United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country and a State in Western Europe, located between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It has approximately 63,23 million inhabitants. In modern history has this State as great power played an important role.

The United Kingdom shall comprise a total of four areas:


 * 1. England in the South (53.012.456 inhabitants);
 * 2. Scotland in the North (5.313.600 inhabitants);
 * 3. Wales in the West (3.063.456 inhabitants);
 * 4. Northern Ireland in the Northwest (1.837.938 inhabitants).

The first three, England, Scotland and Wales, together form the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the northeastern part of the island of Ireland.

The four areas still have a clearly recognizable cultural, but also partly political identity, which is audible in the different languages and dialects that are spoken there, visible in under more flags, banknotes and place-name signs, and also for the population felt in recently established forms of limited self-government in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. All this is without prejudice to international relations in the United Kingdom sovereign only plays a role. In the strict sense of 'independent State ' are the ' countries within the Kingdom ' no countries, but in a more spacious sense of ' bounded area with a political identity ' though. Using this dual meaning can be referred to as ' the United Kingdom four countries in one country '. [6]



Content
[hide] *1 History  ==History[ Edit] == ==Administrative divisions[ Edit] == Satellite image of Great Britain &Northern Ireland, (april 2002).In the last thirty years there have been major changes in the United Kingdom local government. The administrative divisions is also for each of the countries within the Kingdom again arranged differently.
 * 2 administrative divisions
 * 2.1 British overseas territories and Crown property
 * Language 3
 * 4 demographics
 * Population 5
 * Religion 6
 * 7 Geography
 * 7.1 Cities
 * 8 Culture
 * 8.1 Film
 * 8.2 Literature
 * 8.3 Media
 * 8.4 points of interest
 * Economy 9
 * 10 State structure
 * 10.1 Royal family
 * 10.2 Government
 * 10.3 legislature
 * 10.4 political parties
 * 10.5 political culture
 * 10.6 The United Kingdom and the European Union
 * 11 Sports

In England, a distinction is made between greater London (Greater London), the other metropolitan counties (Greater Manchester, Merseyside with Liverpool, Sheffield,South Yorkshire with Tyne & Wear with with Newcastle, Birmingham, West Midlands and West Yorkshire with Leeds) and the other counties (non-metropolitan areas).
 * England has nine administrative regions, which are further subdivided into 82 "metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties" (counties).
 * Northern Ireland is divided into 26 districts.
 * Scotland is divided into 32 Council areas (council areas), three of which from Islands exist (Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland).
 * Wales is divided into 22 administrative regions, the principal areas .

The United Kingdom has historically a division into counties (English plural: counties, singular: county). The counties within their historical borders are still known as thehistorical or traditional counties.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">These counties were generally divided into districts and those were further divided into municipalities (see cities).
 * Counties of England
 * Counties of Scotland
 * Counties of Wales
 * Counties of Northern Ireland

<p lang="en" len="447" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In England and Wales there are still administrative counties, but those usually have other limits than the historic counties. ===British overseas territories and Crown property<span class="mw-editsection" len="368" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The United Kingdom has sovereignty over seventeen territories which are not part of the United Kingdom itself: 14 British overseas territories and three Crown possessions.

<p lang="en" len="47" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The 14 British overseas territories are:

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The British claims in Antarctica are not widely recognized. The overseas territories of Great Britain have an estimated total area of 1.727.570 km 2) and a population of approximately 260,000 people. The are the remains of the British Empire and a number of areas has specifically voted to remain British area (Bermuda in 1995 and Gibraltar in 2002). <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The British Crown possessions are possessions of the Crown, in contrast to the overseas territories of the United Kingdom. They contain the Channel Islands, the Bailiwicksof Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. If they are not independently administered jurisdictions make part of the United Kingdom or of the European Union, even though the UK Government manages their Foreign Affairs and defence and the UK Parliament has the authority to legalize their legislation.The power to pass legislation that eventually the islands lies with their own legislative assemblies, with the agreement of the Crown. Since 2005, the Crown represented by aChief Minister as head of Government. ==Language<span class="mw-editsection" len="330" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The official language in the United Kingdom is also known as the English, British English called. In addition to English are there any other languages officially recognized.Below an overview of official languages per region:
 * Akrotiri and Dhekelia
 * Anguilla
 * Bermuda
 * British Antarctic Territory
 * British Indian Ocean Territory
 * British Virgin Islands
 * Falkland Islands
 * Gibraltar
 * Cayman Islands
 * Montserrat
 * Pitcairn Islands
 * Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
 * Turks and Caicos Islands
 * South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Crown Areas (not officially belong to the United Kingdom, but are to a certain extent be involved to the country)
 * England: English and Cornish (only in Cornwall)
 * Northern Ireland: English, Scottish and Ulster Irish
 * Scotland: English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic
 * Wales: English and Welsh

