Glossary of terms
- apathy – the absence of interest or enthusiasm about a subject,
usually reflected in inactivity
- authoritarianism – government that is imposed on citizens
regardless of their consent
- autocracy – rule by one supreme ruler
- backbench MP – an MP who isn’t a minister or a member of the
opposition cabinet
- by-election – choosing an MP when the
seat becomes vacant (eg Rochester & Strood, November 2014)
- cabinet – the heads of government departments. The cabinet has the
say over which legislation is introduced into parliament with the aim of making
it into law
- catch-all party – a party that develops policies that will appeal
to the widest range of voters, by contrast with a pragmatic party
- citizens’ juries – ‘normal’ people judging and
giving feedback on policies
- constitutional democracy- a form of democracy that operates within
a clear constitutional framework that both disperses the government power and
protects minorities and individuals
- constitutional democracy - upholding individual
freedoms and minority rights (eg USA)
- constitutions – rules that govern the government itself
- crowding out – a Thatcherite theory that an over-large stat
damages the performance of private businesses by depriving them of necessary
resources
- democracy – government ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’; where
each citizen has an equal say and majority view should win out
- democratic deficit – where a country or
institution is not as democratic as it should be
- descriptive representation - representatives should push their
constituents’ views and be a microcosm of larger society
- devolution – where some power was moved away from the government
in Westminster and handed to the people via an elected parliament in Scotland
or elected assembly in Wales and Northern Ireland
- direct democracy – the people make decisions
directly without representatives; majority view prevails
- Doctrine of the Mandate – the representatives voted
into power have the right/obligation to put their manifesto into action
- election – where citizens have one vote to select their representatives or leaders
- elective dictatorship – coined by Lord Hailsham in
1976; PM has almost dictatorial power as controls the Cabinet and the majority
in the Commons so can get laws passed easily
- European election – voting for your MEP by
party under proportional representation
- faction – a group of like-minded politicians, usually formed
around a key leader or in support of a set of preferred policies
- G20 – G8 plus a dozen nations whose economies are developing fast
- G8 – group of the eight most developed economies
- general election – voting for one party to
rule the country via voting for the MP for your constituency; the leader of the
party with the plurality of votes becomes PM
- government – a set of institutions through which the general rules
of society (usually called laws) are made and enforced; the machinery through
which politics operates
- legitimacy – a result accurately
reflects public opinion
- legitimate power – power that people believe they should obey
rather than obey through fear or intimidation
- liberal democracy - representative democracy
with limited government to ensure protection and maintenance of individual
freedoms (eg UK)
- local election – voting for councils on a
regional/borough/county level
- majoritarian democracy – a form of democracy that is based on the
principle of majority rule and emphasises the general or collective interests
of society, rather than particular interests
- majoritarian democracy – majority views take
precedence (eg UK)
- majoritarian – electoral system where usually
a larger party wins with a higher proportion of seats than proportion of votes
they gain; more chance of a single party winning a parliamentary majority of
its own
- mandate – if a party wins power (esp. with a majority), they have the
right to rule and put their manifesto in place
- manifesto – a collection of policy pledges which the leadership of
the political party says it will carry out, if elected
- participation crisis – rising political apathy
where people do not vote
- peers – members of the House of Lords
- pluralism – wide range of political parties representing different views
- political party – a group with similar
political views/ideologies standing for election to be able to implement their
policies
- politics – the activity through which people make, uphold and
revise the rules under which they live
- pressure group – a group representing
certain strong views trying to influence government policy without trying to
win power
- progressive taxation – a taxation system in which the rich pay
proportionally more in tax than the poor, usually based on graduated direct
taxes
- proportional – relationship between number
of votes and seats gained
- quorum - the
minimum number of people whose presence is required for proper or valid
decisions to be taken
- referendum – a vote on a single matter
with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer
- representative democracy – representatives act on
behalf of the people and represent the people’s views
- trusteeship – we trust our
representatives (MPs/MEPs etc) to act on our behalf and in our best interests
using their expertise
- universal suffrage – where every person gets one
vote (so long as over 18, mentally stable, not a prisoner and not a member of
the House of Lords)
- voter turnout – the percentage of people
registered to vote who casts a vote
- whip – someone appointed by the party leader to ensure that the
party’s MPs vote the way the leader wants
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