United Kingdom
of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland

Flag | Coat of Arms
Capital | London
Government | Constitutional monarchy
Language | English (official)
Monarch | HM King Charles III

Prime minister | Rishi Sunak

Current Conservative Leader | Nigel Farage
Area | 94,526 sq mi
Population | 68,000,000 (2020)
GDP | $2,800,000,000,000 (2020)
GDP per capita | $46,344 (2021 estimate)
Currency | Pound Sterling

Internet top-level domain | .uk

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) is a sovereign state north-west of mainland Europe. It comprises England, Scotland and Wales, which occupy the island of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland on the island of Ireland. It attained its current identity in 1922 after most of Ireland was granted independence. The UK, at least in part, has a separate identity from mainland Europe.[1]

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. Its head of state is King Charles III, and its head of government is Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The United Kingdom is a member of the United Nations and rethinking its commitment to NATO after the disastrous actions of the U.S. Democrat Biden regime culminating in the Rape of Afghanistan.[2][3]

British values, culture and institutions were spread throughout many parts of the world during the period of the British Empire, 1600-1960, and British contributions to world culture include the English language, the parliamentary form of government, the Anglican Church ("Church of England"), a tradition of personal liberty, and the common law legal system.

## Contents

* 1 Name
* 1.1 Anthem
* 2 People
* 2.1 Education
* 2.2 Demographics
* 2.3 Ethnic tensions
* 2.4 Irreligion in the United Kingdom and desecularization of the UK in the 21st century
* 2.4.1 Irreligious British fail to stand up to Muslim groomer gangs
* 2.5 Religion
* 2.5.1 Religion in schools
* 2.5.2 Census
* 2.5.3 Growth of British evangelical Christianity
* 2.5.4 Expected growth of Muslim population in the UK and Europe
* 2.6 Crown Dependencies
* 2.7 Islamic terrorism in the UK
* 3 Health
* 3.1 Coronavirus pandemic and the UK
* 3.1.1 The UK's and Britain's nanny state approach to the coronavirus pandemic
* 3.1.1.1 Despite the UK taking a more nannystate approach to coronavirus pandemic than Finland, the UK has a higher mortality rate than Finland due to the coronavirus pandemic
* 3.2 United Kingdom and obesity
* 4 Sports and Pastimes
* 5 Government
* 5.1 Cabinet of the United Kingdom
* 6 Parliament
* 7 Constituent countries
* 7.1 Political conditions
* 7.2 Membership in the European Union (1973-2020)
* 7.3 United Kingdom's parliament and homosexuality
* 8 Foreign relations and military
* 8.1 Russia-Ukraine war
* 8.2 Iraq
* 8.3 Afghanistan
* 8.4 Israel
* 8.5 Relations with the United States
* 9 Economy
* 9.1 Economic History
* 9.2 Currency
* 10 History
* 10.1 Union
* 10.2 British Expansion and Empire
* 10.3 Sea Power
* 10.4 Industrial Revolution
* 10.5 End of Empire
* 10.6 United Kingdom's road repair crisis
* 11 See also
* 12 External links
* 13 Notes

## Name[edit]

London - Thames panorama.

The official name of the nation (since 1927) is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.[4] The full official name is seldom used except in very formal or legal documents. The short version for historical topics is either "Britain" or "Great Britain." The short version for recent events (since the 1970s) is "United Kingdom" or "UK" The adjective is always "British".

Britain was part of the British Empire, which has become the "British Commonwealth", and is mostly a discussion club. Britain has a few scattered minor possessions, including Gibraltar, but gave up its last important colony—Hong Kong—in 1997.

Westminster in the evening.

* England is the largest of the four components of the United Kingdom. "England" was often used to stand for the nation in older literature published before 1970. However use of "England" to refer to the entire country is now sometimes considered offensive by many citizens of the other three member countries and is thus discouraged.
* The standard language of the UK is English; Welsh has parity in Wales, and Gaelic is widely used on official documents, roadsigns, etc. in remote Gaelic-speaking areas of western Scotland.

MacColl (2008) explores the use of the term 'Britain' in English, French, and Latin texts from the 12th century to the 16th. The term was flexible, used in a variety of ways (geographically, politically, and ethnically), and not always indicative of any specific meaning. The English at first tended to conflate 'Britain' with England or the southern portion of the island of Great Britain, though the term 'Greater Britain' was applied starting in the 14th century to refer to the entire island. The Scottish, beginning in the 15th century, used the term in the modern sense - as reflective of the entire island of Great Britain and the 'polity' of England, Wales, and Scotland. This latter usage paved the way for the relatively smooth ideological transition after the 1707 Acts of Union.[5]

### Anthem[edit]

The national anthem of the UK is currently God Save the King. Should a female heir accede to the throne, the anthem will become "God Save the Queen".[6]

The constituent nations have their own unofficial anthems. In the case of Wales, this is Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land of My Fathers), and for Scotland it is Flower of Scotland. England does not have its own distinctive anthem in the same way, but at sporting events in which England is competing as a separate nation, Edward Elgar's patriotic song Land of Hope and Glory is sometimes used (although God Save the King is more commonly used). Additionally the hymn "Jerusalem" has a large number of supporters in England as an alternative to, or replacement for, the national anthem. In Northern Ireland, the Protestant and Catholic communities respectively use God Save the King and Amhran na bhFiann, the Irish national anthem. Londonderry Air is often used as the anthem for Northern Ireland competitors in sporting events.

## People[edit]

Tower Bridge, London.

The United Kingdom's population in 2004 surpassed 60 million—Its overall population density is one of the highest in the world. Almost one-third of the population lives in England's prosperous and fertile southeast and is predominantly urban and suburban—with about 7.2 million in the capital of London, which remains the largest city in Europe.

A net total of 408,000 people were added to the UK population in 2008, the largest numerical increase since 1972. This was partly due to the highest fertility rate in more than three decades. More than half of the increase in births last year was due to non-UK born mothers.

There is also an ever-increasing aging population with the number of people over 85 now at a record 1.3 million, the equivalent of one in every 50 people.

### Education[edit]

Royal College of Music.

The United Kingdom's high literacy rate (99%) is attributable to universal public education introduced for the primary level in 1870 and secondary level in 1900. Education is mandatory from ages 5 through 16, although this is in the process of being raised to 18 for England and Wales. "Public" schools are elite private prep schools, such as Eton and Rugby, attended by youth whose families can afford to pay high tuition rates.

All state-funded schools in the UK are required to start the day with a collective assembly that is 'wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character',[7] although this is not always adhered to and there are small numbers of state-funded Muslim, Jewish and Hindu schools.

About thirty-six percent of British students go on to post-secondary education.

Higher education has been a specialty for over 500 years at Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge), with new "red brick" universities added in the 19th century and many others in the late 20th century. Universities contribute £33 billion a year to the economy. Britain has a strong attraction for international students, with 342,000 attending in 2007 (compared to 672,000 in the U.S. and 183,000 in Australia). They spend £1.5 billion in tuition in Britain annually, plus another £0.4 billion off campus.

According to an early-2017 report, universities in the UK have high levels of censorship and low levels of free speech.[8] Additionally, many UK schools (about 120 in May 2017) adopted a program that promotes in indoctrinates students with the homosexual agenda in all areas of curriculum and in other ways such as unisex uniforms and the removal of terms such as "boy" and "girl" from school vocabulary.[9]

### Demographics[edit]

British youth.

A group of islands close to continental Europe, the British Isles have been subject to many invasions and migrations, especially from Scandinavia and the continent, including Roman occupation for several centuries. Contemporary Britons are descended mainly from the varied ethnic stocks that settled there before the 11th century. The pre-Celtic, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse influences were blended in Great Britain under the Normans, Scandinavian Vikings who had lived in Northern France. Although Celtic languages persist in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, as well as Cornwall in south-west England, the predominant language is English, which is primarily a blend of Anglo-Saxon and Norman French.

* Population (2007 est.): 60.8 million.
* Annual population growth rate (2007 est.): 0.275%.
* Major ethnic groups: White British 91%, Irish 2%, West Indian and African 3%, South Asian 3%, others 1%.
* Major religions: Church of England (Anglican), Roman Catholic, Church of Scotland (Presbyterian), Muslim.
* Major languages: English
* Minority languages: Welsh, Gaelic, Lowland Scots (including Ulster Scots), Cornish.
* Education: Years compulsory—12. Attendance—nearly 100%. Literacy—99%.
* Health: Infant mortality rate (2007 est.)--5.01/1,000. Life expectancy (2007 est.)--males 76.23 yrs.; females 81.3 yrs.; total 78.7 years
* Work force (2007, 31.1 million): Services—80.4%; industry—18.2%; agriculture—1.4%.

