UK Test Terms

National parties (which one is true)

SNP, Plaid Cymru in Wales, and parties competing in Northern Ireland. UKIP Since the 1980s the Lib Dems have become an important alternative.

Conservative Party

-2003, Michael Howard struggled to gain popular support December 2005, David Cameron climate change, terrorism Worked hard to reposition Conservatives as a more centrist party May right on immigration and education, left on excesses of the business community, and a populist concern for the growing inequality in society.

Environmental Issues

-2013-2014 Britons suffered storms and tidal surges on the North Sea coastline. -2017, London on high pollution alert; comparisons to Great Smog of December 1952. -Corbyn pushed for commitment to generate 65 percent of Britain's electricity from renewable resources by 2030. -Theresa May: Climate change bill through parliament, but still has yet to follow through with green issues.

Gordon Brown's policies

-A strong finance minister, Brown was not a nimble campaigner and was never able to get out from under the shadow cast by New Labour's role in the war in Iraq, a war that was extremely unpopular in the UK. -Brown's effectiveness as chancellor for 10 years and his highly praised efforts to stabilize the global economy during the "great recession" of 2008 were soon forgotten. Nor could Brown-or any prime minister-reduce the fear of sudden terrorist attacks that ordinary people in Britain have felt ever since bombs were set off in the London transport system on July 7, 2005 (7/7 in the UK)

Members of ethnic minority groups in the UK and in Parliament

-Black, South Asian, Indian and Pakistani, -⅓ of England and Wales have at least 1 foreign parent. Positioned to be the most ethnically diverse Western nation by 2050. Social exclusion and marginalization. Poor rates of economic success

Big Society

-Coalition government had the governing objective as a blending of the Conservative belief in dynamism of free markets with the Liberal Democrat commitment to decentralization. - decentralization+dynamism -This resulted in a new framework of governance which the coalition partners called the "Big Society." -Also called the big idea: -It argued for a wide-ranging initiatives to empower ordinary citizens to take control over their lives and shift the balance of power downward from the state to communities and individual citizens. Ex. : parents should have the opportunity to start their own schools, citizens should be encouraged to take over the administration of post offices, to elect police commissioners, and to recall Members of Parliament (MPs) who violate the public trust. -HOWEVER, Cameron's Big Society never caught on as a defining vision, nor was it able to successfully drive the agenda of the coalition government. Causes could include: increasingly unpopular cuts demanded by the Great Recession of 2008 and to galvanize the forces of globalization. These produced international and domestic challenges that the Labour Party's policies were better suited to address.

Collectivist Consensus

-Collectivist Consensus after World War II--state assumed direct ownership of key industries, Accepted responsibility to secure low levels of unemployment, expand social services, maintain steady economic growth, keep prices stable, and achieve desirable balance-of-payments and exchange rates. Keynesian demand management. -Thatcher leader of Conservative party in 1975, conservatives generally accepted collectivist consensus. -1970s Britain was suffering economically, with no growth and growing political discontent. Investments declined, and trade union agitation increased. Inability to manage trade unions was emphasized by industrial unrest in the winter of 1978-1979. Strikes by truckers disrupted fuel supplies, strikes by train drivers disrupted intercity commerce, and ambulance drivers refused to respond to emergency calls. -Thatcher came to power in May 1979, this time was dubbed "winter of discontent."

Electoral system & 2010 election

-First Past the Post policies eliminated majority of voters "The 2010 results also showed the continuing collapse of the two-party system, with the combined share for the biggest two parties (57 per cent) being the lowest ever in a British election."

Environmental policy

-Corbyn pushed for commitment to generate 65 percent of Britain's electricity from renewable resources by 2030. -Theresa May: Climate change bill through parliament, but still has yet to follow through with green issues.

Industrial Revolution in the UK

-Gradually improving standard of living throughout the English population in general, however -However, it disrupted lives and shattered old ways of life. Many field laborers lost their jobs, and many small landholders were squeezed off the land.

