U.K Vocab

Question 1

Austerity

Answer 1

difficult economic conditions created by government measures to reduce a budget deficit, especially by reducing public expenditure

Question 3

Civil society

Answer 3

society considered as a community of citizens linked by common interests and collective activity

Question 4

Cabinet

Answer 4

A body of high ranking officials in the executive branch that is responsible for advising the chief executive, implementing public policy, and managing bureaucratic agencies

Question 6

Coalition government

Answer 6

In parliamentary systems, a situation where multiple parties partner to construct a majority and form a government

Question 7

Common law

Answer 7

• bureaucratic and judicial discretion in the interpretation of the application of the law in specific cases
• adhering to precedents of court decisions regarding the interpretation

Question 8

Code law

Answer 8

A legal system that attempts to exhaustively express the law in comprehensive legal codes when the law is first placed

Question 9

Collective responsibility

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Corporatism

Answer 10

the control of a state or organization by large interest groups

Question 11

Constituency

Answer 11

A geographic area represented by a member in the legislature

Question 12

Constitutionalism

Answer 12

Commitment to the rule of law and the principles expressed in a constitution

Question 14

Devolution

Answer 14

The transfer of political power down from a central or national level of government to a local or regional level

Question 15

EU

Answer 15

The political and economic union of than a dozen European member states

Question 16

First past the post (FPTP)

Answer 16

An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins representation of a geographic district in the legislature

Question 17

Hung parliament

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Loyal opposition

Answer 18

The principal party in opposition to the party that forms the government

Question 19

Mixed economy

Answer 19

An economy in which the government plays a strong role of ownership and operation of industries, regulation, and provision of welfare state benefits while preserving a role for the market

Question 20

Neoliberal

Answer 20

adjective
- favoring policies that promote free-market capitalism, deregulation, and reduction in government spending

noun
- an advocate or supporter of free-market capitalism, deregulation, and reduction in government spending

Question 22

Noblesse oblige

Answer 22

The idea that it’s the wealthy’s responsibility to pay for the welfare for the poor

Question 23

Parliament

Answer 23

In the UK the House of Commons and the House of Lords, together compromising the national legislature

Question 24

Parliamentary sovereignty

Answer 24

The British constitutional principle that acts of parliament are considered supreme in law

Question 25

Plurality

Answer 25

A condition of receiving the most votes, though not necessarily a majority, for elective office

Question 26

Social capital

Answer 26

the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively

Question 27

Supranacional organization

Answer 27

An international organization, or union, whereby member states transcend national boundaries or interests to share in the decision-making and vote on issues pertaining to the wider grouping

Question 28

Proportional representation

Answer 28

An election system for a legislature that gives each political party a percentage of seats in the legislature approximately equal to the present age of the vote the party received in the election

Question 29

Unitary state

Answer 29

a state governed as a single entity in which the central government is ultimately supreme

Question 30

Quangos

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Welfare state

Answer 31

a system whereby the government undertakes to protect the health and well-being of its citizens, especially those in financial or social need, by means of grants, pensions, and other benefits

Question 32

Shadow-cabinet

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Single member district

Answer 33

An election system in which one representative is chosen to represent each geographic constituency in a legislature

Question 36

Thatcherism

Answer 36

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

Question 38

Vote of no confidence

Answer 38

A vote by the legislature in a parliamentary system to force the resignation of the prime minister and cabinet and call for new elections