### Ethnic tensions[edit]

Britain is home to 2.4 million Muslims from numerous ethnicities. This population is growing 10 times faster than the national average. Regarded as one of the most tolerant countries in Europe, Britain struggles with questions of Islamic integration, as well as the psychological aftermath of the July 2005 suicide bombings on London's public transport system carried out by young Britons of Pakistani descent, which left 52 people dead and over 700 injured.

### Irreligion in the United Kingdom and desecularization of the UK in the 21st century[edit]

Desecularization is the process by which religion reasserts its societal influence through religious values, institutions, sectors of society and symbols in reaction to previous and/or co-occurring secularization processes.[10]

The United Kingdom and Europe as a whole is projected to undergo a process of desecularization and the resurgence of religion (See: European desecularization in the 21st century).

For more information, please see:

* British atheism

* UK and secularism

#### Irreligious British fail to stand up to Muslim groomer gangs[edit]

See: Irreligious British fail to stand up to Muslim groomer gangs

### Religion[edit]

Canterbury Cathedral (photographed during 1890-1900).

Religious faith, according to a 2011 survey, has declined sharply in Britain over the last two decades. Now only 42% of people describe themselves as Christian, as opposed to 66% in 1990. Most of the decline is due to a drift away from the Church of England, it is claimed, with only 20% claiming allegiance, down from 40%.

In 2003 the Office of National Statistics estimated 29% of the population identified with Anglicanism, 10% with the Catholic Church, and 14% with other Protestant churches. A 2007 survey reported that the number of Catholics (mostly Irish) attending Sunday services has overtaken the number of Anglicans doing so. A September 2006 English Church Census reported that Methodists were decreasing as a percentage of the population, while members of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Pentecostal churches, many churches from Africa, and the Eastern Orthodox Church, almost entirely immigrants, were increasing.[11]

Individuals with no religious belief comprised 21% of the population in 2009. Muslims comprise 3% of the population. The Muslim community is predominantly South Asian in origin, but other groups from the Arabian Peninsula, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Levant are represented. In addition, there is a growing number of indigenous converts. Although estimates vary, the Government places the number of mosques in the whole country at one thousand. Groups comprising 1% or less of the population include Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, and Buddhists. Individuals from Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Sikh backgrounds are concentrated in London and other large urban areas, primarily in England.

Attendance at religious services was significantly different from the number of adherents. According to a report released on May 8, 2008, by Religious Trends, only 4 million Christians attend services on a regular basis (defined as at least once a month) in the country. These figures do not include Northern Ireland, where higher%ages reportedly attend both Catholic (more than 60%) and Protestant (more than 35%) services. The Religious Trends report stated that more than 50% of Muslims regularly worship at mosques. Figures for Jews and other religious groups were unavailable.

Religious affiliation was not evenly distributed among ethnicities. According to the 2001 census, approximately 70% of the white population described themselves as Christians. Nearly 75% of black Caribbean respondents stated that they were Christians, as did 70% of black Africans. Meanwhile, 45% of Indians were Hindus and 29% were Sikhs. Approximately 92% of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis were Muslims.

In Northern Ireland, where divisions between nationalists and unionists evolved largely along religious lines, the 2001 census showed that 53.1% were Protestants and 43.8% were Catholics. Many Catholics and Protestants continued to live in segregated communities in Northern Ireland, although many middle-class neighborhoods were mixed communities. The policy of the Government remained one of promotion of religious tolerance.

There are two established (or state) churches—The Church of England (Anglican) and the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian). The Act of Settlement, enacted in 1688, states that no Catholic, or person married to a Catholic, may ascend the throne.

#### Religion in schools[edit]

The Government provides financial support—up to 90% of the total capital costs of the buildings and 100% of running costs, including teachers' salaries - to sectarian educational institutions that are commonly referred to as "faith schools".

Matthew Boulton College.

The Government also helps fund the repair and maintenance of all listed places of worship for religious groups nationwide and contributes to the budget of the Church Conservation Trust, which preserves "redundant" Church of England buildings of architectural or historic significance.

The Government has not classified the Church of Scientology as a religious institution and therefore has not granted the organization recognition for charitable status.

More than 30% of state schools had a religious character. Nearly all of the 6,949 "faith schools" are associated with Christian denominations, although there are 31 Jewish, 7 Islamic, and 2 Sikh schools. An additional two Jewish, three Islamic, and two Sikh schools have also been tentatively approved by the Government to open. In addition, several hundred independent schools of a religious nature receive no state support but must meet government quality standards. Controversy arose in 2006 over 100 Islamic schools when an Office of Standards in Education (Ofsted) evaluation of these schools showed many were "little more than places where the Koran was recited." The schools were given time to correct their deficiencies. A review is due in 2010. Some Christian faith schools also faced controversy. Some were accused of not following the national curriculum in science, teaching creationism instead. During the reporting period, a further controversy erupted when it was learned that some faith schools were not following an "open" admission policy as required by law, denying admission to both special needs children and those outside the faith of the school administrators. The Catholic Church and the Church of England have an agreement to voluntarily accept up to 25% of places for pupils from another religious group or no religious group.

Almost all schools in Northern Ireland receive state support. More than 90% of students attended schools that were either predominantly Catholic or Protestant. Integrated schools served approximately 5% of school-age children whose families voluntarily chose this option, often after overcoming significant obstacles to provide the resources to start a new school and demonstrate its sustainability for 3 years before government funding begins. Demand for places in integrated schools outweighed the limited number of places available. The May 8, 2007, devolution, or granting of power, authorized the Northern Ireland Assembly to decide on academic selection. Now there are more than 50 integrated schools, and the new Government permits existing schools to petition to change from sectarian to integrated. More petition for that status than are granted it. Some have accused the Government of a go-slow approach to avoid sectarian animus.

The law requires religious education for all children, ages 3 to 19, in publicly maintained schools. In England and Wales it forms part of the core curriculum in accordance with the Education Reform Act of 1988. In Scotland, religious education of some sort is mandated by the Education Act of 1980. However, the shape and content of religious instruction throughout the country is decided on a local basis. Locally agreed syllabi are required to reflect the predominant place of Christianity while taking into account the teachings and practices of other principal religions in the country. Syllabuses must be nondenominational and refrain from attempting to convert pupils. Schools with a religious designation follow a syllabus drawn up by the school governors according to the trust deed of the school. All parents have the legal right to request that their children not participate in religious education, but the school must approve this request.

Daily collective prayer or worship of "a wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character" is practiced in schools in England and Wales, a requirement that may be waived for students who obtain permission of the school authorities. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 permits sixth form students (generally 16-19-year-olds) to withdraw themselves from worship without their parents' permission or action. This new law does not exempt sixth form students from religious education classes. Non-Christian worship is permitted with approval of the authorities. Teachers have the right not to participate in collective worship, without prejudice, unless they work for a faith school.

After several controversial court decisions prohibiting full-face veils in school (but not head scarves) and the wearing of a Christian chastity ring, the Department of Education provided guidance that advises schools to "… act reasonably in accommodating religious requirements," under human rights legislation. Some Muslim groups, including the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said it was inappropriate for the Government to provide guidance that regulated Muslim communities in matters concerning the expression of their religious beliefs. But it is also legally possible under the act, according to the guidance, to have a school uniform policy that "restricts the freedom of pupils to manifest their religion" on the grounds of health and safety and the "protection of the rights and freedoms of others." The Government's guidance is meant to remind "head teachers" to act with a degree of sensitivity when considering decisions that will impact the cultural complexion of their communities.

#### Census[edit]

According to the 2011 Census the religious make-up of the UK at that time was:

Religions in United Kingdom Belief  | Thousands  | Proportion

|
|

Christian  | 29,000  | 51.6
No Religion  | 9104  | 15.5
Muslim  | 1591  | 2.7
Hindu  | 559  | 1.0
Sikh  | 336  | 0.6
Jewish  | 267  | 0.5
Other  | 179  | 0.3
Buddhist  | 152  | 0.3
Pagan & Wicca  | 40  | 0.1
Total religious  | 45,163  | 76.8
No answer  | 4289  | 7.3

The answers were distorted by an internet campaign just prior to the census, encouraging people to actually question religion that claimed that if at least 50,000 people stated their religion as 'Jedi Knight' it would be officially classified as a religion. This was not true, though the Office of National Statistics does aggregate very small religions into the 'Other' category whereas a religion of 50,000 would be itemised separately. This separate listing does not constitute any form of official recognition.

It should be noted that non-practising Christians and the non-religious group are growing in the UK and Europe. At the same time, there is growth in the Islamic group due to immigration.

Two of the four states of the United Kingdom, England and Scotland, have official state religions. The Church of England is the official religion of England and the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland is the official religion of Scotland. The (Anglican) Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1871 and the (Anglican) Church of Wales was disestablished in 1920, whereupon it was renamed the Church ''in'' Wales.