House of Commons (functions)

-Lower House of the Parliament, 650 seats at the time of the 2017 election, exercises the main legislative power in Britain: along with the two unelected elements of Parliament, the Crown and the House of Lords. -3 main functions: to pass laws, to provide finances for the state by authorizing taxation, and to review and scrutinize public administration and government policy. -Has limited legislative function, but it has a very important democratic role. -Highly visible arena for policy debate and the partisan collision of political worldview. -Flash of rhetorical skills brings drama to Westminster. One crucial element of drama is always missing: the outcome is seldom in doubt. MPs from the governing party who consider rebelling against the leader of their respective parties or challenge the terms of the coalition agreement are understandably reluctant in close and critical vote to force a general election, as this would place their jobs in jeopardy. Only once since the defeat of Ramsay MacDonald's government in 1924 ha a government been brought down by a defeat in the Commons (in 1979). -TODAY the balance of institutional power has shifted from Parliament to the governing party and the executive. -Legislative bills usually come to the floor three times. -read upon introduction +debated, then given a second reading followed by a vote. -undergoes a detailed review by a standing committee reflecting the overall party balance. -report stage: new amendments may be introduced. -third reading: bill is considered in final form and voted on without debate. -bill follows parallel path in the Lords: the Lords passes bills concerning taxation or budgetary matters without alteration, but can add technical and editorial amendments to other bills (if approved by the Commons) to add clarity and precision, -Finally, it receives royal assent and becomes an Act of Parliament.

Margaret Thatcher as PM

-Margaret Thatcher often attempted to galvanize loyalists in cabinet and either marginalize or expel detractors. Her treatment of cabinets inspired the movement to unseat her as party member. T-hatcherism: The economic policy of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Reduced state economic power and introduced free market and privatization with certain constraints. Deregulated the UK's market. Placed constraints on the Labour Party. -Thatcher leader of Conservative party in 1975, conservatives generally accepted collectivist consensus. -1970s Britain was suffering economically, with no growth and growing political discontent. Investments declined, and trade union agitation increased. Inability to manage trade unions was emphasized by industrial unrest in the winter of 1978-1979. -Strikes by truckers disrupted fuel supplies, strikes by train drivers disrupted intercity commerce, and ambulance drivers refused to respond to emergency calls. Thatcher came to power in May 1979, this time was dubbed "winter of discontent."

Civil service

-Ministers are assisted by a senior career civil servant AKA permanent secretary who has chief administrative responsibility for running a department. -Civil servants do much of the work of conceptualizing and refining legislation. More than ministers they assume operational duties. Less importance of civil servants with modernization, there is concern that the increasing importance of special advisers (both political policy advisors and civil servants) "are eroding the impartiality of civil servants." Special advisers played key role with September 2002, alleging that the threat of weapons of mass destruction justified regime change in Iraq.

Brit judiciary

-Principle of parliamentary sovereignty has limited the role of the Judiciary. -Courts have no power to judge the constitutionality of legislative acts -Can only determine whether policy directive/ administrative acts violate common law or an act of Parliament, so it turns out to be less influential. -Jurists have a bigger role: royal commissions on conduct of industrial relations, struggle in riots over Northern Ireland in Britain's inner cities, suspicious death of a UN weapons inspector who challenged Blair's case for war in Iraq. -Dramatic changes: 2009 creation of the UK supreme court, removing authority of highest court of authority from House of Lords. -Human rights act in 1998. European Convention on Human Rights forced Britain to curtail discrimination against gays in military.

Parliamentary sovereignty

-Principle of parliamentary sovereignty has limited the role of the Judiciary. -Courts have no power to judge the constitutionality of legislative acts -Can only determine whether policy directive/ administrative acts violate common law or an act of Parliament, so it turns out to be less influential. -Jurists have a bigger role: royal commissions on conduct of industrial relations, struggle in riots over Northern Ireland in Britain's inner cities, suspicious death of a UN weapons inspector who challenged Blair's case for war in Iraq. -Dramatic changes: 2009 creation of the UK supreme court, removing authority of highest court of authority from House of Lords. Human rights act in 1998. -European Convention on Human Rights forced Britain to curtail discrimination against gays in military.

