英國大選術語（中英文對照） 英國大選術語（中英文對照）
Absentee ballot ：缺席選票
A vote cast by someone who cannot reach a polling station. Can be postal or by proxy (see below). 選民無法親自前往投票站時郵寄或者請人代投自己的選票。
Agent：競選經理
A person who represents candidates in their dealings with the electoral authorities and runs their campaigns. 代表候選人與選民打交道以及組織競選活動的個人。
Ballot ：投票
Another term for vote. 與vote意義相同
Ballot box ：票箱
Sealed box with a slit in the lid, into which voters place their ballot papers. 密封的箱子，蓋子上有一個事先開好的小口。選民將標好的選票投入其中。
Ballot paper ：選票
Paper containing a list of all candidates standing in a constituency. Voters mark their choice with a cross. 上面印有候選人名字，選民在自己選中的候選人名字旁邊劃X。
Battlebus ：戰車
A vehicle used by a party to transport its leader or other senior figures around the country to rallies or to meet the people. 競選過程中政黨領袖用以周游全國爭取選民支持的交通工具。
Boundary Commission 選區邊界委員會
The body which reviews constituencies every 8-12 years to make sure they represent current population patterns. 根據人口分布、每8至12年重新劃定選區分界的專門機構。
By-election：補選
An election held between general elections, usually because the sitting MP has died or resigned. 兩次大選之間舉行的選舉，通常是因為原議員辭職或去世。
Cabinet：內閣
The group of senior ministers at the head of the government. 由數名高級部長組成，是政府的最高權力機構。
Candidate：候選人
Someone putting themselves up for election. Once Parliament has been dissolved, there are no MPs, only candidates. 代表某一政黨競選國會議員席位的人。議會解散時，"議員"不復存在，只有候選人。
Canvassing：游說
During a campaign, active supporters of a party ask voters who they will vote for and try to drum up support for their own candidates. 競選過程中，政黨的支持者詢問選民的投票意向、爭取選民對自己政黨候選人的支持。
Coalition：聯合政府
When two or more parties govern together, when neither has an overall majority. Coalitions are very rare in Westminster; the last was the administration led by Winston Churchill during the Second World War. The Liberals propped up the last years of the Labour Government of 1974-9, but did not actually take a part in its running. 兩個或兩個以上沒有多數席位的政黨聯合組成的政府。上一個聯合政府是在第二次世界大戰期間丘吉爾擔任首相時組成的政府。1974-1979年間，自民黨曾經支持工黨組成聯合政府，但自民黨并未參與執政。
Constituency ：選區
The geographical unit which elects a single MP. There will be 646 in the UK after the election. 選舉產生一名國會議員的地理區域。本次大選共有646個選區選出相同數量的議員。
Deposit：定金
￡500 paid by candidates or their parties to be allowed to stand. It is returned if the candidate wins 5% or more of the votes cast. 候選人需要交納500英鎊的定金才可以參選。候選人只有在獲得5%以上選票的情況下才可拿回定金。
Dissolution of Parliament ：解散議會
The act of ending a Parliament. 大選前一個月解散議會。
Election expenses ：競選經費
Candidates are only allowed to spend a limited amount of money on their individual campaign. Accounts must be submitted after the poll proving they did not exceed this limit. 候選人只可以花費一定數量的經費用于個人的競選活動。投票結束后必須向有關單位提交賬目，以證實自己沒有超支。
Electoral register ：選民登記
A list of all those in a constituency entitled to vote. Also known as electoral roll. 所有有投票權的選民的名單，也可以被稱作electoral roll。
Exit poll ：投票站民意調查
A poll asking people how they have voted just after they have left the polling station. 選民投票之后離開投票站時，有關單位詢問他們的投票意向并據此預測出選舉結果。
First past the post ：簡單多數票當選
Term used to describe the UK's parliamentary election system. It means a candidate only needs a simple majority - more votes than his or her rivals - to be elected. 英國下院選舉的一個原則。每一個選民只能投一票給一個候選人，在這個選區內獲得票數最多的候選人當選。
Franchise ：選舉權
The right to vote. Now available to those over 18 and on the electoral register. 選舉權。年滿18歲、在選民登記冊注冊的人享有投票權。