#### Growth of British evangelical Christianity[edit]

See also: Growth of evangelical Christianity

Some 4.5million of the UK's foreign-born population claim to have a religious affiliation and more than half are Christian. Church attendance in Greater London grew by 16% between 2005 and 2012.[12] In addition, the latest immigrants to the UK as a whole mean British Christianity is becoming more charismatic and fundamentalist.[13]

The Christian Post reported on July 21, 2019, as far as Britain: "The percentage of respondents who said they were nondenominational Christians increased from 3% of the population in 1998 to 13% in 2018."[14]

In December 2017, the Church Times reported:

“  |  In 2016, the Centre for Theology and Community (CTC) published new research on Evangelical church-planting in east London, Love, Sweat and Tears (News, 8 April 2016, Features, 21 April). This confirmed the widely recognised image of Evangelicals as people who like to plant churches, but it also revealed that the way they work is not at all how people often imagine.

All of these Evangelical churches were planted in deprived areas, not suburbs; most of their members were local; one parish was cross-tradition; every parish was reaching people who do not attend church; and all of them were involved in social-action projects that served their local communities.[15]

|  ”

|
|

Due to religious immigrants, many of whom are evangelical Christians, church attendance in Greater London grew by 16% between 2005 and 2012.[16] In 2013, it was reported that 52% of people who attended church in London attended evangelical churches.[17]

On December 14, 2009, the British newspaper The Telegraph reported:

“  |  According to the Mail Evangelical Christianity is on the rise.

Some 4.5million of the UK's foreign-born population claim to have a religious affiliation. Of these, around a quarter are Muslim while more than half are Christian – with Polish Catholics and African Pentecostals among the fastest-growing groups.

While traditional churchgoing is on the decline in the UK over the past decade, the latest immigrants mean Christianity is becoming more charismatic and fundamentalist.

'Perhaps the most significant change has been the growth of Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity within migrant populations, particularly those from Africa and Latin America,' the report found.

'In Lewisham, there are 65 Pentecostal churches serving the Nigerian community, and others serving the Congolese, Ghanaian and Ivorian communities.'

Professor Mike Kenny of IPPR said: 'The research shows that recent waves of inward migration have given a boost to some of the UK's established faith communities at a time when Britain's society and culture are generally more secular, and smaller numbers of the indigenous population are regularly attending churches.

'Recent migration trends are altering the faith map of the UK. Their biggest impact is being felt in some of our largest cities: London above all, where a rich mosaic of different faith communities has come into being.'

Evangelical Christianity might be heavily African-influenced but it’s also spreading among the natives as well.[18]

|  ”

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See also:

* Pentecostalism Invades Lambeth Palace by Peter L. Berger

#### Expected growth of Muslim population in the UK and Europe[edit]

See also: Future of religion, Christianity and Islam in the UK and Europe and Atheism vs. Islam

According to Channel 4 News: "There were 1.6 million Muslims in England and Wales in 2001, or 3 per cent of the population, according to the census. By 2011 the Muslim population had grown to 2.7 million people or 4.8 per cent of the population... Assuming patterns of net immigration do not change significantly, the Pew Forum thinks that there will be just over 5.5 million British Muslims, representing 8.2 per cent of the UK population, by 2030."

In April 2010, Eric Kaufmann indicated concerning the future of Islam in Europe:

“  |  I address this in some detail in the book, as well is in a recent article in the April issue of Prospect magazine here in Britain. The short answer is that I don’t foresee a Muslim-majority Europe in this century or in the next. Why? Mainly because Muslim birthrates are plunging both in Europe and the Muslim world. Already, Iran, Tunisia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and several other Muslim countries have replacement-level fertility or below. In the UK, Bangladeshi and Pakistani fertility has halved in a generation and is now under 3 children per woman. This means their long-term growth will begin to tail off. The other part of the equation is the rise of non-Muslim immigrant groups (African and West Indian Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and other Eastern faiths) who are also increasing and therefore making Europe more plural and, in the process, rendering it harder for Muslims to increase their share of the population.

That said, Muslim membership retention and in-group marriage is exceptionally high (over 90 per cent) and they are a much younger population than the host society. So they are on course for steady growth. My colleagues and I expect their fertility to fall to host levels by 2030, but they will still make up 5-15 per cent of most West European countries by 2050 and 10-25 per cent by 2100. This is a major change from the 2-6 per cent levels of today[19]

|  ”

|
|

The 2019 journal article When will European Muslim population be majority and in which country? published in PSU Research Review indicates: "Among three scenarios, the most likely mid-point migration scenario identifies 13 countries where the Muslim population will be majority between years 2085 and 2215: Cyprus (in year 2085), Sweden (2125), France (2135), Greece (2135), Belgium (2140), Bulgaria (2140), Italy (2175), Luxembourg (2175), the UK (2180), Slovenia (2190), Switzerland (2195), Ireland (2200) and Lithuania (2215). The 17 remaining countries will never reach majority in the next 200 years".[20]

None of this is an exact science, and some demographers say total fertility rate overestimates the lifetime fertility of immigrants because it doesn’t adjust for the fact that they tend to have children soon after arriving.[21]}}

At the same time, over several decades/centuries, silent demographic changes due to higher fertility rates can have large scale consequences.[22]

### Crown Dependencies[edit]

A number of the smaller British Isles, most importantly Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are 'British Crown Dependencies' and not members of the UK. Their governments are independent of that of the UK other than foreign and defense policy (the UK government retains the legal power to overrule the governments of the Dependencies, but this power has not been exercised since 1967).

### Islamic terrorism in the UK[edit]

See also: Islamic terrorism in the United Kingdom

The Manchester Arena experienced a Muslim terrorist attack. See: Manchester Arena Bombing

It would take a rechristianization of Britain in order for the Islamic terrorism situation to be turned around in the UK.

The United States website Homeland Security Digital Library published the article Islamist Terrorism in the UK: An In-Depth Analysis:

“  |  On March 7th the Henry Jackson Society, a British think tank, released a report titled, Islamist Terrorism: Analysis of Offenses and Attacks in the UK (1998-2015). As stated by author Hannah Stuart, the purpose of the report is to provide “information and statistical analysis on the manifestation and development of the threat to national security from Islamism-inspired terrorism.” According to the report, there have been 264 convictions of Islamism-inspired terrorism in the UK as a result of arrests made between 1998 and 2015. Interestingly, 72% of these Islamism-related offences (IROs) were committed by UK nationals or individuals holding dual British nationality, with the overwhelming majority being perpetrated by males. However, although their numbers remain small, female involvement in Islamism-inspired terrorism has tripled since 2011, with women accounting for 11% of all IROs occurring between 2011 and 2015. This represents a 175% increase from IROs occurring between 1998 and 2010 involving women.

The report goes on to discuss contemporary developments in terrorism, highlighting that “the expansion of the terrorism threat from that predominantly associated with AQ [al-Qaeda]-linked groups to one driven by IS [Islamic State] has been the key development since the publication of the previous edition of this report in 2011.” As such, the author concludes that terrorism inspired by the Islamic State currently represents the greatest threat to the UK’s national security. A brief overview of AQ is offered, which discusses the evolution of the terrorist group, including the creation and expansion of AQ franchises. Knowledge of this history is necessary to better understand both current trends in Jihadist-inspired terror attacks and the rise of the Islamic State.[23]

|  ”

|
|

Dr. Peter Hammond's article What Islam Isn't indicates:

“  |  When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions ( Paris --car-burnings). Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats (Amsterdam - Mohammed cartoons).

* Guyana -- Muslim 10%
* India -- Muslim 13.4%
* Israel -- Muslim 16%
* Kenya -- Muslim 10%
* Russia -- Muslim 10-15%

After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning: Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%[24]

|  ”

|
|

## Health[edit]

### Coronavirus pandemic and the UK[edit]

On September 30, 2022, The Guardian reported: "A weaker than expected recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has left the UK as the only G7 country with a smaller economy than in early 2020, according to official figures likely to further undermine the government’s tax-cutting measures."[25]

#### The UK's and Britain's nanny state approach to the coronavirus pandemic[edit]

See also: United Kingdom's nanny state approach to the coronavirus pandemic

In July of 2021, Der Spiegel indicated that Finland was the best at handling the coronavirus pandemic based on an index based on excess mortality, restrictions on people's lives and liberty, GDP performance and vaccination coverage.[26] See: An observation about the countries that handled the coronavirus pandemic well so far. And let's look at Finland.

While Finland did a good job of handling the coronavirus, the coronavirus pandemic turned the UK into a bigger nanny state than it was before the pandemic.

City Journal is one of the world's premier urban-policy magazines, “the Bible of the new urbanism,” as London’s Daily Telegraph puts it.[27]

Electron microscope scan of a coronavirus, so-called due to the crown-like filaments on the surface.

