In America, the term 'conservative' means really right-wing, especially on social issues. In Britain the name 'Conservative' means mainstream right-wing, especially on economic issues.
In America, the term 'liberal' generally means quite left-wing. In Britain, the name 'Liberal' means broadly centrist.
In the States, it is considered necessary for a politician to emphasize their patriotism. In Britain, it is assumed that anyone who wants to run for national office cares for his or her country.
In the United States, the flag holds special place in the political heart of the nation, people sing to it while placing a hand over their heart, and many people would like to make burning it a criminal offence. In Britain the flag is rarely prominent at political events.
In the United States, since 9/11 most politicians wear a pin depicting the stars and stripes. In Britain, no politician would wear a badge displaying the union jack.
So many political speeches in the US include the phrase "my fellow Americans". In British political terminology, there is simply no equivalent phrase.
In the States, virtually every political speech seems to mention God, especially in the final call "God bless America". In Britain, no politician mentions God and none would think of inviting Him to show a special preference for his or her nation state.
In the US, politicians frequently refer to their position on social issues like abortion and homosexuality. A British politician would think it unnecessary and inappropriate to talk about such issues unless asked.
In the US, politicians constantly talk about the problems and the aspirations of the middle class. In the UK, politicians tend to talk more about the needs of the working class. They mean something similar but the language is different because the perceptions are different. In America, the working class is seen as the poor and most citizens perceive themselves as middle-class or aspiring to be so. In Britain, the middle-class is seen as a comfortable minority with the majority of the population perceiving themselves as working class.
Although taxes are never popular, the issue of taxation is much more emotive in American politics than in British (or European) politics and the terms of debate on taxation are much more hostile. The United States was born in a revolt against paying taxes and many Republicans are against any tax increases and believe that low taxation stimulates economic growth, whereas many British (and European) politicians see taxation as a social instrument as well as a fiscal one with the power to bring about redistribution in society.
American political speeches do not tend to make much use of facts and figures (those of former President Clinton tend to be an exception) but appeal more to broad values which do not lend themselves to quantification. Many British political speeches focus on practical issues and use figures to highlight problems and make comparisons with the policies or the performance of one's opponents.
In the States, there are currently some outstanding political speakers, led by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. In Britain, there is no politician who can be so inspirational, although Tony Blair at his best came close (but he's gone). On the other hand, British politicians tend to be better debaters because of the more confrontational style of discussion in the House of Commons, especially Prime Minister's Questions.
In US political theory and discourse, there is a notion called 'American exceptionalism'. There are several versions of this nebulous concept, perhaps the most common being that the United States has a special 'superiority' in the world because of its history, size, wealth and global dominance plus the 'sophistication' of its constitution and power of its values such as individualism, innovation and entrepreneurship. Many American politicians refer to the USA being "the greatest country on earth" or even "the greatest nation in history". Although Britain fairly recently ruled over the largest empire in world history and has other claims to 'greatness' - not least its political system and cultural reach - there is no concept in British political discourse which compares to 'American exceptionalism'.
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