1. General Government/Politics Vocabulary
Adhere to – To act as required according to a rule, promise, or belief
Austerity – The condition of living without comfort or unnecessary purchases
Budget – The amount of money available for a specific purpose
To campaign – To work in an organised way towards a political goal such as an election
Corruption – Dishonest conduct or use of power. Often involves bribery
Fiscal deficit – The disparity between how much the government spends and how much it earns
Democracy – A political system where the population can vote for elected representatives
Evasive – Avoiding commitment to an answer by responding indirectly
Funding – The money available for a specific purpose
Impeach – To charge the holder of office with misconduct
Left-wing – The liberal and socialist arm of politics
Legislation – A set of laws suggested by a government and made official by a parliament
Lobbying/Lobbyists – To seek to influence politicians, public officials, or issues / The people that seek to influence
Mandate – The authority to carry out a course of action. For example, a candidate voted into office is given a mandate by the voters
Party – A formally constituted collection of politicians that contest elections
Populism/Populist – A political approach that is aimed at pleasing ordinary working people, and helping them in a struggle against the elite
Reform – To make changes to something such as institutions, systems, and policies
Right-wing – The arm of politics that supports conservatism, capitalism, and traditional ideas
Think-tank – A group of experts providing analysis or opinion on economic or political issues
Trustworthy – Can be relied on as truthful and dependable
Transparent – Done in a non-secretive and clear way
3. Government/Politics Idioms, Phrasal Verbs, and Collocations
A stopgap – A temporary way of dealing with a problem
Allocate resources to – Distribute resources to a particular area/project. Resources usually refer to money or people.
Central government – The political authority that governs an entire country
Come into force – When policies begin to be implemented as laws
Commit political suicide – When a politician loses support from the public because of extremely unpopular policies or ideas
Come down on – Criticise or punish severely
Crack down – Take severe measures against something such as knife crime, burglary etc…
Elect a government – When the public vote for a government to hold authority and govern
Go back on – To break a promise or change a decision
Government body – Any branch, office, or organisation that forms part of the government
Hard-liner – Politicians who support strict, and rigid ideas
Local government – The political authority that has control over a city/region
Perform a U-turn – A change of plan or political policy from what was previously stated
Pursue/Follow a policy – To show support for a particular policy
Run for office – To be a candidate in an election
Shape policy – To be involved in the development and design of political policies
Stand down – To resign from a post or withdraw from a political campaign
Stand for – To support or accept particular values or principles
To impose spending cuts – To reduce the amount the government spends on public services like police/hospitals/roads etc…
To raise taxation on – To increase tax on a specific item, for example, fuel, tobacco, alcohol etc…
Topple/Bring down a government – To remove a political party from power
Windfall tax – A extra tax that is designed to tax excessive amounts of profit