In Autumn of 2021, Lionel Shriver published the article The Most Frightened Nation with the byline Why the United Kingdom will never be the same which stated:

“  |  What was once the land of “keep calm and carry on” could now be the “most frightened nation in the world.” So says Laura Dodsworth, author of A State of Fear: How the UK Government Weaponised Fear During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Data seem to bear her impression out. According to an Ipsos MORI poll conducted in July, an impressive 27 percent of Britons want to impose a government-mandated nationwide curfew of 10 PM—not then in force—“until the pandemic was under control worldwide,” which might be years from now. A not-inconsiderable 19 percent would impose such a curfew “permanently, regardless of the risk from Covid-19.” Presumably, these are people who don’t get out much. While 64 percent want Britain’s mask mandate in shops and on public transport to remain a legal requirement for the duration of the global pandemic, an astounding 51 percent want to be masked by law, forever.

There’s more: some 35 percent want to confine any Briton who returns from a foreign country, vaccinated or not, to a ten-day home quarantine—permanently, Covid or no Covid. A full 46 percent would require a vaccine passport in order to travel abroad—permanently, Covid or no Covid. So young people today would still be flashing that QR code on whatever passes for smartphones in 2095, though they might have trouble displaying the device to a flight attendant while bracing on their walkers. Likewise, the 36 percent who want to be required to check in at pubs and restaurants with a National Health Service contact-tracing app forever. A goodly 34 percent want social distancing in “theatres, pubs and sports grounds,” regardless of any risk of Covid, forever. A truly astonishing 26 percent of Britons would summarily close all casinos and nightclubs forever. Are these just a bunch of fogies who don’t go clubbing anyway? No. In the 16-to-24 age bracket, the proportion of Brits who want to convert Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London’s Soho into a community lending library, even after Covid is a distant memory, soars to a staggering 40 percent.

Far from yearning for their historic liberties as “free-born Englishmen,” eight out of ten of the British, according to a Southbank/Kingston University survey, were “anxious” about lifting any of their benevolent government’s copious pandemic restrictions...

But the most enduring damage to the home of Magna Carta may be political. The transformation of the United Kingdom is permanent. Its citizens can never again characterize lockdowns and other previously unthinkable government edicts, such as “you’re forbidden to leave the country,” as unprecedented. The state has established precedents galore. The public is already being softened up for the return of repressive measures in some form this autumn, even if only to control a surge of flu.

It’s official: British civil liberties are provisional. They can be rescinded at a moment’s notice on the government’s whim. They are privileges, not rights. The anything-but-inalienable “rights” to free expression, to protest, to assembly, to association, to worship, to travel, to work: all require permission slips.[28]

|  ”

|
|

##### Despite the UK taking a more nannystate approach to coronavirus pandemic than Finland, the UK has a higher mortality rate than Finland due to the coronavirus pandemic[edit]

As of January 11, 2022, in the UK, deaths per 100,000 people was 316.30 deaths per 100,000 people.[29] As of January 11, 2022, in Finland, which has given much more liberty to its citizens, deaths per 100,000 people was 149.13 deaths per 100,000 people.[30]

### United Kingdom and obesity[edit]

See also: United Kingdom and obesity

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): "Obesity rates in the United Kingdom are the highest in Europe. In England, rates have increased faster than in most OECD countries. Two out of 3 men are overweight and 1 in 4 people are obese in the United Kingdom. The proportion of people overweight in England is projected by the OECD to rise a further 10% during the next 10 years."[31]

## Sports and Pastimes[edit]

Wembley Stadium.

Many of the most popular sports in the world today were developed or codified in the UK. These include football (which is called soccer in North America), cricket, rugby, tennis, hockey, baseball and golf. The UK is represented in international competitions by the individual nations (such as in football, the one-day form of cricket and rugby) and by the whole of the UK in other sports (such as athletics, golf and tennis). The Test cricket team is that of 'England & Wales' (colloquially, just 'England') but from time to time has had Scottish and Irish players.

The UK remains a major sporting force both in competition and the administration of sport. It is dominant in several Olympic sports, notably cycling, rowing and sailing and a leading force in cricket, rugby union, and golf.

Certain venues have their own distinct and historical recognition and host a number of international competitions. These include Wimbledon for tennis, Silverstone for motor racing, and St Andrews for golf. There are several major venues for football, rugby and cricket.

Domestic sport is dominated by football with one of the strongest and most popular leagues in the world - the Premier League. This league is sponsored by Barclays Bank, so has the official name "Barclays Premier League". Many of the Premier League's teams are well known outside the United Kingdom, especially the "big four" (Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool) and maintain followings around the world. Cricket and both codes of rugby also have strong and popular domestic leagues. Other popular sports include snooker, rowing, golf, tennis, athletics, cycling, darts, horse racing, and motor racing. These most popular sports are well covered by both the print press and television.

Some sports which are more popular in other countries such as volleyball, handball, American football and basketball have small but dedicated followings.

The U.K. is also renowned for its music, and is the home of bands like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Oasis, Coldplay and Radiohead, as well as festivals such as Creamfields, Isle of White Festival and Glastonbury. London traditionally is the world centre for recordings of classical music and the annual "London Proms" concerts are recorded worldwide. The "Last Night at the Proms" is a major "Television Event".

## Government[edit]

See also British politics

Jewel House guard in the Tower of London.

The United Kingdom does not have the constitutional free speech protections or an energetic Christian culture that exist in the United States, because there is not a codified constitution - though limited speech is proved via the Human Rights Act of 1998. However various acts mean there is free speech, similar to that in the United States. Certain county councils, like Salford Quays in the United Kingdom have issued 'public space protection orders' that fine people £50 for swearing.

In 2015, the UK was ranked 12th on the World Democracy index, above countries such as the US and France, and below those like Germany and Canada.[32]

Nationalist movements exist in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, seeking (in the case of Scottish and Welsh nationalists) to dissolve the United Kingdom and to win independence for their respective territories, and in the case of Northern Ireland nationalists and republicans to create a sovereign united Ireland. At the present time, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own legislatures.

The United Kingdom does not have a written constitution (even though the Magna Carta is the oldest basis for constitutional law in the world and the basis for numerous other countries such as the U.S.). The equivalent body of law is based on statute, common law, and "traditional rights". Changes may come about formally through new acts of Parliament, informally through the acceptance of new practices and usage, or by judicial precedents. Although Parliament has the theoretical power to make or repeal any law, in actual practice the weight of 700 years of tradition restrains arbitrary actions.

Executive power rests nominally with the monarch but actually is exercised by a committee of ministers (cabinet) selected from among the members of the House of Commons and, less frequently, the House of Lords. The prime minister is normally the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons, and can remain in office for so long as he or she has the support of a majority in that body.

### Cabinet of the United Kingdom[edit]

(As of 25 October 2022)

* Head of State—King Charles III
* Prime Minister (Head of Government)—Rishi Sunak
* Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary—Dominic Raab
* Chancellor—Jeremy Hunt
* Foreign Secretary—James Cleverly
* Defence Secretary—Ben Wallace
* Home Secretary—Suella Braverman
* Health Secretary—Steve Barclay
* Education Secretary—Gillian Keegan
* International Trade Secretary—Kemi Badenoch
* Environment Secretary—Therese Coffey
* Business Secretary—Grant Shapps
* Culture Secretary—Michelle Donelan
* Work and Pensions Secretary—Mel Stride
* Secretary for Scotland—Alister Jack
* Secretary for Wales—David T.C. Davies
* Secretary for Northern Ireland—Chris Heaton-Harris
* Chief Whip—Simon Hart

## Parliament[edit]

Parliament was authorized in the Magna Carta (1215), and first summoned by King Edward I in 1296, making it one of the oldest governing bodies in the world. Parliament represents the entire country, and can legislate for the whole or for any constituent part or combination of parts. Elections are called by the Prime Minister, but the maximum length of a parliament is usually 5 years (except in wartime). The focus of legislative power is the 646 member House of Commons, which has sole jurisdiction over finance. Normally the government—the Prime Minister and cabinet with their supporting MPs—have full control of the House. If they lose control an new general election may be held. The House of Lords, although shorn of most of its powers, can still review, amend, or delay temporarily any bills except those relating to the budget. In 1999, the government removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to hold seats in the House of Lords. The current house consists of appointed life peers who hold their seats for life and 92 hereditary peers who will hold their seats only until final reforms have been agreed upon and implemented. The judiciary is independent of the legislative and executive branches, but cannot review the constitutionality of legislation.

Members of the House of Commons are elected to represent specific geographic constituencies. Members are elected on a "First past the post" system as opposed to proportional representation or other electoral systems. In effect this means that a third party with less than 25% of the vote typically obtains very few seats.

