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United Kingdom

About United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain, is a sovereign island country located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe. The United Kingdom is a political union comprising of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (sometimes referred to as the four "constituent countries" of the United Kingdom) and includes the island of Great Britain, the northeast part of the island of Ireland and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel.

The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with its seat of government in London, the capital. It is a constitutional monarchy with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II the head of state. The Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, formally possessions of the Crown, are not part of the UK but form a federacy with it. The UK has fourteen overseas territories, all remnants of the British Empire, which at its height encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface, making it the largest empire in history. As a direct result of the empire, British influence can be observed in the language and culture of states such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and the United States of America, and other less globally influential independent states. HM Queen Elizabeth II remains the head of the Commonwealth of Nations and head of state of the Commonwealth realms. The UK is a developed country, with the fifth (nominal GDP) or sixth (PPP) largest economy in the world.

The UK was the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th century, but the economic cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its leading role in global affairs. The UK nevertheless retains strong economic, cultural, military and political influence and is a nuclear power, with the second or third (depending on method of calculation) highest defence spending in the world. It holds a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, and is a member of the G8, NATO, the European Union and the Commonwealth of Nations.

History

England and Scotland had existed as separate sovereign and independent states with their own monarchs and political structures since the 9th century. The once independent Principality of Wales fell under the control of English monarchs from the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, but was only formally annexed or "united" with England under the two Laws in Wales Acts of 1535 and 1542. Though the Scottish King, James VI, became King of England as well in 1603, thereby creating a personal union between the kingdoms, England (including Wales) and Scotland remained separate countries until the Treaty of Union was agreed a century later and put into effect by the Acts of Union 1707. The Acts of Union, passed by the Parliaments of England and Scotland respectively, created a political union in the form of a united Kingdom of Great Britain. The Act of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland, which had been gradually brought under English control between 1541 and 1691, to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.

Over the next century the United Kingdom played an important role in developing Western ideas of parliamentary democracy as well as making significant contributions to literature, the arts and science. The UK-led Industrial Revolution transformed the country and fuelled the British Empire. During this time, like other Great Powers, the UK was involved in colonial exploitation, including the slave trade, though the passing of the 1807 Slave Trade Act made the UK the first country to prohibit trade in slaves.

After the defeat of Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars, Britain became the principal naval power of the 19th century. At its peak the British Empire controlled large amounts of territory in Asia, Africa, Oceania and America.

At the end of the Victorian era the United Kingdom lost its industrial leadership, particularly to the German Empire, which surpassed the UK in industrial production and trade in the 1890s, and to the United States. Britain remained an eminent power and its empire expanded to its maximum size by 1921, gaining the League of Nations mandate over former German and Ottoman colonies after World War I.

Long simmering tensions in Ireland led to the partition of the island in 1920, followed by independence for the Irish Free State in 1922. Six of the nine counties of the province of Ulster remained within the UK, which then changed to the current name in 1927 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

After World War I, the world's first large-scale international broadcasting network, the BBC, was created. In 1924 the country's Labour movement, which had been gaining strength since the late 1890s, formed the first Labour government. Britain fought Nazi Germany in World War II, with its Commonwealth allies including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India, later to be joined by further allies such as the United States. Wartime leader Winston Churchill and his peacetime successor Clement Atlee helped plan the post-war world as part of the "Big Three". World War II left the United Kingdom financially damaged. Loans taken out during and after World War II from both Canada and the United States were economically costly but, along with post-war Marshall aid, the UK began the road to recovery.

The immediate post-war years saw the establishment of the British Welfare State and one of the world's first and most comprehensive public health services, while the demands of a recovering economy brought people from all over the Commonwealth to create a multiethnic Britain. Although the new post-war limits of Britain's political role were confirmed by the Suez Crisis of 1956, the international spread of the language meant the continuing impact of its literature and culture, while at the same time from the 1960s its popular culture found influence abroad. Following a period of economic stagnation and industrial strife in the 1970s after a global economic downturn, the 1980s saw the inflow of substantial oil revenues, and the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, under whom there was a marked break with the post-war political and economic consensus. Her supporters credit her with economic success, but her critics blame her for greater social division. From 1997 onward, these trends of growth largely continued under the leadership of Tony Blair.

The United Kingdom was one of the 12 founding members of the European Union at its launch in 1992 with the signing of the Treaty on European Union. Prior to that, it had been a member of the EU's forerunner, the European Economic Community (EEC), from 1973. The attitude of the present Labour government towards further integration with this organisation is mixed, with the Conservative Party favouring a return of some powers and competencies to the state, and the Liberal Democrats supportive of current engagement.

