Here are the definitions to some commonly used political words
- 10 Downing Street – where the Prime Minister lives
- austerity – measures taken by the government to reduce the deficit (an example is raising taxes and lowering public spending.)
- bill – a proposed law before it actually becomes law
- budget – the money the government have to spend
- by-election – the election of a single MP if they leave their role
- cabinet – the most senior government ministers
- capitalism – the belief that a country’s trade and industry should be privately owned
- centre: a balance of left-wing and right-wing beliefs
- chancellor of the exchequer – the person in charge of the budget
- coalition – where two or more parties join together to form a government if no party has an overall majority
- communism – the belief that a country’s trade and industry should be state-owned
- conservative – holding traditional values
- constituency – an area that each has its own MP (there are 650 constituencies in the UK)
- deficit – if the government are spending more money than they are receiving in tax
- democracy – where the people have the right vote for their leaders
- election – where people vote for their leaders
- EU – the European Union
- first past the post – the voting system the UK currently has where an MP is elected if they receive more votes than the other candidates in their constituency
- government – the party who are in power and have a majority
- hansard – the official transcript of Parliament which contains every single word that is said in Parliament each week
- head of state – the highest rank in a country who must sign a bill before it becomes a law (in the UK, The Queen is our head of state)
- house of commons – the ‘lower house’ of Parliament where MPs meet
- house of lords – the ‘upper house’ of Parliament where Lords meet
- hung parliament – if no party has an overall majority after an election
- left-wing: the belief that we should work with each other as a community to help everyone (read more here: http://idontgetpolitics.co.uk/right-left-wing)
- law – the rules of a particular country
- liberal – open to new, modern ideas
- lord – a member of the house of lords
- maiden speech – the first speech an MP makes in the House of Commons
- MEP – a member of the European Parliament
- minister – a senior position in a government department
- MP – a member of Parliament
- opposition – the parties who are not in power who aim to oppose and scrutinise the government
- palace of westminster – the building in Westminster featuring Big Ben, the Elizabethan Tower, The House of Lords and The House of Commons
- parliament – the House of Lords and the House of Commons
- poll – a survey taken, usually to see which party has the most public support at that time
- prime minister – the elected Head of Government
- proportional representation – another voting system where the number of seats is proportional to the number of votes that party gets overall
- prosperity – having success and money
- referendum – a public vote on a political issue (for example, the Scottish Referendum which took place in 2014)
- right-wing: the belief that we should look after ourselves and if we have money then we will be okay (read more here: http://idontgetpolitics.co.uk/right-left-wing)
- scrutinise – where the opposition inspect and question the government on certain issues
- secretary of state- the head of a particular government department (eg. education, health etc.)
- shadow cabinet – the most senior ministers of the opposition
- socialism: the money in the country should be shared fairly so everyone is equal
- speaker – in charge of maintaining order in the House of Commons (a bit like a referee in sport)
- surplus – if the government are receiving more money in tax than that they are spending
- swing – the change of results after an election
- tax – the money that people pay which goes towards the government to be spent on things such as health care
- Westminster – the part of London featuring Parliament, the River Thames and the London Eye
- whip – a member of a party assigned to make sure that members of their party vote with the party on a particular issue and do not vote against their party