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Overseas territories In most overseas territories is the only official language English. Just below the exception:
 * Channel Islands: English and French
 * Man: English and Manx

<p lang="en" len="317" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">It is striking that in the United Kingdom two formerly dead languages in recent years revived and again be spoken (namely Cornish and Manx). ==Demographics<span class="mw-editsection" len="336" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Population<span class="mw-editsection" len="335" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">91% of the population are British, namely 81% English and 9.6% Scots. In addition to this number there are still large immigrant groups present, mostly from Pakistan, India, China, Australia and Ireland, Bangladesh. ==Religion<span class="mw-editsection" len="333" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Ca. 60.7% of the population is Protestant, ca. 2.8% 9.6% is Catholic, is Islamic. In addition, there are about 600 000 400 000 Hindus, sikhs, ca. 300 000 Jews and approximately 180 000 Buddhists. The rest of the population have no religion.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-UK_Census_1-1" len="181" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [1]  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Statistics_2-1" len="182" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[2]
 * Pitcairn Islands: English and Pitcairnees

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">State churches are the Church of England (Anglican Church) and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland (Scottish Church). In Wales, the Anglican Church no more privileged State Church since 1920 . There is freedom of religion. The King (in) limb of the Church of England should and must promise to protect the Church at the coronation. When he (she) having a presence in Scotland, is he (she) member of the Scottish Church. The so-called Anglican Communion is connected to the Church of England.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The free churches (Free Churches) have arisen primarily from opposition to State interference in church matters. The most important of them are the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church and the Baptist churches. In addition to the Scottish Presbyterian State church there are various Presbyterian churches (especially in Scotland and Northern Ireland). Other Protestant denominations include the Unitarian and free Christian churches, the Churches of Christ (in the United States known as Disciples of Christ), the Free Church of England (or Reformed Episcopal Church), formed in 1844 as a direct result of the Oxford Movement, theSociety of Friends (Quakers) and the Salvation Army (Leger des Heils).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Church hierarchy of the Catholic Church in England and Wales was restored in 1850, in Scotland in 1878. In 1982 were fully restored diplomatic relations with the Vatican. Many Catholics are coming from Ireland. In England and Wales there are five archdioceses and fifteen dioceses; Scotland has two archdioceses and six dioceses; Northern Ireland is part of the ecclesiastical province of the Archbishop of Armagh and has on its territory the seats of an archdiocese (Armagh) and four dioceses (see Roman Catholicism in the United Kingdom).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In Northern Ireland 35% of the population is Catholic, 29% 24% Presbyterian and a member of the State Church, the Church of Ireland. Derry is predominantly Catholic, Protestant Belfast . ==Geography<span class="mw-editsection" len="335" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Border to Scotland from England<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland together form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), located on the British Islands in the North Sea, the West of Europe. Wales was already a part of England before this country went into the United Kingdom.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Also a number of smaller islands is part of the Kingdom: the island of Wight (Isle of Wight, on the South side of England), Lundy (between Devon and Wales), the Isles of Scilly (southwest of England), Anglesey (on the northwest side of Wales) and the island groups in Scotland, including the Hebrides, the Orkney Islands or Orcaden and theShetland Islands.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Isle of Man (Isle of Man), which is geographically belongs here, and the Channel Islands ( Jersey, Guernsey, including Alderney and Sark) hear not formally state to the United Kingdom; they have a separate status as so-called Dependencies of the Crown (subordinate to the Crown). Also make them not part of the European Union, in contrast to the United Kingdom. ===Cities<span class="mw-editsection" len="332" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p lang="en" len="11" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">See below:
 * Capital: London

==Culture<span class="mw-editsection" len="334" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The culture of the United Kingdom is influenced by many factors, including the status as an island nation, the history of the United Kingdom as a Western liberal democracy and the country's status as a superpower. In addition, she is affected because the country itself is a political Union of four countries, each with their own distinctive traditions, customs and symbolism have retained. As a result of the influence of the United Kingdom the British Empire can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of the former colonies, including Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. ===Film<span class="mw-editsection" len="331" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Alfred Hitchcock<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The United Kingdom has had a major influence on the history of the film. The British directors Alfred Hitchcock and David Lean are among the most acclaimed of all time, along with other important directors including Charlie Chaplin, Michael Powell, Carol Reed and Ridley Scott. Many British actors have obtained international fame and were very successful, such as Julie Andrews, Richard Burton, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Charlie Chaplin, Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Peter Sellers and Kate Winslet. Some of the most commercially successful movie series of all time are produced in the United Kingdom, including the two with the highest grossing (Harry Potter and James Bond). Ealing Studios makes claim to the oldest continuously operating film studio in the world.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" len="171" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [7]
 * List of major UK cities
 * Place in Wales
 * Cities in England
 * Cities in Northern Ireland
 * Cities in Scotland

