United Kingdom

The United Kingdom (UK) or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is a state in northwest Europe. It is made up of the constituent countries of England, Scotland, and Wales (together known as Great Britain), and Northern Ireland (on the island of Ireland).

About 60 million people live in the UK. English is the language most people speak, but many other languages are spoken. These include Cantonese and Hindi, and Welsh in Wales.

The capital city of the United Kingdom is London, a large city with the River Thames inside of the city, in south-eastern England. Other cities in the UK are Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, York, Newcastle upon Tyne, Leeds, Sheffield, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Belfast, and Londonderry.

The UK is north-west off the coast of mainland Europe. Around the UK is the North Sea, the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean.

The UK is also in charge of several smaller places around the world, usually islands, which are known as overseas territories.

Politics

The UK is a constitutional monarchy. The people of the United Kingdom vote for a Member of Parliament to speak for them and make laws for them. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the queen of the UK and is the head of state (Person in charge of the country). Even though she is the head of state, she does not choose what the United Kingdom should do about things like education (teaching people), healthcare (making sick people better) or other choices. The person who chooses for the people in the United Kingdom is the Prime Minister, who is in charge of the government. Today, the Prime Minister is Tony Blair, who is the leader of the Labour party.

Parliament, where laws are made, has two parts: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is more important than the House of Lords, and can do more. The Prime Minister and the other Members of Parliament are there. The people in the House of Lords are not chosen by all of the people of the United Kingdom. They are people who are Lords, because their parents were Lords, or a Prime Minister has made them into Lords. Not all Lords are allowed to sit in the House of Lords. There are also some Bishops in the House of Lords.

Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have their own parliaments which do less than the UK parliament. The UK parliament remains in charge, and it can close them at any time. The Northern Irish parliament is closed because some of its members have not followed the Good Friday Agreement - a peace agreement which was made to stop problems there. Usually, however, there are agreements about what types of laws are made by each parliament.

History of the United Kingdom

Wales was taken over by England in the 13th century. When Queen Elizabeth I of England died, her closest relative was James the King of Scotland. He was king of both England and Scotland, but they stayed two countries. In 1707 the Scottish and English parliaments passed laws to make them one state called the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

By the year 1800, Great Britain had already had much influence over Ireland for over 600 years. In that year laws were passed in Great Britain and Ireland to merge the two states. This was against the wishes of many of the Irish people. The new country was called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 most of Ireland achieved independence from Britain, however the northern part continued to be part of the United Kingdom. The union was renamed The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

United Kingdom

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Politics

History of the United Kingdom