The Basics
Population: 63,742,977
- Growth Rate: 0.54%
- Ethnic Distribution: white 87.2%, black/African/Caribbean/black British 3%, Asian/Asian British: Indian 2.3%, Asian/Asian British: Pakistani 1.9%, mixed 2%, other 3.7%
Gross Domestic Production (GDP): $2.49 trillion ($37,300 per capita)
Natural Resources: coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land
Political History
1215
The Magna Carta
King John of England issues the Magna Carta in order to establish peace between himself and the rebel barons who had taken over London. Established a new relationship between the king and the public. Turning point in history because it placed the people as well as the king under the law. Basically implements the parliamentary system.
1707
Act of Union 1707
Established the United Kingdom of Great Britain which united the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament.
1801
Act of Union 1801
Established the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which united the Great British Parliament and the Irish Parliament.
1832
Great Reform Act of 1832
Essentially overruled the 40 Shilling Franchise and created 67 new constituencies. It extended voting rights to people who owned or rented land worth 10 Euros or more. This did not give all people, regardless of class, the right to vote; however, it was a push in the correct direction.
1867
Representation of the People Act (Second Reform Act)
Gave suffrage to all working class men. Was achieve with great persistence from advocators who were part of the Chartist Movement (movement to gain ALL men's suffrage.)
1884
Franchise Act (Third Reform Act)
Most men granted the right to vote, women still cannot vote
1918
Representation of the People Act of 1918
Following WWI, this act eliminated all property requirements for men to vote. Also granted women 30 and older suffrage (however they still had some property quotas). Men only had to be 21 to vote in order to make sure that the women would not become the majority voters (because so many men had been killed in war.)
1922
5/6 of Ireland Succeeds
26 of Ireland's 32 countries achieve independence from The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and eventually create the Republic of Ireland, leaving the UK to be known as The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
1929
Women's Suffrage
Woman's voting age is set equal to men's (21).
1969
Voting Age
Voting age lowered to 18 for men and women.
1215
The Magna Carta
King John of England issues the Magna Carta in order to establish peace between himself and the rebel barons who had taken over London. Established a new relationship between the king and the public. Turning point in history because it placed the people as well as the king under the law. Basically implements the parliamentary system.
1707
Act of Union 1707
Established the United Kingdom of Great Britain which united the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament.
1801
Act of Union 1801
Established the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which united the Great British Parliament and the Irish Parliament.
1832
Great Reform Act of 1832
Essentially overruled the 40 Shilling Franchise and created 67 new constituencies. It extended voting rights to people who owned or rented land worth 10 Euros or more. This did not give all people, regardless of class, the right to vote; however, it was a push in the correct direction.
1867
Representation of the People Act (Second Reform Act)
Gave suffrage to all working class men. Was achieve with great persistence from advocators who were part of the Chartist Movement (movement to gain ALL men's suffrage.)
1884
Franchise Act (Third Reform Act)
Most men granted the right to vote, women still cannot vote
1918
Representation of the People Act of 1918
Following WWI, this act eliminated all property requirements for men to vote. Also granted women 30 and older suffrage (however they still had some property quotas). Men only had to be 21 to vote in order to make sure that the women would not become the majority voters (because so many men had been killed in war.)
1922
5/6 of Ireland Succeeds
26 of Ireland's 32 countries achieve independence from The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and eventually create the Republic of Ireland, leaving the UK to be known as The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
1929
Women's Suffrage
Woman's voting age is set equal to men's (21).
1969
Voting Age
Voting age lowered to 18 for men and women.
Current Political System
Parliamentary System of Government
The Two Houses of Parliament
Publicly Elected
Party with the most members in the Commons forms the government
Members are usually politicians in nature
Responsibilities: Financial Bills
Set Up: Opposition on one side, government on the other, debates occur and the Prime Minister is questioned
Appointed Individuals called "Life Peers"
Come from a variety of professions and are chosen due to knowledge and experience
Responsibilities: Makes and shapes laws, checks and challenges the government
The Monarch & The Executive Branch
Judiciary Branch
Parliamentary System of Government
- Executive branch is held accountable for the legislative branch
- Head of the Executive branch is part of the Legislative branch
- As opposed to Democratic System of Government where the Executive and Legislative branches are separate and independently responsible and the head of the executive branch is not part of the legislative branch
- Parliament = Legislative Branch of Parliamentary Democracy
The Two Houses of Parliament
- The House of Commons
Publicly Elected
Party with the most members in the Commons forms the government
Members are usually politicians in nature
Responsibilities: Financial Bills
Set Up: Opposition on one side, government on the other, debates occur and the Prime Minister is questioned
- The House of Lords
Appointed Individuals called "Life Peers"
Come from a variety of professions and are chosen due to knowledge and experience
Responsibilities: Makes and shapes laws, checks and challenges the government
The Monarch & The Executive Branch
- Monarch = Chief of State = Mainly a ceremonial role which still exists in order to honor tradition; however still must sign every new law.
- Head of Government = Prime Minister - Usually the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons becomes Prime Minister
- Cabinet Members - Appointed by Prime Minister
Judiciary Branch
- Three separate judiciary systems for England & Wales, Scotland, and Ireland
- Very complicated because they have developed over a thousand years
Current Primary Problems
Immigration
Immigration
- Public concern about the strain that high immigration puts on the country's economy: housing prices, job availability, etc.
- All majority parties agree that immigration is too high
- Problem = lowering immigration
- While more immigration results in a higher total GDP, it does not alter the per capita GDP because it increases population proportionally its contribution to GDP
- Long term goal is to stabilize the population, however this is a timely process that can only be achieved little by little during each Parliament's terms
- Alcohol consumption has been rising since the 1950s
- Higher levels of alcohol consumption are resulting in social and health consequences
- Health Select Committee identified the main issue causing the problem is how cheap alcoholic drinks are
- Attempts to fix the problem: 1) Designated Public Place Orders (gives councils the power to ban drinking in certain public areas) 2) Alcohol Disorder Zones (gives councils the power to charge pubs in order to pay for increased police patrolling of their streets) - Have not succeeded (hardly any have been established in the 5 years it has been available)
- Housing supply is not keeping up with demand
- Housing prices have fallen, but consequently the requirements for loans have tightened
- Construction companies won't build houses they cannot sell, leading to less supply to combat demand (creates a positive feedback loop)
- Attempt to fix the problem: Social Housing is when housing is rented out at a low cost to those who need it most (is being government funded and regulated) - Can only help temporarily (cannot fix the problem), the market/economy is the underlying issue that needs to be addressed and fixed
Sources
http://www.britroyals.com/union.htm
http://www.parliament.uk/
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html
http://www.bl.uk/
http://www.economist.com/
http://england.shelter.org.uk/
http://www.migrationwatchuk.org/
http://www.britroyals.com/union.htm
http://www.parliament.uk/
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html
http://www.bl.uk/
http://www.economist.com/
http://england.shelter.org.uk/
http://www.migrationwatchuk.org/