A by-election takes place when a seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant between general elections. If there are several vacant seats then a number of by-elections can take place on the same day.
| annex (v)
| take over territory and incorporate it into another political entity, e.g. a country or state
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| backbencher
| member of the House of Commons who is not a party leader
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| bail (n)
| money that must be forfeited by the bondsman if an accused person fails to appear in court for trial
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| barrister
| British lawyer who speaks in the higher courts of law
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| canopy
| cover (as a cloth) fixed or carried above a person of high rank or sacred object
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| cede (v)
| give something such as ownership to someone
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| confer (v)
| present, e.g. degree, honour
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| crossbencher
| member of the House of Commons who does not vote regularly with either the Government or the Opposition
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| custody
| holding by the police; guardianship over; in divorce cases – the right to house and care for and discipline a child
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| dissolve
| declare void
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| enact
| order by virtue of superior authority; decree
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| frontbencher
| member of the House of Commons who is a minister or an ex-minister
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| nanny state
| government that brings in legislation that it considers is in the people's best interests but that is regarded by some as interfering and patronizing
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| peerage
| rank, status, or title of a nobleman or noblewoman
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| Privy Council
| advisory council to the British crown
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| prorogue
| adjourn by royal prerogative; without dissolving the legislative body
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| Royal Assent
| the British monarch's formal signing of an act of Parliament, making it law
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| solicitor
| British lawyer who gives legal advice and prepares legal documents
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| summon
| call in an official matter
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| welfare state
| government that undertakes responsibility for the welfare of its citizens through programs in public health and public housing and pensions and unemployment compensation etc.
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| woolsack
| sack or bag of wool; specifically, the seat of the lord chancellor of England in the House of Lords, being a large, square sack of wool resembling a divan in form.
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