| allocate | to set apart for a particular purpose |
| antagonistic | negative behaviour showing hatred and sharp opposition |
| beyond public scrutiny | away from the attention of the public, i.e., without adequate controls |
| bribe | money offered to influence someone's behaviourr |
| coherent | easy to understand |
| conclusively | putting an end to doubt; with certainty |
| constituents | voters; people represented by an MP |
| deprive | to prevent from having |
| embrace | support |
| face the axe | to be about to be dismissed from a job |
| hasty | quick and without careful consideration, often with bad results |
| hinder | to slow the progress of |
| in one breath...in another (breath) | At one time he says... and at another time he says (the
opposite) |
| obliged | having an obligation (duty) to do something |
| previous incarnation | an earlier “life” (time) in the same position |
| quasi- | partly; in some ways |
| ramble on about | (negative) to talk at great length in a disordered wandering way |
| slump | decline; period of slow or weak activity |
| spotlight | focus of attention |
| stamp out | to eliminate completely |
| tainted | impure; unclean; made to seem undesirable or unclean |
| throttle | to severely slow the progress of; to choke |
| uphill struggle | difficult job |