Vertical power in UK/ devolution (3 questions total)

-Referendums in Wales and Scotland in 1997, and in Northern Island and the Republic of Ireland in 1998, Blair's Labour government introduced a set of power-sharing arrangements (devolution) to favor the arrangements among UK Westminster Parliament, Welsh Assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly, and Scottish Parliament. -In 2014, Scottish voters narrowly defeated a referendum on Scottish independence. -The UK government takes responsibility for all policy areas that have not been devolved and are the traditional domain of nation-states. Westminster controls security and foreign policy, economic policy, trade, defense, and social security for the UK as a whole. -Scotland and scottish government enjoy most robust powers -Wales and Northern Ireland have limited independent authority and legislative arenas called assemblies. -Scotland has a parliament and the Scottish government is responsible for crucial areas of policy, including education, health, and administration of justice. -Devolution includes compromise and elements of federalism. Devolution has chipped away the core of parliamentary sovereignty, and the Westminster model. -It has sparked controversy about asymmetry in voting rights. -MP of Scotland voting on laws related to England or Wales. -Regional development agencies (RDAs) introduced to facilitate economic development at the regional level; (unelected bodies with no statutory authority) have opened the door to popular mobilization in the long term for elected regional assemblies. -Election of mayors (in places such as Birmingham) following the Blair government placing elected mayor of London in May 2000. -Decentralization

Magna Carta

-Royal control increased after 1066, but the conduct of King John (1199-1216) fueled opposition from feudal barons. -In 1215, they forced him to consent to a series of concessions that protected feudal landowners from abuses of royal power. -These were embodied in the Magna Carta: a historic statement of the rights of a political community against the monarchical state. Representative against the arbitrary exercise of state power.

Gender pay gap

-Still an 18.1 % difference after the Equal Pay Act of 1970. -9.4 % full time employees -6.8 percent to 6.0 percent by 2016 for part time employees. -Majority disparity 12% of men work part time, 41% of women do. -Gap expected to widen with moving into private sector. -Treatment of Theresa May -In 2013, the government implemented learning facilities for 20 % of disadvantaged 2 year olds.

Members of the UK Cabinet

-The PM selects about 10 dozen ministers for the cabinet. -Senior cabinet posts include the Foreign office (like US secretary of state), the Home Office (ministry of justice or attorney general), and the chancellor of the exchequer (finance minister). -Constitutional tradition requires overlapping membership between Parliament and cabinet. -Members of cabinet must be either members of the House of Commons or less often, House of Lords. -Collective responsibility normally unifies the cabinet. Usually, the PM must gain the support of a majority of the cabinet for a range of significant decisions, notably the budget and legislative program. -Vote of no confidence in the House of Commons. -Cabinet remains the only routine check on the PM.

UKSC v US supreme court

-The UK supreme court has no official written constitution -No higher authority than the parliament -Any law can be made and unmade with no challenge. -No unconstitutional laws -Dangerous government can exploit it. -Allows civil liberties to be overridden. -The US supreme court constitution is inflexible. -safeguard against tyrannical government. -to much power to the judges.

Extension of the franchise (right to vote)

-The industrial revolution shifted economic power from landowners to businessmen and industrialists. -The first important step towards democratization began in the late 1820s, when the propertied classes and increasing popular agitation preseed parliament to expand the right to vote. -With parliament under considerable pressure, the reform act of 1832 extended the vote to a section of the (male) middle class. -The reform was narrow, before 1832, less than 5% of the adult population could vote, but afterwards it only grew to 7%. -The Representation of the People Act of 1867 increased the electorate to 16%, -The Franchise act of 1884 nearly doubled the electorate -The Representation of the People Act of 1918 included nearly all adult men and women over the age of 30. -1928 was when nearly universal suffrage was achieved

Election for representatives to the House of Commons

-first past the post policy per constituency. (smp) -650 members

Great Britain = island = implications?

-largest of the British Isles -off the shores of europe, for centuries less subject to invasion and conquest than its continental counterparts. -Made Britons feel they are more apart from Europe, possibly contributed to Brexit.

Social policy today

-there has been changes in government but, there is been a considerable continuity across the period of postwar consensus despite difference in perspective on welfare. -New Labour attempted to link social expenditures to improving skills, making everyone a stakeholder in society and tried hard to turn social policy into an instrument for improving education, skills, and competitiveness. -In 2016, the UNcommitted expressed serious concerns about growing inequality in the UK following 6 years of austerity policies under conservative government and coalition that preceded it which said it disproportionately affected women, young people, ethnic minorities, and disabled. -Compared to the rest of europe, the UK welfare state offers few comprehensive services ,and the policies aren't very generous. -The lone exception is the National health service which provides comprehensive and universal medical care and has long been championed as the jewel in the crown of the welfare state in britain because it provides fine, low cost medical care to all british citizens as a right. The NHS is chronically underfunded, general practitioners are woefully underpaid, and faces same challenges in the US like in managing health care cost, excessive use of emergency rooms for medical care, and insufficient access to primary care physicians.

