A comprehensive list of all the key terms you need to revise for your Edexcel Government & Politics exams.
5 pages, 1900+ words
Helped me get an A* in A-Level Government & Politics!
Legitimacy The rightful use of power in accordance with pre-set criteria
or widely-held agreements, such as a government’s right to
rule following an election or a monarch’s succession based on
the agreed rules.
Representative democracy A more modern form of democracy through which an
individual selects a person (and/or political party) to act on
their behalf to exercise political choice.
Democratic deficit A flaw in the democratic process where decisions are taken
by people who lack legitimacy, not having been appointed
with sufficient democratic input or subject to accountability.
Franchise/suffrage Franchise and suffrage both refer to the ability/right to vote
in public elections. Suffragettes were women campaigning for
the right to vote on the same terms as men
Lobbyists A lobbyist is paid by clients to try to influence the
government and/or MPs and members of the House of Lords
to act in their clients’ interests, particularly when legislation is
under consideration
New Labour (Third Way) A revision of the traditional Labour values and ideals
represented by Old Labour. Influenced by Anthony Giddens,
the ‘Third Way’ saw Labour shift in emphasis from a heavy
focus on the working class to a wider class base, and a less
robust alliance with the trade unions.
New Right There are two elements – (i) the neo (or new) Conservatives
who want the state to take a more authoritarian approach to
morality and law and order and (ii) the neo-liberals who
endorsed the freemarket approach and the rolling back of the
state in people’s lives and businesses.
Modern liberals Modern liberalism emerged as a reaction against free-market
capitalism, believing this had led to many individuals not
being free. Freedom could no longer simply be defined as
‘being left alone’.
Left-wing A widely-used term for those who desire change, reform and
alteration to the way in which society operates. Often this
involves radical criticisms of the capitalism made by liberal
and socialist parties.
First-past-the-post (FPTP) An electoral system where the person with the most number
of votes is elected. Victory is achieved by having one more
vote than other contenders – it is also called a plurality
system.
Single Transferable Vote (STV) This system allows voters to rank their voting preferences in
numerical order rather than simply having one voting choice.
In order to obtain a seat, a candidate must obtain a quota.
After the votes are cast, those with the least votes are
eliminated and their votes transferred and those candidates
with excess votes above the quota also have their votes
transferred.
Safe seat A seat in which the incumbent has a considerable majority
over the closest rival and which is largely immune from
swings in voting choice. The same political party retains the
, seat from election to election. A majority of seats in UK
Westminster constituencies are safe seats.
Minority government A government that enters office but which does not have a
majority of seats in the legislature (Parliament). This makes
passing legislation very difficult.
Class dealignment The process where individuals no longer identify themselves
as belonging to a certain class and for political purposes fail to
make a class connection with their voting pattern.
Governing competency The perceived ability of the governing party in office to
manage the affairs of the state well and effectively. It can also
be a potential view of opposition parties and their perceived
governing competency if they were to secure office.
Manifesto In its manifesto, a political party will spell out in detail what
actions and programmes it would like to put in place if it is
successful in the next election – a set of promises for future
action.
Direct democracy All individuals express their opinions themselves and not
through representatives acting on their behalf. This type of
democracy emerged in Athens in classical times and direct
democracy can be seen today in referendums.
Pluralist democracy A type of democracy in which a government makes decisions
as a result of the interplay of various ideas and contrasting
arguments from competing groups and organisations.
Participation crisis A lack of engagement by a significant number of citizens to
relate to the political process either by choosing not to vote
or to join or become members of political parties or to offer
themselves for public office.
Think tanks A body of experts brought together to collectively focus on a
certain topic(s) – to investigate and offer solutions to often
complicated and seemingly intractable economic, social or
political issues.
Old Labour (social democracy) Key Labour principles embodying nationalisation,
redistribution of wealth from rich to poor and the provision
of continually improving welfare and state services, which
largely rejected Thatcherite/ free-market reforms or a Blairite
approach.
One Nation A paternalistic approach adopted by Conservatives under the
leadership of Benjamin Disraeli in the 19th century and
continued by David Cameron and Theresa May in the 21st
century, that the rich have an obligation to help the poor.
Classical liberals Classical liberalism is a philosophy developed by early liberals
who believed that individual freedom would best be achieved
with the state playing a minimal role.
Party systems The way or manner in which the political parties in a political
system are grouped and structured. There are several
variants that could apply to the UK, these include one-party
dominant, two-party, two-and-a-half party and multi-party
systems.
Right-wing This term reflects support for the status quo, little or no
change, stressing the need for order, stability and hierarchy –
generally relates to Conservative parties.
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