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Despite a history of important and successful productions, the industry often marked by debate on the level of American and European influences. Many British films are co-productions with American producers, often using both British and American actors and the British actors playing regularly in Hollywood films. Many successful Hollywood movies are based on the British people, stories or events, such as Titanic, The Lord of The Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean . ===Literature<span class="mw-editsection" len="337" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In this case, under (British) literature refers to the literature of the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands and the literature from England, Wales and Scotland prior to the formation of the United Kingdom. Most British literature is in the English language. In 2005 there were approximately 206,000 books published in the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom in 2006 was the largest publisher of books in the world.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Reuters_8-0" len="179" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [8]

<p lang="en" len="1466" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The English playwright and poet William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest playwright of all time,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" len="171" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[9]  and his contemporaries Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and John Bunyan are also highly rated. ===Media<span class="mw-editsection" len="332" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The BBC, founded in 1922 by the Government of the United Kingdom financed. The radio, television and internet society is the oldest and largest broadcaster in the world. It manages a large number of television and radio stations in the United Kingdom and abroad. Domestic services are funded by a kind of kijkgeld tax. Other major players in the British media include ITV plc, which manages 11 out of 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV network and News Corporation, which also owns a number of national newspapers through News International, such as popular tabloid The Sun and the oldest daily newspaper The Times and also a large interest in the satellite broadcaster BSkyB. London dominates the media sector in the United Kingdom. The national newspapers and television and radio are largely based there, althoughManchester is also an important center of the national media is. Glasgow and Edinburgh and Cardiff are important centers of newspapers and broadcasting production in Scotland and Wales respectively. The British publishing industry has a combined turnover of about 20 billion pounds and is employer for about 167,000 people.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2009 it was estimated that individuals on average 3.75 hours per day to the television watched and listened to the radio 2.81 hours a day. In that year were the main public BBC channels good for an estimated by 28.4%, the three major independent channels for 29.5% and the increasingly important other satellite and digital channels for the remaining 42.1%. The sale of newspapers is decreased since the 1970s. In 2009, 42% of the people still read a daily national newspaper. In 2010 82.5% of the UK population used the internet, which is the highest percentage was among the top 20 countries with the largest total number of users in that year. ===Points Of Interest<span class="mw-editsection" len="346" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ==Economy<span class="mw-editsection" len="335" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The currency of the United Kingdom is the Pound Sterling (= £ or GBP). The pound is divided into 100 pennies (singular: penny). The decimal system was introduced in 1971. For that time existed a pound from 20shilling and a shilling from 12 pence, making 240 pence the pound so counted. Banknotes are for England and Wales published by the Bank of England. For Scotland and Northern Ireland by a number of commercial banks.
 * Monuments on the World Heritage list

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Although the United Kingdom is a member of the European Union, like Denmark and Sweden there has, for the time being chosen to remain outside the EMU . Former premier Gordon Brown wanted the euro United Kingdom only entered his view to see when it is ready. His predecessor Tony Blair was also in principle in favour of the introduction of the euro, but the decision has ever pushed in front of him, with the same argument. ==State Structure<span class="mw-editsection" len="342" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, which is called the House of Windsor since 1917. The Executive power is on behalf of the Queen in the hands of the Prime Minister and the other ministers in hiscabinet. The monarch does not bear political responsibility, so the unit and can symbolize continuity to the State system. ===Royal family<span class="mw-editsection" len="346" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Government<span class="mw-editsection" len="335" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The collective of the Prime Minister and his ministers is therefore known as Her Majesty's Government (her Majesty Government). All ministers are members of their political career started and will continue even if they be Minister. The Government must have the confidence of a majority of the directly elected part of the Parliament, the House of Commons.
 * Monarch since 1952: Elizabeth II
 * The monarch is also formally head of State of the so-called Commonwealth realms, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica. Also the United Kingdom itself is a Commonwealth realm. She is the head of the Commonwealth of Nations. Not every Member of the Commonwealth, however, recognizes Queen Elizabeth II as head of State. Many former colonies and are now republics. She is also head of the British State Church: The Church of England (Anglican Church).
 * Prince Consort: Prince Philip.
 * Heir: Prince Charles, after his oldest son, Prince William, and then Prince George.
 * Other children of Elizabeth and Philip: Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

<p lang="en" len="666" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">There are laws that in terms of their position in the de facto legal order are supposed to be coated with a constitutional power, but the United Kingdom is still one of the few countries in the world which at most can be said that it has an unwritten Constitution .