David Cameron as PM

2005, Conservative; He appealed to the youth for political support and championing modernization and pragmatism. Cameron's Big Society never caught on its defining vision.

Parliament term

5 years

Two party system (UK)

50 years ago, those not engaged in manual labor voted Conservative three times more commonly than they did Labour. More than 2 out of 3 manual workers, by contrast, voted Labour. Britain then conformed to a two class/ two-party system. Since the mid-1970s, decline in class-based voting, and a growing disaffection with the moderate social democracy associated with the Keynesian welfare state. The Labour Party suffered from divisions between its trade unionist and parliamentary elements, constitutional wrangling over the power of trade unions to determine party policy at annual conferences, and disputes over how the leader would be selected.

Doctrine of International Community

?

Elective dictatorship

A government that dominates Parliament, usually due to a large majority, and therefore has few limits on its power. -constitution

New Labour

A movement to update Britain's Labour Party by discarding the traditional Labour platform calling for state ownership of the means of production. The movement has been led by Tony Blair who became Prime Minister in 1997. -rejected interest-based politics, in which unions and working people tended to vote for Labour and businesspeople and the more prosperous voted for the Conservatives.

Hegemonic power

A state that can control the pattern of alliances and terms of the international order, and often shapes domestic political developments in countries throughout the world. -Britain exercised direct control over 50 countries including India and Nigeria. -Dominated an extensive economic empire- a worldwide network of independent states, including: China, Iran, and Brazil.

Neoliberalism

A strategy for economic development that calls for free markets, balanced budgets, privatization, free trade, and minimal government intervention in the economy.

Cabinet government

A system of government in which most executive power is held by the cabinet, headed by a prime minister. -the British cabinet bears enormous constitutional responsibility. The cabinet shapes, directs, and takes responsibility for the government. Cabinet government- may be more in principle than in practice, particularly with Thatcher and Blair, who can rally-or bully- the cabinet, power gravitates to the prime minister. Britain is basically a constitutional monarchy. The crown passes by hereditary succession, but the government or state officials exercise nearly all powers of the Crown.

Monetarism

A theory that government should control the money supply to encourage economic growth and restrain inflation.

Single member plurality SMP system

An electoral system in which voters in each electoral district elect a single representative to the legislature. The candidate with the most votes is elected, even if that candidate did not receive the majority of votes. One per district

A bill becomes a law

Bills must be introduced in the Commons and the Lords, although approval by the Lords is not required. Ideas for legislation come from political parties, pressure groups, think tanks, the prime minister's policy unit, or government departments. Proposed legislation, on behalf of the government, is then drafted by civil servants, circulated within Whitehall, approved by the cabinet, and then refined by the office of Parliamentary Counsel. In the Commons- the bill usually comes to the floor three times. It is formally read upon introduction, printed, distributed, debated in general terms, then given a second reading after an interval, and then a veto. The bill then undergoes a detailed review by a standing committee reflecting the overall party balance. Then it goes through a report stage, in which new amendments may be introduced. In the third reading, the bill is considered in final form (and voted on) without debate. A bill passed in the Commons follows a parallel path in the Lords. The bill is either accepted without change, amended, or rejected. The Lords passes bills concerning taxation or budgetary matters without altercation, but can add technical and editorial amendments to other bills (if approved by the Commons) to add clarity and precision. Finally, it receives royal assent and becomes an Act of Parliament.

British politics today (last 3 years)

Boris Johnson; conservative party

Scottish Referendum

Cameron gave a referendum to Scotland stating if they wanted to be part of the UK. And the vote was 55 to 45, they were going to stay in the UK. In return, David Cameron gave them more autonomy.

Checks on PM

Collective responsibility normally unifies the cabinet. Usually, the PM must gain the support of a majority of the cabinet for a range of significant decisions, notably the budget and legislative program. -Vote of no confidence in the House of Commons. -Cabinet remains the only routine check on the PM.

