Johnson

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Labour Party

Answer 22

One of the United Kingdom’s two largest parties; since 2024, it has been the party of His Majesty’s Government.

Question 23

Liberal Democratic Party

Answer 23

Centrist third party in the United Kingdom and junior member of a coalition government from 2010 to 2015.

Question 24

Liberals (Whigs)

Answer 24

Historically, the United Kingdom’s first opposition party; one of its two major political parties until the early 20th century.

Question 25

life peers

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Magna Carta

Answer 26

The 1215 document signed by King John that set the precedent for limited monarchial powers.

Question 27

majoritarian

Answer 27

Term describing the virtually unchecked power of a parliamentary majority in the UK political system.

Question 28

Theresa May

Answer 28

Prime minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019.

Question 29

Member of Parliament (MP)

Answer 29

An individual legislator in the House of Commons.

Question 30

neoliberalism

Answer 30

A set of policies championed by Thatcher's Conservative Government in the 1980s, aimed at diminishing the role of the state in the economy.

Question 31

Northern Ireland

Answer 31

Northeastern portion of Ireland that is part of the United Kingdom; also known as Ulster.

Question 32

Parliament

Answer 32

Name of the UK legislature.

Question 33

prime minister

Answer 33

Head of government

Question 34

quangos

Answer 34

Quasi-autonomous nongovernmental organizations that assist the government in making policy

Question 35

Scottish National Party (SNP)

Answer 35

Nationalist political party promoting Scottish independence, currently in control of the Scottish regional government.

Question 36

Margaret Thatcher

Answer 36

Conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990

Question 37

The Troubles

Answer 37

Name given to three decades of extreme ethnic conflict (late 1960s to late 1990s) between Northern Ireland's nationalists or republicans, who are mostly Catholic, and unionists or loyalists, who are mostly Protestants.

Question 38

Third Way

Answer 38

Term describing recent policies of the Labour Party that embrace the free market.

Question 39

Trades Union Congress (TUC)

Answer 39

A confederation of the UK's largest trade unions.

Question 40

United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP)

Answer 40

Populist and Europskeptic political party favoring British exit from the European Union.

Question 41

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Answer 41

Official name of the British state.

Question 42

vote of no confidence

Answer 42

Vote taken by a legislature as to whether its members continue to support the current prime minister; depending on the country, a vote of no confidence can force the resignation of the PM and/or lead to new parliamentary elections.