General election ：大選
Election at which all seats in the House of Commons are contested. General elections must take place at least every five years, but are usually held after about four years on a date chosen by the prime minister. 議會全部席位都將重新選出。大選最長間隔每五年舉行一次。但通常情況下都是每四年舉行一次。大選日期由首相決定。
Hung parliament：無多數議會
If after an election no party has an overall majority, then parliament is said to be "hung". The main parties will then try to form a coalition with one or more of the minor parties. 如果大選之后出現沒有任何一個政黨獲得議會中絕對多數席位的情況，這時議會被稱作"無多數議會"。主要政黨會尋求其他小黨的支持組成聯合政府。
Landslide ：壓倒優勢
The name given to an election which one party wins by a very large margin. Famous landslides in UK elections include Labour's victory in 1945, the Conservative win in 1983 and the election which brought Tony Blair to power in 1997. 指的是某一政黨在大選中以明顯優勢獲得勝利。近代出現"壓倒性優勢"的幾次大選包括1945年工黨獲勝、1983年保守黨獲勝以及1997年現任首相布萊爾率領工黨獲勝。
Manifesto ：競選綱領
A public declaration of a party's ideas and policies, usually printed during the campaign. Once in power, a government is often judged by how many of its manifesto promises it manages to deliver. 政黨的方針以及政策，通常在競選過程中出版。一旦當選，人們通常會以執政黨兌現了多少競選綱領中的承諾來判斷政府的業績。
Marginal constituencies：優勢微弱選區
Seats where the gap between the two or more leading parties is relatively small. Often regarded as less than a 10% margin ie requiring a swing of 5% or less, though very dependent on prevailing political conditions. 指的是特定選區內兩個或兩個以上政黨之間的選民支持率相差無幾。一般情況下指的是某一方的優勢小于10%，也就是說，5%或者低于5%的選民改變投票意向即可左右大選結果。優勢微弱選區的選舉結果在相當大的程度上取決于總體政局。
Minority government ：少數黨政府
A government formed by a party which does not have an absolute majority in the House of Commons. Harold Wilson led a Labour minority government between February and October 1974. 由在議會下院不占絕對多數席位的政黨組成的政府。1974年2月到10月之間工黨首相威爾遜領導的就是"少數黨政府"。
MP Member of Parliament ：國會議員（簡稱MP)
Strictly this includes members of the House of Lords, but in practice means only members of the House of Commons. When an election is called Parliament is dissolved and there are no more MPs until it assembles again. 嚴格來講，議員也包括上院議員，但實際上說起議員一般指的只是下院議員。競選開始之后，議會解散，議員也就不復存在了，直到大選之后議會重新召集為止。
Nomination papers：提名單
A candidate must be nominated on these documents by 10 voters living in the constituency. 候選人必須獲得選區內至少10名選民的提名支持。
Notional result ：理論結果
After major boundary changes like that in 1997, the main broadcasters agree how altered constituencies were likely to have voted in the previous election. This gives them a base against which to compare the new results. 在大規模重新劃定選區邊界之后，新選區內的選民在上一次大選中可能會如何投票呢？各主要廣播單位就此達成的共識被稱為"理論結果"。這個數字可以用作與最新大選結果加以比較的基礎。
Number 10 ：10號
The official residence in Downing Street of the British prime minister since the 18th century. Number 10 and Downing Street both serve as terms to describe the prime minister and his or her inner circle, as in "Number 10 has said that". 有時也稱唐寧街10號。自從18世紀以來，唐寧街10號一直就是首相的官邸。"10號"或者"唐寧街"都是首相府的代名詞。
Opinion poll ：民意調查
A survey asking people's opinion on one or more issues. In an election campaign, the key question is usually about which party people will vote for. 就一個或多個問題調查選民的看法。在競選過程中，最重要的一個問題通常是"你將投哪一個政黨的票"。
Opposition ：反對黨
The largest party not in government is known as the official opposition. It receives extra parliamentary funding in recognition of its status. 規模最大的在野黨。反對黨可以獲得追加的活動經費。