British police force

Constitutional tradition and professionalism distance the British police and military from politics. -Since the Cold War Britain has remained focused on a gradually redefined set of NATO commitments. Ranked among the top 5. -In 1999, the UK backed the Kosovo campaign and pressed for ground troops. -Global interdependence rendered isolationism obsolete and inspired a commitment to a new ethical dimension in foreign policy. -Iraq was characterized as an extension of Kosovo- an effort to liberate Muslims from brutal dictatorships, whether Serbia's Slobodan Milosevic or Iraq's Saddam Hussein. -Opposition after Blair's decision to support the American plan to shift in international conflicts. -2011 Endorsed by the UN Security Council to protect civilians and enhance the cause of rebels fighting the regime of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. -In 2013, Parliament refused to authorize the use of force to quell violence in Syria. Britain has joined an international coalition to defeat -ISIS in Syria and to provide humanitarian aid to the region. -During 1984-1985 coal miners' strike, police operated to an unprecedented and perhaps unlawful degrees as a national force coordinated through Scotland Yard (police headquarters) -Industrial dispute flew in face of constitutional traditions and offended some police officers and officials.

United Kingdom

England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland Sidenote: Great Britain=England, Scotland, and Wales, but not Northern Ireland. Britain= UK -Duke William of Normandy defeated the English in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the Norman monarchy eventually extended its authority throughout the British Isles except for Scotland. -In the 16th century, legislation unified England and Wales legally, politically, and administratively. Scotland and England remained separate kingdoms until the Act of Union of 1707. -A common parliament of Great Britain replaced the two separate parliaments of Scotland and of England and Wales.

FDI and UK

FDI: Britain is a highly regarded location for this. High-technology industries. Clouded by weak industrial performance. Anti Regulatory approach and international market driven approach poses great risk. Brexit heightened this.

gender/ ethnic representation

Gender Pay Gap Still an 18.1 % difference after the Equal Pay Act of 1970. 9.4 % full time employees 6.8 percent to 6.0 percent by 2016 for part time employees. Majority disparity 12% of men work part time, 41% of women do. Gap expected to widen with moving into private sector. Treatment of Theresa May In 2013, the government implemented learning facilities for 20 % of disadvantaged 2 year olds. Hate Crimes 7/7 bombing 3.0 % black, Mixed 2%, 2.3% Indian, Pakistani 1.9% However there has been a rise in ethnic minority workers. Employment rate gap has decreased by 0.5 percent. 109,000 women of ethnic minorities have entered the workforce. 55 percent in 2015, 42 percent in 2005.

Expansion of the franchise

Granting of voting rights to more and more members of society. --The industrial revolution shifted economic power from landowners to businessmen and industrialists. -The first important step towards democratization began in the late 1820s, when the propertied classes and increasing popular agitation preseed parliament to expand the right to vote. -With parliament under considerable pressure, the reform act of 1832 extended the vote to a section of the (male) middle class. -The reform was narrow, before 1832, less than 5% of the adult population could vote, but afterwards it only grew to 7%. -The Representation of the People Act of 1867 increased the electorate to 16%, -The Franchise act of 1884 nearly doubled the electorate -The Representation of the People Act of 1918 included nearly all adult men and women over the age of 30. -1928 was when nearly universal suffrage was achieved

Muslims in the UK

In 2006, to protect the British Muslims,the Lords persuaded Commons to water down a bill that prohibited incitement to violence on the grounds that the bill might be used to target Muslim clerics unfairly. More attention has been paid to the reform of Lords. Resistance to reforms in NHS and welfare benefits.

House of Lords

It was a wholly elected body composed of hereditary peers and life peers. The Lords also includes the archbishops of Canterbury and York and two dozen other bishops and archbishops of the Church of England. In 1999, the right of all hereditary peers to sit and vote in the Lords was curtailed and that right limited to 92. In 2017, there were about 800 members eligible to take part in the work of the House of Lords. The Lords serves mainly as a chamber of revision, they can debate, refine, and delay but not block legislation.

Ed Miliband

Leader of the opposition Labour Party from 2010 to 2015 -After the party's defeat in the 2010 election, two close-knit brothers who had served in the cabinets, David Miliband, with close ties to Blair as foreign minister, and Ed Miliband, with close ties to Brown and former Secretary of State for Climate Change, were the top contenders to succeed Gordon Brown. -In the contest for leadership of the Labour Party in September 2010, Ed Miliband, the youngest brother, prevailed in a very close election, signaling a turn away from New Labour and an effort to turn the party in a more progressive direction. -Miliband tried with only moderate success to rally the base, among trade unionist and public sector employees particularly, who were feeling the pinch the hardest under the austerity policies of the Coalition government.