## Constituent countries[edit]

Scottish Eilean Donan castle.

The separate identities of each of the United Kingdom's constituent parts are also reflected in their respective governmental structures. Up until the recent devolution of power to Scotland and Wales, a cabinet minister (the Secretary of State for Wales) handled Welsh affairs at the national level with the advice of a broadly representative council for Wales. Scotland maintains, as it did before union with England, different systems of law (Roman-French), education, local government, judiciary, and national church (the Church of Scotland instead of the Church of England). In addition, separate departments grouped under a Secretary of State for Scotland, who also is a cabinet member, handled most domestic matters. In late 1997, however, following approval of referenda by Scottish and Welsh voters (though only narrowly in Wales), the British Government introduced legislation to establish a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly. The first elections for the two bodies were held May 6, 1999. The Welsh Assembly opened on May 26, and the Scottish Parliament opened on July 1, 1999. The devolved legislatures have largely taken over most of the functions previously performed by the Scottish and Welsh offices.

Northern Ireland had its own Parliament and prime minister from 1921 to 1973, when the British Government imposed direct rule in order to deal with the deteriorating political and security situation. From 1973, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, based in London, was responsible for the region, including efforts to resolve the issues that lay behind the "the troubles."

By the mid-1990s, gestures toward peace encouraged by successive British governments and by President Clinton began to open the door for restored local government in Northern Ireland. An Irish Republican Army (IRA) cease-fire and nearly 2 years of multiparty negotiations, led by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, resulted in the Good Friday Agreement of 10 April 1998, which was subsequently approved by majorities in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Key elements of the agreement include devolved government, a commitment of the parties to work toward "total disarmament of all paramilitary organisations," police reform, and enhanced mechanisms to guarantee human rights and equal opportunity. The Good Friday Agreement also called for formal cooperation between the Northern Ireland institutions and the Government of the Republic of Ireland, and it established the British-Irish Council, which includes representatives of the British and Irish Governments as well as the devolved Governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Devolved government was reestablished in Northern Ireland in December 1999.

The Agreement (more commonly known as the "Good Friday Agreement", and more rarely as the Belfast Agreement[33]) was reached on Friday, April 10, 1998 in Belfast and provides for a 108-member elected Assembly, overseen by a 12-minister Executive Committee (cabinet) in which unionists and nationalists share leadership responsibility. Northern Ireland elects 18 representatives to the Westminster Parliament in London. However, the five Sinn Féin Members of Parliament (MPs), who won seats in the 2004 election, have refused to claim their seats.

### Political conditions[edit]

David Cameron became Prime Minister on May 11, 2010, after Gordon Brown resigned, and led a Con-Dem coalition in 2010.[34] In 2015, a general election was called[35] and Cameron's Conservative Party won a majority of seats, against all odds.[36] It must be noted that despite its name, many supporters of the European Union and homosexual "marriage" are members of the Conservative Party.

### Membership in the European Union (1973-2020)[edit]

The Conservative government of Sir Edward Heath took the UK into the European Union in 1973. The Labour Party under Harold Wilson won the 1974 general elections and due to splits within the party, called the only national referendum asking the people if they wanted to stay in the Union. The "yes" vote won by a margin of approximately two to one. The Labour and Conservative parties have since had deep divisions over Union membership. Labour's 1983 manifesto promised to leave the Union, and whilst the Conservative party have never pledged to leave the Union, a growing band of "Eurosceptics" threatened to tear the party apart in the 1990s. The Labour, Conservative and Scottish National parties wish to stay in the Union although disagree over the level of integration, but smaller parties such as the UK Independence Party and the Referendum Party campaigned on the single issue of sovereignty being lost to the Union.

A referendum to leave the EU was successfully held on June 23, 2016. In accordance with a Conservative Party manifesto commitment, the legal basis for a referendum was established by the passage of the European Union Referendum Act 2015 by the British Parliament. It was the third plebiscite held throughout the United Kingdom, and the second time the British electorate had been asked to vote on the issue of European Union membership: the first was held in 1975, when it was known as the EEC. Membership was approved in that referendum by 67% of voters – but the nature of the EU changed dramatically since then.[37] The referendum result, to leave the European Union, was a historic victory for conservative eurosceptics, and the next day, liberal prime minister David Cameron, who had supported EU membership despite its many flaws and no real benefits, resigned.[38][39] Another winner was conservative Eurosceptic Nigel Farage.

In 31th January of 2020 the United Kingdom started the transition period of leaving the European Union in which a trade deal should be negociated until January 2021.

### United Kingdom's parliament and homosexuality[edit]

See also: United Kingdom's parliament and homosexuality

In 2022, The Daily Mail published the video 'The gayest parliament in the world': MP John Nicolson applauded.

Time magazine noted in 2015: "Following last week’s election, the U.K. now has more lesbian, gay or bisexual Members of Parliament (MPs) than anywhere in the world."[40]

On May 14, 2015, Time magazine noted:

“  |  Following last week’s election, the U.K. now has more lesbian, gay or bisexual Members of Parliament (MPs) than anywhere in the world. The Westminster House of Commons now boasts 32 MPs who openly identify as LGB (there are no transgender MPs) out of 650, making up 4.9% of the Parliament.

The data comes from the University of North Carolina’s LGBT Representation and Rights Research Initiative, but collecting statistics on LGBT representation is always tricky because some lawmakers may not have revealed their sexuality. In fact, there could be more gay MPs in another country where people do not feel as free to state their sexual preference in public. Nevertheless, the fact that more are willing to do so in Britain than elsewhere signals more progressive attitudes, putting it ahead of countries like Sweden where there are only 12 out lawmakers (3.4% of the parliament).

Elsewhere in Europe there are only two currently-serving transgender lawmakers, Belgium’s Petra De Sutter and Poland’s Anna Grodzka. There have only been two other openly transgender lawmakers in the world: New Zealand’s Georgina Beyer who won a seat in 1999 and retired from politics in 2007, and Vladimir Luxuria who was elected in Italy in 2006 but lost her seat two years later.

The number of gay British MPs is not far off the U.K. proportion as a whole, which is roughly between 5% and 7% of the country according to the government’s estimate. Thirteen of Britain’s out MPs belong to the center-left Labour Party and 12 to the center-right Conservatives.

It was the Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron who introduced same-sex marriage in March 2014, despite significant opposition within his party. He has said this was one of his proudest achievements during his first term as Prime Minister.[41]

|  ”

|
|

In 2021, the British newspaper The Times noted that "Britain has most gay parliament in the world".[42]

## Foreign relations and military[edit]

The United Kingdom is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and is one of NATO's major European maritime, air, and land powers; it ranks third among NATO countries in total defence expenditure. The United Kingdom was a member of the European Community (now European Union) from 1973 to 2020. In the United Nations, the United Kingdom is a permanent member of the Security Council. The U.K. held the Presidency of the G-8 during 2005; it held the EU Presidency from July to December 2005.

Royal Naval College.

The British Armed Forces are charged with protecting the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, promoting Britain's wider security interests, and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. The 37,000-member Royal Navy, which includes 6,000 Royal Marine commandos, is in charge of the United Kingdom's independent strategic nuclear arm, which consists of four Trident missile submarines. The British Army, consisting of approximately 99,200 personnel, the Royal Air Force, with 42,000 personnel, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, are active and regular participants in NATO and other coalition operations. Approximately 9% of the British Armed Forces is female, and 4% of British forces represent ethnic minorities.

In May 2021 the UK announced a plan to slash 9,500 soldiers from the British Army from 82,000 to just 72,500.[43] On June 28, 2022 Chief of General Staff General Patrick Sanders said at a RUSI conference: “The war in Ukraine reminds us of the utility of Land Power: it takes an army to hold and regain territory and defend the people. It takes an Army to deter. If this battle came, we would likely be outnumbered at the point of attack and fighting like hell […] You can’t cyber your way across a river. No single platform, capability, or tactic will unlock the problem.”

An email sent from Hunter Biden to his business partner Devon Archer on April 13, 2014 contained information from a classified U.S. State Department memo one week before Joe Biden visited Ukraine to meet prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The email predicted an escalation of Russia’s “destabilization campaign, which could lead to a full scale takeover of the eastern region, most critically Donetsk":

“The strategic value is to create a land bridge for RU to Crimea. That won’t directly affect Burisma holdings but it will limit future UK exploration and utilization of offshore opportunities in particular.