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Nevertheless, the parliamentary democracy deeply rooted in society, which traditionally refers to the Magna Carta of 1215, when for the first time the power of the monarch was contained, at least on paper. The United Kingdom is among the most stable democracies in the world. It is unthinkable that the armed forces ' corrective ' intervention in the political process. Drastic changes in the political structure, neither along nor legally, such as revolutionary France since 1789 has had regularly, have occurred since the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688. Developments in the powers of the monarch, the Prime Minister, the ministers and the both chambers of the Parliament are always gone gradually since then. Governments are almost always a term of four years, thanks to the electoral system because they usually can count on a comfortable majority, which rarely consist of more than one party exists. This comfortable majority that rarely, if ever, is based on a majority of the voters, is not considered a serious problem experienced. The personal composition of the Government, however, is flexible. The Prime Minister has a lot of power, more than for example in Netherlands. It does not require the deployment of coalition partners to be kept to a friend; opposition parties don't even as future coalition partners be respected. The Prime Minister can resolve internal tensions to dismiss ministers or about to post. The ministries of finance and Foreign Affairs are considered as the most prestigious; during the ' troubles ' in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s, when direct jurisdiction from London became necessary, the Ministry of Northern Irish Affairs acted as a sort of punishment bench. Two years after the arrival of a new Government will find a traditional ' midterm reshuffle ', at which the Prime Minister and all ministers informs them or their jobs calls itself can retain or not. The last time a Prime Minister had to resign himself prematurely for political reasons was in 1990 (Margaret Thatcher, because of the unpopular ' poll tax '), in 1957 (,Anthony Edenafter the Suez crisis) and in 1940 (Neville Chamberlain, after the failure of his appeasement-politics and the severe defeats against nazi Germany). This meant, however, no Government crisis with early elections; a successor took over and presided over the Government term. Churchill, the successor of Chamberlain, suggested the elections even five years out until after the end of World War II. ===Legislative power<span class="mw-editsection" len="343" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The drafting of the Magna Carta in 1215 is seen as the starting point of the British democracy. The House, located in the Palace of Westminster, is one of the oldest in the world (presumably is just that Iceland 's older) and is also called the mother of parliaments called. It consists of two rooms, whose roles have developed over the centuries: The House of Commons (= House of Commons), whose members (= Members of Parliament or Mps) are elected for a maximum of five years; in practice, it is up to four years, but also rarely shorter, although the Prime Minister has the right at any time within the five-year term general elections. There are two early elections since 1945, that is less than four years after the previous, written out: in October 1974 and in May 1979.Commons is called as "Supreme" because it can enact laws by a simple majority in any terrain and is not tied to decisions of its predecessors. Important differences with the Dutch House of representatives are:

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The House of Lords (= House of Lords) existed until recently partly from noble people who passed the membership was hereditary (so-called hereditary peers), partly from so-called life peers ': people with a noble title for life, so not hereditary, by the incumbent Government appointed for life due to special services to the society. In practice, donations to political parties (' cash for honours ') still wanted to have a role to play. Ex-Prime Ministers and bishops of the Anglican Church are automatically members. In 2001, a start has been made on modernising the membership policies of the House of Lords. Because Hogerhuisleden not be chosen, not even indirectly, as in the Dutch Senate, the thwart the Government really deemed improper. The political utility of the House of Lords is therefore controversial. ===Political parties<span class="mw-editsection" len="345" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p lang="en" len="54" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The political parties in the United Kingdom are:
 * the ministers are also members of the House of Commons or the House of Lords; the Government is the executive body of Parliament more than an independent executive which is controlled by the legislature.
 * at the two largest parties there is a set by the political leaders, but not statutory ranking between members: frontbenchers and backbenchers; frontbenchers sit on the front rows on either side of the aisle between the ruling party and the opposition, the ' back-benchers ' further to the back. The aisle is two sword lengths wide and this should never be crossed by members during sessions, in order to prevent pawing. The Prime Minister and the ministers are always the governing party's frontbenchers ; at the largest opposition party, which since the beginning of the 19th century is referred to as His/Her Majesty's most loyal opposition'frontbenchers are the Shadow ministers, that the Shadow Cabinet forms. This focus on the portfolio of a sitting Minister, in order to be able to follow that are critical. If the opposition party wins the elections, shadow minister is the most likely candidate for that portfolio. The political leader of the largest opposition party is the Shadow Prime Minister. Losing the elections by those party usually leads to the resignation of the shadow Prime Minister, who then again ' backbencher ' is, if he is chosen at least in his own district. (In Netherlands is also there in the beginning of the 70 's as a shadow cabinet, with Joop den Uyl as Shadow premier, but it is not a tradition become.) A Prime Minister who loses the elections, usually moves quickly to the House of Lords (see below), and is appointed to the order of the Garter.
 * instead of a system of proportional representation, in which each voter can vote on a each candidate of each party, there is a majority system, whereby the whole Kingdom is divided into 646 constituencies, where each party can make at most 1 candidate; the candidate with the most votes, even if it is less than 50% of the votes cast in that district, is chosen to represent the whole district in the House of Commons. It usually leads to a comfortable majority in the House of Commons for the largest party, which can form a stable Government; a premature fall of the entire Cabinet is very rare.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In fact, the United Kingdom, such as the United States, a two-party system. The two largest parties, Labour and the Conservatives (Tories), make the service out. ===Political culture<span class="mw-editsection" len="344" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The parliamentary debate culture is characterized by more rhetorical Fireworks, jeering by opponents, with the fists on the tables drumming and 'hear, hear' assent to another speaker if call expression. All this is different from the verambtelijkte atmosphere in the parliaments of many other Western democracies. The President of Parliament, the ' speaker ', calls "order, order" regularly, but that mainly has ritual meaning. Invariably theConvention to address each other as ' right honourable friend ' (as the members of his own party) and "right honourable gentleman/lady ' (members of other parties), also at the fiercest debates, sticking some preposterous af. Is someone from his role, for example, by an opponent to call ' you snivelling git ', then that is news. Television cameras are not permitted since the 1980s ; some politicians, including Margaret Thatcher, were afraid of undermining the authority of the Parliament because of the seemingly chaotic state of affairs during the sessions. British politicians are relatively common because of sex scandals in the talk of the town, not so much because they are misbehaving more serious than in other countries in this respect, but because private and politics in British culture less are separated. The boulevard press, which is very much work here uses large quantities of. The most notorious post-war sex scandal was the Profumo affair in 1963. For centuries, well developed aspects of the public debate are satire and cartoons. Politicians and members of the Royal family are generally tackled harder than in other countries where freedom of expression is constitutionally guaranteed. Politicians are supposed to undergo this with stoic indifference, which is not always successful. Spitting Image is no coincidence a British televisionproduction that has received universalization and following, albeit of shorter duration and sometimes in what expurgated form. ===The United Kingdom and the European Union<span class="mw-editsection" len="370" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Although the United Kingdom already since 1973 is a member of the EEC, now the European Union, remained a large part of public opinion increasingly skeptical or opposed to handing over powers to European institutions. The distrust of "Brussels" is deeply rooted in many Englishmen, while Scots generally more pro-European. David Cameron, the British Prime Minister promised the British voters that he will organize a referendum on the EU in 2017. His coalition partner, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, on the other hand, is a firm believer of Brussels. ==Sports<span class="mw-editsection" len="332" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p lang="en" len="100" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In England and Scotland have developed a lot of sports and games globally are:
 * Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
 * British National Party
 * Conservative Party
 * Democratic Unionist Party (only in Northern Ireland)
 * Green Party of England and Wales
 * Green Party in Northern Ireland
 * Labour Party
 * Liberal Democrats
 * Plaid Cymru (only in Wales)
 * Respect Party
 * Scottish National Party (only in Scotland)
 * Scottish Senior Citizens Union Party (only in Scotland)
 * Scottish Socialist Party (only in Scotland)
 * Sinn Féin (only in Northern Ireland)
 * Social Democratic and Labour Party (only in Northern Ireland)
 * Socialist Workers ' Party
 * United Kingdom Independence Party
 * Ulster Unionist Party (only in Northern Ireland)

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Football is still the most important sport. Other popular sports are rugby, golf and cricket. The universalization of cricket is limited generally to the British Commonwealth.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The indoor sports snooker and darts are many played in English pubs, where big tournaments as national and World Championships of it get an abundance of air time in the British media, but they hardly abroad to save.Non-English dart champions like the Raymond van Barneveld and Dutchmen Michael van Gerwen are an exception, and there are also some topsnooker players outside the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth, but not that much.

<p lang="en" len="200" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Also bowls is a typical British precision sport.