Backbenchers

Legislators who do not hold leadership positions within their party caucus or conference. Since the 1970s the backbenchers have been markedly less deferential. Backbench rebellion against Major government's EU policy in 1993 (which was viewed as very European), weakened the PM. ⅓ of Labour MPs defected on use of force in Iraq in 2003. December 2016, emergency House of Commons meeting to protect civilians in Aleppo and Syria.

Occupational and social class of the UK

Lower class, working class, middle class, upper class. Also: Elite. Established middle class. Technical middle class. New affluent workers. Traditional working class. Emergent service sector. Precariat.

Post 2010 economic policy under Conservative and coalition government

Miliband tried with only moderate success to rally the base, among trade unionist and public sector employees particularly, who were feeling the pinch the hardest under the austerity policies of the Coalition government. The coalition government characterize its governing objective as a blending of the Conservative belief in the dynamism of free markets with the Liberal Democrat commitment to decentralization. The result was captured in a new framework for governance, which the coalition partners called the "Big Society." Big Society was largely unsuccessful.

New Labour approach to society

New Labour rejected both cutbacks in social provisions of Conservative government and instead New labour focus its social policy on training and broader social investment as a more positive third way alternative. -Tried to break welfare dependency. The economic upturn began in 1992, and the attention to social exclusion and strong rates of growth were looking like a good sign. But achieving success proved very difficult. UK overall levels of child well being were being ranked at the bottom of the charts in early 2000 but its was definitely making progress. The 2016 report card examines four domains of child well being-income, education, health, and life satisfaction. It ranks 14 out of 35 countries

Policy making - influential institutions

Policy making primarily from the executive, policy making and a cooperative style has developed.

Quangos

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

Special Relationship

Refers to relations between the United States and Britain and is meant to convey not only the largely positive, mutually beneficial nature of the relationship but also the common heritage and shared values of the two countries.

Select committees in Parliament

Select committees Strong policy recommendations at odds with government policy. Civil servants have been required to testify in a manner that may damage their ministers. 2009 tawdry scandal

Liberal Democratic party / 2010 election

Social and Liberal Democratic Party 2001 vote tally increased by nearly one fifth and won fifty-two seats, the most gained by a centrist third party since 1929. Charles Kennedy 2003, opposed war in Iraq. December 2007, Nick Clegg Increasingly focused on the needs of the business community 2010: First televised debated in UK politics gave Lib-Dems initial surge in popularity due to charismatic Nick Clegg Gave fresh/honest alternative to status quo Domestic policy International affairs

Coalition debt reduction approach

The centerpiece of the coalition government's approach to economic policy was its overarching commitment to deficit reduction as the necessary preconditions for stabilizing the economy. -Soon after taking office, the coalition government engaged in a comprehensive spending review and a predictably harsh retrospective critique of the state of the economy that it inherited from New Labour.

British Coalition policy vision

The coalition government characterize its governing objective as a blending of the Conservative belief in the dynamism of free markets with the Liberal Democrat commitment to decentralization. Big Society

Powers of Commons

To pass laws To provide finances for the state by authorizing taxation To review and scrutinize public administration and government policy. 650 seats at the time of 2017 election, exercises the main legislative power in Britain. -It has limited legislative function, but it still has a very important democratic role. -It provides a highly visible arena for policy debate and the partisan collision of political worldviews.

British culture

UK= English language; Protestant religion, and constitutional monarchy Ireland=Catholic religion; democracy

Alternative vote (AV)

a candidate-centered preference voting system used in single-member districts where voters rank order the candidates. A candidate who receives an absolute majority is elected. If no candidate wins an absolute majority, then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and her votes are reallocated until one candidate has an absolute majority of the valid votes remaining ranking then the one with the absolute majority

7/7 bombings

bombs were set off in the London transport system on July 7, 2005 (7/7 in the UK)

Hung government

may 2010 election produced what the british call a Hung parliament - an outcome after a general election when no party can control a majority of the seats in parliament by itself.

Prime Minister

the head of an elected government; the principal minister of a sovereign or state. -responsibility for policy making, supreme control of government, and coordination of all government departments, however power invariably flows upward to the prime minister. AND the executive reaches well beyond the cabinet. It extends from ministries and ministers to the civil service in one direction, and to Parliament in the other direction.

Collectivism

the practice or principle of giving a group priority over each individual in it.

constituency

the residents in the area from which an official is elected

Devolution

the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states

Act of Union 1707

unified England and Scotland; the Scots sought the benefits of trade within the English empire