It will also result in further destabilization of UK nationally and for whatever govt is in power. And the US will respond with even stronger sanctions. Those sanctions will threaten the tenuous support of the EU which does not have the political will to incur steep energy price increases.”[44]

### Russia-Ukraine war[edit]

Indians found Western propaganda during the Russo-Ukraine war highly offense. In this cartoon from the UK tabloid The Economist, NATO powers attempted to intimidate India to sign on to condemnation of Russia for the false flag Bucha massacre of civilians committed by MI6 and the Security Service of Ukraine.[45]

See also: Russia-Ukraine war

Boris Johnson training with Ukrainian special forces for the raid on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

During the Donbas war crisis of 2022, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov asked U.K. foreign secretary Elizabeth Truss whether London recognizes Moscow’s sovereignty over the regions of Rostov and Voronezh. Truss replied that the UK “will never recognize Russia’s sovereignty over these regions.” British Ambassador to Russia Deborah Bronnert had to intervene and remind the Foreign Secretary that these two regions are actually considered Russian territory even by the United Kingdom and in fact those regions have been part of Russia for over 1,000 years.[46]

The government of the United Kingdom added a British citizen, Graham Phillips,[47] a journalist and documentary film maker reporting from Donbas, to the sanctions list and seized his bank account for reporting on the NATO war in Ukraine.

### Iraq[edit]

The U.K. was the United States' main coalition partner under the designation Operation TELIC. Under UN Security Council Resolution 1483, the U.K. also shared with the United States responsibility for civil administration in Iraq and was an active participant in the Coalition Provisional Authority before the handover of Iraqi sovereignty on June 28, 2004. Britain's participation in the Iraq war and its aftermath remains a domestically controversial issue.

> Iraqi oil supply was considered to be 'vital' to British interests. The British Government saw Iraqi oil as "vital" to the UK's long-term energy security, and the effective privatisation of its oil industry was central to the post-invasion plan for the country, according to previously unseen Whitehall documents. [1] The Independent.

The Iraq Inquiry is conducted to identify lessons that can be learned from the Iraq conflict; the inquiry is concerned over Mr. Blair's evidence on the legal advice he received before agreeing to join the invasion, and the timing of the decision to go to war. [2] The Chair of the Inquiry, Sir John Chilcot (1939) was Staff Counsellor to the Security and Intelligence Agencies (1999-2004) and the National Criminal Intelligence Service (2002–06).

### Afghanistan[edit]

See also: Rape of Afghanistan

Reuters from 2010. UK pulled out after the country was destroyed with delivering freedom or democracy.[48]

Britain stood shoulder to shoulder with the United States following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., and its military forces were part of the coalition force in Afghanistan. The British force in Afghanistan were at 9,000 in late 2009 and rose by an extra 500 troops in 2010. British forces were primarily based in the Helmand region, where they were on the front line in the war against continued Taliban terrorism. In addition, Britain contributed more than £500 million to Afghan reconstruction—the second-largest donor after the U.S.

Democrat socialist leader Joe Biden of the United States assured key allies at the June 2021 G7 Summit in Cornwall that he would maintain enough of a security presence in Afghanistan to ensure they could continue to operate in the capital following the main U.S. withdrawal. Biden promised Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other leaders that “critical U.S. enablers” would remain in place to keep Kabul safe following the drawdown of NATO forces. British officials determined the U.S. would provide enough personnel to ensure that the U.K. embassy in Kabul could continue operating.

But the withdrawal of U.S. forces saw the Afghan government collapse as Taliban fighters raced across the country, culminating in scenes of chaos at Kabul’s airport. The British embassy was evacuated. The UK foreign minister faced calls to resign over the inability to extract people on the ground, Bloomberg reported.[49]

The circumstances surrounding the U.S. withdrawal served as a wake-up call to the anti-Trump elements in Great Britain who colluded with fake news mainstream media outlets, the Hillary Clinton campaign, and the U.S. intelligence community to interfere in American elections and sabotage the presidency of Donald Trump, of the reluctance of Washington to operate as a global policeman. During the Rape of Afghanistan, Biden ignored UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's frantic phone calls for 36 hours.[50] According to the U.K . Telegraph,

“Joe Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal was condemned as “catastrophic” and “shameful” on Wednesday as the Houses of Parliament delivered an unprecedented rebuke to a US president. MPs and peers from across the political spectrum, including Boris Johnson, put some blame for the Taliban’s takeover and the chaos that followed on Britain’s closest ally. Mr Biden was accused of “throwing us and everybody else to the fire” by pulling out US troops, and was called “dishonourable” for criticising Afghan forces for not having the will to fight. Former defence chiefs who led British troops in the Middle East were among those to speak out, while there were warnings that the West’s withdrawal would embolden Russia and China.

[…] Labour MP Chris Bryant called Mr Biden’s remarks about Afghan soldiers “some of the most shameful comments ever from an American president”. Khalid Mahmood, a Labour MP and former defence minister, said: “The Biden government have just come in and, without looking at what is happening on the ground, have taken a unilateral decision, throwing us and everybody else to the fire.” [51]

Ben Wallace, UK defence secretary, broke down in tears saying, “some would not get back” from Afghanistan. “It’s sad. Twenty years of sacrifice is what it is."[52] Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab concluded that Britain would have to turn to Russia and China to assist with exercising a "moderating influence" over the Taliban despite a deep mistrust of both regimes. Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Tom Tugendhat wrote,

Sunday Mirror, August 22, 2021.[53]

"The fall of Kabul is the biggest foreign policy disaster since Suez. The operation to seize the canal in 1956 symbolised the end of Britain’s global ambition and refocused us on Nato and alliances. It showed conclusively that the US could limit our actions and change our policy. The fall of Kabul will be remembered for similar reasons: not just its abject failure, but also because it revealed the nature of US power and our inability to hold a separate line. The redeployment of 2,500 US troops, half as many as it takes to crew a carrier, ended 20 years of British effort in Afghanistan and left thousands of British citizens under Taliban jurisdiction....The longer-term question is: what next? Is Britain’s foreign policy achievable given the past week? What are the implications for our alliances?...just like in Suez, we need to reset to make sure that a false narrative does not grow, and that means commitment. Cuts to overseas engagement, whether defence, diplomacy, aid or trade, will look different today from how they did a week ago...." [54]

Former Tory prime minister Theresa May said "What does it say about NATO if we are entirely dependent on a unilateral decision taken by the United States? ... Did we feel we just had to follow the United States and hope that on a wing and a prayer it'd be all right on the night?" Former Labour prime minister Tony Blair slammed Biden's "imbecilic" retreat.[55] Blair said the "deep politicisation" of US foreign policy was "visibly atrophying" American influence, and claimed the debacle over the withdrawal risked Britain being relegated to the "second division" of global powers.

### Israel[edit]

Britain has shown a greater willingness than the United States to criticize the Israelis over settlements and what some call the disproportionate responses to provocations from Gaza and southern Lebanon. (Jewish Labour MP Gerald Kaufman is among the most vocal.) Like his predecessors, both Labour and Conservative, former Foreign Secretary Milliband has been unequivocal: "Settlements are illegal under international law," he told Parliament in 2008; "They are a major blockage to peace in the Middle East on the basis of a two-state solution." His successor William Hague, on 20 March 2011, "expressed our serious concern over the recent announcement of 400 new housing units in the West Bank. Continued settlements run contrary to peace.” A BBC poll in March 2011 found that 14% of British subjects have a generally positive opinion of Israel while 66% have a generally negative opinion.

### Relations with the United States[edit]

Second Amendment-supporting American citizens gifted their firearms to gun free zone-gun control supporting British citizens during World War II via The American Committee for the Defense of British Homes

The United Kingdom is one of the United States' closest allies, and British foreign policy emphasises close coordination with the United States. Bilateral cooperation reflects the common language, ideals, and democratic practices of the two nations. Relations were strengthened by the countries' alliances during both World Wars, and its role as a founding member of NATO, in the Korean conflict, in the Persian Gulf War, and in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The United Kingdom and the United States continually consult on foreign policy issues and global problems and share major foreign and security policy objectives.

The United Kingdom is the fifth-largest market for U.S. goods exports after Canada, Mexico, Japan, and China, and the sixth-largest supplier of U.S. imports after Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, and Germany. U.S. exports of goods and services to the United Kingdom in 2006 totaled $92 billion, while U.S. imports from the U.K. totaled $93 billion. The United States has had a trade deficit with the United Kingdom since 1998. The United Kingdom is a large source of foreign tourists in the United States. In 2005, 3.4 million U.S. residents visited the United Kingdom, while 4.2 million U.K. residents visited the United States.

The United States and the United Kingdom share the world's largest foreign direct investment partnership. U.S. investment in the United Kingdom reached $324 billion in 2005, while U.K. direct investment in the U.S. totaled $282 billion. This investment sustains more than 1 million American jobs.

## Economy[edit]

London's financial center.

Britain has been hard hit by the Recession of 2008, with its major banks taken over or subsidized by the government. Real gross domestic product declined by 4.6% in 2009, and is expected to rise by 0.6% before 2010 and probably will continue to increase by 1% in 2011.