The end of the 20th century witnessed a major change to the government of the United Kingdom with devolution to Scotland and Wales taking effect in 1999. The creation of the devolved Scottish parliament in particular, with powers to legislate over a wide range of issues, is beginning to add to differences between the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. It has brought to the fore the so-called West Lothian question which is a complaint that devolution for Scotland and Wales but not England has created a situation where MPs in the UK parliament can vote on matters affecting England alone but on those same matters Scotland and Wales can make their own decisions. In 2007, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won the Scottish parliament elections and formed a minority government. New First Minister, Alex Salmond, hopes to hold a referendum on Scottish Independence before 2011, though the SNP may be unable to get a Bill to hold such a referendum approved by the Scottish parliament due to the minority position of the SNP government. If a referendum is held, an opinion poll in April 2008 suggested the result could be close as support for independence had reached 41% with just 40% supporting retention of the Union. The response of the unionist parties has been to call for the establishment of a Commission to examine further devolution of powers,a position that has the support of the Prime Minister.

Government and politics

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as head of state; the monarch of the UK serves as head of state of fifteen other Commonwealth countries, putting the UK in a personal union with those other states. The Crown has sovereignty over the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. Collectively, these three territories are known as the Crown dependencies, lands owned by the British monarch but not part of the United Kingdom. They are not part of the European Union. However, the Parliament of the United Kingdom has the authority to legislate for the dependencies, and the British government manages their foreign affairs and defence.

The UK has fourteen overseas territories around the world, the last remaining territories of the British Empire. The overseas territories are not considered part of the UK, but in most cases, the local populations have British citizenship and the right of abode in the UK. This has been the case since 2002.

The UK has a parliamentary government based on strong democratic traditions: the Westminster system has been emulated around the world  »” a legacy of the British Empire.

The UK's constitution governs the legal framework of the country and consists mostly of written sources, including statutes, judge made case law, and international treaties. As there is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and law considered to be "constitutional law," the British Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing Acts of Parliament and thus has the power to change or abolish almost any written or unwritten element of the constitution. However, no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change. The United Kingdom is one of the three countries in the world today that does not have a codified constitution (the other two being New Zealand and Israel).

The position of Prime Minister, the UK's head of government, belongs to the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a plurality in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister and their Cabinet are formally appointed by the Monarch to form Her Majesty's Government. However, the Prime Minister chooses the Cabinet, and by convention, HM The Queen respects the Prime Minister's choices. The Cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the Prime Minister's party in both legislative houses, and mostly from the House of Commons, to which they are responsible. Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and Cabinet, all of whom are sworn into Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, and become Ministers of the Crown. The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, leader of the Labour Party, has been Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service since 27 June 2007.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom that meets in the Palace of Westminster, is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom. A devolved parliament in Scotland and devolved assemblies in Northern Ireland, and Wales were established following public approval as expressed in referenda, but according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, these could be abolished by the UK parliament. The UK parliament is made up of two houses: an elected House of Commons and an appointed House of Lords, and any Bill passed requires the assent of HM The Queen to become law. For elections to the House of Commons, the UK is divided into 646 constituencies, with 529 in England, 18 in Northern Ireland, 59 in Scotland and 40 in Wales. Each constituency elects one Member of Parliament by simple plurality. General Elections are called by the Monarch when the Prime Minister so advises. Though there is no minimum term for a Parliament, a new election must be called within five years of the previous general election.

Questions over sovereignty have been brought forward due to the UK's membership of the European Union.

The UK's three major political parties are the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Democrats, winning between them 616 out of the 646 seats available in the House of Commons at the 2005 General Election. Most of the remaining seats were won by parties that only contest elections in one part of the UK such as the Scottish National Party (Scotland only), Plaid Cymru (Wales only), and the Democratic Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, Ulster Unionist Party, and Sinn Féin (Northern Ireland only, though Sinn Féin also contests elections in Ireland). In accordance with party policy, no elected Sinn Féin Member of Parliament has ever attended the House of Commons to speak in the House on behalf of their constituents as Members of Parliament are required to take an oath of allegiance to the Monarch. However, the current five Sinn Féin MPs have since 2002 made use of the offices and other facilities available at Westminster.

Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each has a devolved, unicameral legislature and its own government or Executive, led by a First Minister. England, despite being the largest country of the United Kingdom, has no devolved executive or legislature and is ruled and legislated for directly by the UK government and parliament. This situation has given rise to the so-called West Lothian question which concerns the fact that MPs from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales help decide the laws that apply to England alone.

