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Beginner’s guide to voting
Glossary of terms
In the table below you will find the most common terms and definitions related to voting and registration. Understanding these terms will help you understand the voting process with confidence.
| Ballot paper | The piece of paper on which you cast your vote, by marking an X in the box next to the name of the person you want to win. |
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| Ballot box | The sealed box in which you put your ballot paper after you have voted. |
| By-election | A one-off election that happens in between elections, usually when an MP or a councilor in a certain area has resigned. |
| Candidate | A person who is running in an election, usually representing a certain political party. |
| Campaign | The run-up to an election when politicians try to convince people to vote for them. |
| Coalition | When two or more parties join to make a government (when no party has a majority of the seats in the House of Commons). |
| Constituency |
The area that your elected MP represents. There are 650 parliamentary constituencies in the UK (and, as a result, 650 MPs). There are 5 constituencies in the London Borough of Southwark: Bermondsey and Old Southwark Peckham Lewisham West and East Dulwich Dulwich and West Norwood Vauxhall and Camberwell Green You can find out the names of the five current MPs for Southwark Council by visiting MPs and London Assembly Member | Southwark Council |
| Councilor | An elected member of local council. There are roughly 17,000 local councillors in England. Southwark Council is made up of 23 wards. Two or three councillors are elected from each ward, resulting in a total of 63 councilors. You can find out who your local councilor is, visit Councilors | Southwark Council |
| Electoral register | The list of everyone who is registered to vote. |
| First past the post | This is the voting system we use in the UK. Despite the name, there is no actual 'post', it just means that the candidate with the most votes wins. |
| Government | The government runs the country and is usually formed by the party that wins the election, or by a coalition. |
| House of Commons | The elected bit of Parliament where all the MPs who are voted into office have their own chamber to vote on laws and debate. You can tell if you are watching the House of Commons if people are sitting on green benches. |
| House of Lords | Unlike MPs, Lords are not elected but usually chosen for their experience. They consider new proposed laws and check the work of the government. You can tell if you are watching the House of Lords if people are sitting on red benches. |
| Hung Parliament | If no party gets a majority (more than 50%) of seats, then we have a hung parliament. |
| Kingmaker | If there's a hung parliament then smaller parties might be able to play 'kingmaker' to the bigger parties who need extra MPs to make up a government. |
| Landslide | A landslide is when a party wins significantly more seats than the nearest rival party. |
| MP | Stands for Member of Parliament. Each of the 650 UK constituencies has an MP who represents his or her area's interests in the House of Commons. |
| Majority | This means one party winning more than 50% of seats (326 or more seats) in the House of Commons that allows them to form a government. |
| Manifesto | A list of a party's ideas and policies, outlining what it'll do if it wins the election. |
| Marginal seat | A constituency where different party's support is very close and it's hard to predict who will win. |
| Swing | Used to describe how much of a change in support there is from one party to another. |
| Opposition | The largest political party that does not form part of the government or a governing coalition. They sit opposite the government in the House of Commons. The leader of the opposition party is called the "Leader of the Opposition". |
| Parliament | Is where new laws get debated and agreed. Parliament is made up of two 'houses' - the House of Commons and the House of Lords - and, officially, the King but he doesn't get involved in decision-making. |
| Party of political party | Refers to a group that have common political goals. Most MPs belong to a political party. |
| Pledge | A pledge is a promise from a political party. |
| Policy | Is the name for a plan of action from the party. |
| Polling station | Is the place where you go to cast your vote - usually somewhere local to where you live, such as a school. There are 108 polling stations in Southwark. |
| Prime Minister of United Kingdom | The person who is leader of the country and moves into 10 Downing Street. It is usually the leader of the biggest political party. You can find out who the current prime minister by visiting GOV.UK |
| Referendum | A type of vote where voters are given the chance to decide on a major issue, by voting yes or no. This type of election does not elect any people, it simply lets politicians know how the country thinks about a single issue. |
| Returning officer | The person chosen to make sure the area's vote goes smoothly and is done fairly. He or she will also announce the result. The current Returning Officer for Southwark is Althea Loderick. |
| Seat | When a candidate wins and becomes an MP, they win a 'seat' in the Houses of Parliament. |
| Spoilt ballot | When a voter has not voted properly on their ballot paper, such as by leaving it blank or writing more than one cross. Spoilt votes do not count towards the result. |
| Term | A bit like a term at school or university, it means the period between general elections. MPs are elected to serve for one term. |
| Turn out | The number or percentage of people who turned out to vote. |