Britain has the sixth-largest economy in the world, and the second largest economy in Europe. It is a major international trading power. A highly developed, diversified, market-based economy with extensive social welfare services provides most residents with a high standard of living. Unemployment and inflation levels are amongst the lowest within Europe.

Since 1979, the British Government has privatised most state-owned companies, including British Steel, British Airways, British Telecom, British Coal, British Aerospace, and British Gas, although in some cases the government retains a "golden share" in these companies. The previous Labour government continued the privatisation policy of its Conservative predecessor, particularly by encouraging "public-private partnerships" (partial privatisation) in such areas as the London Underground. The economy of the United Kingdom is now primarily based on private enterprise, accounting for approximately four-fifths of employment and output.

Bluewater Shopping Centre, Kent, 2009.

London ranks alongside New York as a leading international financial centre. London's financial exports contribute greatly to the United Kingdom's balance of payments. Ratings agencies rank the United Kingdom's banking sector as one of the strongest in the world and its banks are amongst the most profitable in the G-8. It is a global leader in emissions trading and is home to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). It is also a government priority to make London the leading center of Islamic finance.

Britain a significant European energy exporter. It is also one of the world's largest energy consumers, and most analysts predict a shift in U.K. status from net exporter to net importer of energy by 2020, possibly sooner. Oil production in the U.K. is levelling off. While North Sea natural gas production continues to rise, gains may be offset by ever-increasing consumption. North Sea oil and gas exploration activities are shifting to smaller fields and to increments of larger, developed fields, presenting opportunities for smaller, independent energy operators to become active in North Sea production.

* GDP (at current market prices, 2007 est.): US$1.93 trillion.
* Annual growth rate (2009 est.): -4.6%
* Per capita GDP (2006 est.): US$31,800.
* Natural resources: Coal, oil, natural gas.
* Agriculture (1.1% of GDP): Products—cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables, cattle, sheep, poultry, fish.
* Industry: Types—steel, heavy engineering and metal manufacturing, textiles, motor vehicles and aircraft, construction (5.2% of GDP), electronics, chemicals.
* Trade (2006 est.): Exports of goods and services—US$468.8 billion: manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco. Major markets—U.S., European Union. Imports of goods and services—US$603 billion: manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, foodstuffs. Major suppliers—U.S., European Union, Japan.

### Economic History[edit]

In 1960, the United Kingdom had the fourth-largest economy, with a GDP of $75 billion.[56] In 1965, the UK got surpassed by France, getting to fifth place, with a GDP of $100 billion. In 1970, the fast-growing Japanese economy surpassed the UK, bumping it to 6th place. In 1975, the UK got $240 billion, in 1980 it got $540 billion, and in 1985, the UK declined slightly to $535 billion. But the top 6 stayed the same, the United States, Soviet Union, Japan, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. In 1990, Italy humiliated the UK, by putting the UK at 7th, despite booming to $1.1 trillion. In 1995, the UK grew to $1.325 trillion, bumping both Italy's curving economy and Russia's collapsing economy. In 2000, the UK went to $1.445 trillion, surpassing its longtime-rival-but-ally France, thus getting to 4th. In 2005, the UK boomed to $2.5 trillion dollars, keeping its 4th. In 2010, the UK declined to $2.25 trillion, getting bumped to 6th. In 2015, however, the UK got to $2.863 trillion, surpassing France again. In 2020, the booming Indian economy surpassed the UK, with $2.8 trillion (a small decline), bumping it to 6th.

### Currency[edit]

The currency of the United Kingdom is the Pound Sterling, commonly called Pound and written £ or GBP, divided into 100 New Pence (now commonly just called pence or 'p'). Traditionally the UK had a complicated triple currency structure of 20 shillings to the Pound and 12 "old pence" (represented by a "d" from the Roman denarius) to the shilling, making a total of 240 pence to the Pound. This system was abandoned in 1971 due to difficulties with computerised accounting systems, in favour of the current decimal system.

The UK has never joined the Euro zone.

## History[edit]

Stonehenge.

The Roman invasion of Britain in 43AD and most of Britain's subsequent incorporation into the Roman Empire stimulated development and brought more active contacts with the rest of Europe. However, there was no permanent Roman imprint apart from roads and locations for cities. As Rome's strength declined, the country again was exposed to invasion—including the pivotal incursions of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes in the fifth and sixth centuries AD—up to the Norman conquest in 1066. Norman rule effectively ensured Britain's safety from further intrusions; certain institutions, which remain characteristic of Britain, could develop. Among these are a political, administrative, cultural, and economic centre in London; a separate but established church and distinctive and distinguished university education.

#### Union[edit]

Both Wales and Scotland were independent kingdoms that resisted English rule. The English conquest of Wales succeeded in 1282 under Edward I, and the Statute of Rhuddlan established English rule 2 years later. To appease the Welsh, Edward's son (later Edward II), who had been born in Wales, was made Prince of Wales in 1301. The tradition of bestowing this title on the eldest son of the British Monarch continues today. An act of 1536 completed the political and administrative union of England and Wales.

While maintaining separate parliaments, England and Scotland were ruled by the same king beginning in 1603, when James VI of Scotland succeeded his cousin Elizabeth I as James I of England. In the ensuing 100 years, strong religious and political differences divided the kingdoms. Finally, in 1707, England and Scotland were unified as Great Britain, sharing a single Parliament at Westminster.

Ireland's invasion by the Anglo-Normans in 1170 led to centuries of strife. Successive English kings sought to conquer Ireland. In the early 17th century, large-scale settlement of the north from Scotland and England began. After its defeat, Ireland was subjected, with varying degrees of success, to control and regulation by Britain.

The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was completed on January 1, 1801, under the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (normally shortened to "Great Britain" or "Britain"). However, armed struggle for independence continued sporadically into the 20th century. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 established the Irish Free State, which subsequently left the Commonwealth and became a republic after World War II. Six northern, predominantly Protestant, Irish counties have remained part of the United Kingdom.

#### British Expansion and Empire[edit]

Queen Victoria, by Sir Francis Grant.

The British Empire was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. It was a product of the Age of Discovery, which began with the maritime explorations of the 15th century, that sparked the era of the European colonial empires. By 1921, the British Empire held sway over a population of about 458 million people, approximately one-quarter of the world's population.[57] It covered about 36.7 million km² (14.2 million square miles),[58] about a quarter of Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous colonies or subject nations.[59]

Begun initially to support William the Conqueror's (c. 1029-1087) holdings in France, Britain's policy of active involvement in continental European affairs endured for several hundred years. By the end of the 14th century, foreign trade, originally based on wool exports to Europe, had emerged as a cornerstone of national policy.

During the five decades following World War II, most of the territories of the Empire became independent. Many went on to join the Commonwealth of Nations, a free association of independent states.[60] Some have retained the British monarch as their head of state to become independent Commonwealth realms.

#### Sea Power[edit]

The foundations of sea power were gradually laid to protect English trade and open up new routes. Defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 firmly established England as a major sea power. Thereafter, its interests outside Europe grew steadily. Attracted by the spice trade, English mercantile interests spread first to the Far East. In search of an alternate route to the Spice Islands, John Cabot reached the North American continent in 1498. Sir Walter Raleigh organized the first, short-lived colony in Virginia in 1584, and permanent English settlement began in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia. During the next two centuries, Britain extended its influence abroad and consolidated its political development at home, as the Royal Navy dominated the seas.

#### Industrial Revolution[edit]

Bradford Industrial Museum.

Britain's industrial revolution greatly strengthened its ability to oppose Napoleonic France. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, Britain was the foremost European power, and its navy ruled the seas. Peace in Europe allowed the British to focus their interests on more remote parts of the world, and, during this period, the British Empire reached its zenith. British colonial expansion reached its height largely during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Queen Victoria's reign witnessed the spread of British technology, commerce, language, and government throughout the British Empire, which, at its greatest extent, encompassed roughly one-fifth to one-quarter of the world's area and population. It is controversial whether British colonies accelerated or slowed Britain's economic growth, for its growth rate fell below nations without empires, especially the U.S. and Germany. Democracy came in fits and starts in a series of reforms that finally, by the 1920s, allowed all adults to vote.

#### End of Empire[edit]

See also: Collapse of the British Empire

By the time of Queen Victoria's death in 1901, other nations, including the United States and Germany, had developed their own industries; Britain lost its comparative economic advantage, and the ambitions of its rivals had grown. The UK joined world war I because of the invasion of Belgium, and subsequently began World War II after the invasion of Poland. The losses and destruction of The First World War, the Great Depression of the 1930s, the independence of the Dominions, and decades of relatively slow growth eroded the Britain's preeminent international position of the previous century.