The Scottish Parliament has wide ranging legislative powers over any matter that has not been specifically 'reserved' to the UK parliament, including education, healthcare, Scots law and local government. Following the 2007 elections, Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party, became First Minister of Scotland as head of a minority SNP government. The pro-union parties have responded to the electoral success of the SNP by creating a commission to examine the case for devolving additional powers while excluding Scottish independence as an option.

The National Assembly for Wales has more limited devolved powers than those devolved to Scotland though it may move towards additional powers in the near future. The Northern Ireland Assembly has powers closer to those already devolved to Scotland.

Each country of the United Kingdom is subdivided for the purposes of local government. In addition, for more ceremonial purposes, HM The Queen appoints a Lord-Lieutenant as her personal representative in lieutenancy areas across the UK. City status, which is governed by Royal Charter, can also be conferred separate from local government arrangements. Though there are sixty-six cities in the UK - fifty in England; six in Scotland; five in Wales; and five in Northern Ireland - a number of these do not form separate local government units.

The upper-tier subdivisions of England, are the nine intermediate-level Government Office Regions. Each region is made up of counties and unitary authority areas, apart from London, which consists of 32 London boroughs. London voted in favour of having a directly elected assembly in 1998 and it was intended that other regions would also be given their own elected regional assemblies, but a rejection by a referendum in 2004 of a proposed assembly in the North East region stopped this idea in its tracks. Below the region level and excluding London, England either has county councils and district councils or unitary authorities.

Northern Ireland is presently divided into 26 districts for local government purposes though these councils do not carry out the same range of functions as would be the case in the rest of the United Kingdom. However, on 13 March 2008, the Executive agreed on proposals to create 11 new councils to replace the present system.

Scotland is divided into 32 council areas with wide variation in both size and population. The cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee are separate council areas as also is Highland Council which includes a third of Scotland's area but just over 200,000 people. The power invested in local authorities is administered by elected councillors, of which there are currently 1,222 who are each paid a part-time salary. Elections are conducted by Single Transferable Vote in multi-member wards that elect either three or four councillors. Each council elects a Provost or Convenor to chair meetings of the council and to act as a figurehead for the area.

Local government in Wales consists of 22 unitary authorities, including the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport which are separate unitary authorities in their own right.

Foreign relations and armed forces

The United Kingdom is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the G8 and NATO, and a member state of the European Union. The UK has a "Special Relationship" with the United States. Apart from the US and Europe, Britain's close allies include Commonwealth nations, Ireland and other English speaking countries. Britain's global presence and influence is further amplified through its trading relations and its armed forces, which maintain approximately eighty military installations and other deployments around the globe.

The Army, Navy and Air Force are collectively known as the British Armed Forces (or Her Majesty's Armed Forces) and officially the Armed Forces of the Crown. The commander-in-chief is the monarch, HM Queen Elizabeth II and they are managed by the Ministry of Defence. The armed forces are controlled by the Defence Council, chaired by the Chief of the Defence Staff.

The United Kingdom fields one of the most technologically advanced and best trained armed forces in the world. According to various sources, including the Ministry of Defence, the UK has the second highest military expenditure in the world, despite only having the 27th largest military in terms of manpower. Total defence spending currently accounts for 2.2% of total national GDP, compared to 4.4% at the end of the Cold War. It is the second largest spender on military science, engineering and technology. The Royal Navy is considered to be the only other blue-water navy along with those of France and the United States. The British Armed Forces are equipped with advanced weapons systems, including the Challenger 2 tank and the Eurofighter Typhoon jet fighter. The Ministry of Defence confirmed the acquisition of two new super carrier sized aircraft carriers on 25 July 2007.

The United Kingdom is one of the five recognised countries possessing nuclear weapons, utilising the Vanguard class submarine-based Trident II ballistic missile system.

The British Armed Forces are charged with protecting the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, promoting the United Kingdom's global security interests, and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in NATO, including the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, as well as the Five Power Defence Arrangements and other worldwide coalition operations. Overseas garrisons and facilities are maintained at Ascension Island, Belize, Brunei, Canada, Diego Garcia, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kenya, and Cyprus.

The British Army had a reported strength of 102,440 in 2005, the Royal Air Force a strength of 49,210 and the 36,320-strong Royal Navy, which includes the Royal Marines, who provide commando units specialising in amphibious warfare.

The United Kingdom Special Forces, provide troops trained for quick, mobile, military responses in counter-terrorism, land, maritime and amphibious operations, often where secrecy or covert tactics are required.

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