British English · B2 · Unit 7
Politics and elections
Politics and elections
By the end you can
- Explain a political issue in your country
- Discuss how decisions are made where you live
- Understand news about politics
Words and phrases
| British English | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a general election | an election for the parliament of the whole country (British) | There's a general election next year. |
| vote for | choose (a person or a party) in an election | Who are you going to vote for? |
| the government | the people who run the country | The government has promised more money for the NHS. |
| the opposition | the parties that are not in government | The opposition says the plan won't work. |
| my local MP | the Member of Parliament for my area | I wrote to my local MP about it. |
| a manifesto | a party's written list of promises | Every party publishes a manifesto before the election. |
| the polling station | the place where you go to vote | The polling station is in the church hall. |
| turnout | how many people vote | Turnout was only 60 per cent. |
| councillor | an elected member of the local council (British) | Our local councillor won by one vote. |
| a marginal seat | an area where the election result is very close | We live in a marginal seat, so every vote counts. |
| a hung parliament | when no party has more than half the seats (British) | The polls point to a hung parliament. |
| I'm not very political | I'm not very interested in politics | I'm not very political, but this matters to me. |
Then talk it through
Talking with a neighbour about an election coming up in the UK. In the app you have this conversation out loud or typed, with the unit's goals to tick off and corrections at the end.