Nationalism became stronger in other parts of the empire, particularly in India and Egypt.

In 1926, Britain granted Australia, Canada, and New Zealand almost complete autonomy as "dominions"; beginning with the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, the remainder of the British Empire was almost completely dismantled by the 1960s.

#### United Kingdom's road repair crisis[edit]

See also: United Kingdom's road repair crisis

The United Kingdom (UK) website Fife Today reported in on July 27, 2022 on UK's road repair crisis: "Over 1.5 million potholes were reported across the country, but the AA says the actual number is likely to be much higher as the figure does not include pothole on motorways and major roads, and many go unreported."[61]

In 2018, UK roads ranked were ranked 27th in the world which was a ranking below Chile and Cyprus.[62]

## See also[edit]

* English Painting
* British politics
* June 2007 UK terror attacks
* List of political parties in the United Kingdom
* Mystery:Why is England More Liberal than the United States?
* Flags of the United Kingdom
* Piers Morgan
* Victorian era

## External links[edit]

* Sir John Chilcot 'wrong man to head Iraq invasion inquiry'.
* Iraqi oil supply was considered to be 'vital' to British interests.

## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ Hanson, Victor Davis (September 12, 2019). Victor Davis Hanson: Britain's got one last chance to reembrace free-market democratic world it helped create. Fox News. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
2. ↑ Nato allies urge rethink on alliance after Biden’s ‘unilateral’ Afghanistan exit, Financial Times, Helen Warrell in London, Guy Chazan in Berlin and Richard Milne in Stockholm AUGUST 17 2021.
3. ↑ Tom Tugendhat on Afghanistan: Six decades after Suez, we remain impotent in the face of US policy, August 16 2021, The Times. "The fall of Kabul is the biggest foreign policy disaster since Suez. The operation to seize the canal in 1956 symbolised the end of Britain’s global ambition and refocused us on Nato and alliances. It showed conclusively that the US could limit our actions and change our policy. The fall of Kabul will be remembered for similar reasons: not just its abject failure, but also because it revealed the nature of US power and our inability to hold a separate line. The redeployment of 2,500 US troops, half as many as it takes to crew a carrier, ended 20 years of British effort in Afghanistan and left thousands of British citizens under Taliban jurisdiction....The longer-term question is: what next? Is Britain’s foreign policy achievable given the past week? What are the implications for our alliances?...just like in Suez, we need to reset to make sure that a false narrative does not grow, and that means commitment. Cuts to overseas engagement, whether defence, diplomacy, aid or trade, will look different today from how they did a week ago...." Tom Tugendhat is Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.</small</span> </li>
4. ↑ From 1801 to 1927 the official name was The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
5. ↑ Alan MacColl, "The Meaning of 'Britain' in Medieval and Early Modern England." Journal of British Studies 2006 45(2): 248-269
6. ↑ This same melody is also sung by American schoolchildren (with different words) as "My Country, 'Tis of Thee".
7. ↑ Times Educational Supplement
8. ↑ Singman, Brooke (March 14, 2017). Free speech under attack at UK colleges, report says. Fox News. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
9. ↑ Hale, Virginia (May 17, 2017). LGBT Curriculum Programme, Gender Neutral Uniforms Adopted By 120 UK Schools. Breitbart News. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
10. ↑ Religion and the State in Russia and China: Suppression, Survival and Revival by Christopher Marsh, 2011, page 11 (Christopher Marsh cites the definitions of desecularization given by Peter L. Berger and Vyacheslav Karpov)
11. ↑ According to U.S. State Department Report, 2008
12. ↑ London Churchgoing and Other News
13. ↑ I'm not surprised Evangelical Christianity is on the rise by Ed West, The Telegraph, December 14th, 2009
14. ↑ Only 38% of Brits identify as Christian; lowest proportion in poll's history, Christian Post, 2019
15. ↑ Church growth is not just for Evangelicals
16. ↑ London Churchgoing and Other News
17. ↑ London Churchgoing and Other News
18. ↑ I'm not surprised Evangelical Christianity is on the rise by Ed West, The Telegraph, December 14th, 2009
19. ↑ Shall the religious inherit the earth?, 2010 Interview with Eric Kaufmann by MercatorNet
20. ↑ When will European Muslim population be majority and in which country?, Pierre Rostan, Alexandra Rostan, PSU Research Review, ISSN: 2399-1747, Open Access. Article publication date: 28 August 2019 Reprints & Permissions, Issue publication date: 28 August 2019
21. ↑ FactCheck: will Britain have a Muslim majority by 2050?
22. ↑
* Why are the years 2012 and 2020 key years for Christian creationists and pro-lifers?
* Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth? Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century by Eric Kaufmann
23. ↑ Islamist Terrorism in the UK: An In-Depth Analysis
24. ↑ What Islam Isn't
25. ↑ UK is only G7 country with smaller economy than before Covid-19, The Guardian, September 30, 2022
26. ↑ Der Spiegel: Finland best at handling pandemic, https://yle.fi/ website, July 7, 2021
27. ↑ ABOUT CITY JOURNAL
28. ↑ The Most Frightened Nation by Lionel Shriver, Autumn of 2021
29. ↑ Mortality Analyses by John Hopkins University University of Medicine
30. ↑ Mortality Analyses by John Hopkins University University of Medicine
31. ↑ Obesity and the Economics of Prevention: Fit not Fat - United Kingdom (England) Key Facts
32. ↑ World's Democracy Index
33. ↑ http://www.nio.gov.uk/index/key-issues/the-agreement.htm
34. ↑ "David Cameron and Nick Clegg pledge 'united' coalition" BBC News, Election 2010.
35. ↑ Under the provisions of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (c. 14), parliamentary elections in the UK must be held every five years, beginning in 2015. The Act received Royal Assent on 15 September 2011. Fixed-term Parliaments, where general elections ordinarily take place in accordance with a schedule set far in advance, were part of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement which was produced after the 2010 general election.
36. ↑ "How did the Conservatives win the general election?" The Daily Telegraph
37. ↑ Adrian Williamson, The Case for Brexit: Lessons from the 1960s and 1970s, History and Policy (2015).
38. ↑ Brexit: David Cameron to quit after UK votes to leave EU. BBC. June 24, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
39. ↑ Gross, Jenny; Winning, Nicholas (June 24, 2016). Brexit Vote Throws U.K. Political Scene Into Disarray. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
40. ↑ The U.K. Now Has More Gay Lawmakers Than Any Other Country, Time magazine, May 14, 2015
41. ↑ The U.K. Now Has More Gay Lawmakers Than Any Other Country, Time magazine, May 14, 2015
42. ↑ Britain has most gay parliament in the world — use it as force for good by Crispin Blunt, The Times, May 18 2021
43. ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56477900
44. ↑ https://nypost.com/2023/01/22/theres-no-hiding-bidens-fright-over-classified-document-scandal/
45. ↑ https://youtu.be/ps6HuQRWcWY
46. ↑ https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/biden-warns-world-war-whils-truss-says-rostov-and-voronezh-are-not-russian
47. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/c/GrahamPhillipsUK/videos
48. ↑ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-afghanistan/uk-to-stay-in-afghanistan-as-long-as-it-takes-idUSTRE6A71TI20101108
49. ↑ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-20/biden-assured-allies-in-june-u-s-would-ensure-kabul-s-stability?sref=MTy2GeXk
50. ↑ https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2021/08/20/special-relationship-biden-ghosted-johnson-over-bungled-bugout-n1471066
51. ↑ Parliament holds Joe Biden in contempt over Afghanistan, By Ben Riley-Smith, The Telegraph, 18 August 2021.
52. ↑ [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/afghanistan-taliban-uk-ben-wallace-b1903193.html NewsUKUK Politics Defence secretary breaks down in tears and admits ‘some won’t get back’ from Afghanistan], Adam Forrest, The Independent, August 16, 2021.
53. ↑ https://www.pressreader.com/uk/sunday-mirror/20210822/page/1
54. ↑ Tom Tugendhat on Afghanistan: Six decades after Suez, we remain impotent in the face of US policy, August 16 2021, The Times.
55. ↑ https://archive.is/2D8am#selection-491.1-491.56
56. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_largest_historical_GDP
57. ↑ Angus Maddison. The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective (p. 98, 242). OECD, Paris, 2001.
58. ↑ Bruce R. Gordon. To Rule the Earth... (See Bibliography for sources used.)
59. ↑ This phrase had already been used a few centuries before by the king Charles I of Spain, referring to the Spanish Empire.
60. ↑ T. O. Lloyd, The British Empire, 1558-1995. 2nd ed. (1996).
61. ↑ Fife worst in Scotland for potholes, Fife Today website, July 27, 2022
62. ↑ UK roads ranked worse than Chile and Cyprus in global survey, Motors.co.uk

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