United Kingdom Government

Map showing the location of United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is organized by a central government in Britain called Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Although the executive authority lies with the monarch who is the Queen, the Prime Minister heads the government. This government consists of the Cabinet, Parliament and the Judiciary. The Prime Minister and other ministers form the Cabinet which drives the executive agenda. The bicameral Parliament, whose main role is to legislate, consists of the House of Lords and House of Commons.

Any UK citizen aged 18 years and above (16 years in Scotland Parliamentary and Local elections) can vote. The general election takes place after every five years and can be categorized into six elective positions, namely the House of Commons, devolved parliaments and assemblies, European Parliament, local council, Mayoral, and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. Voting can happen either in person at a polling station, by post or by proxy. The Prime Minister can remain in office as long as he/she wins the House of Commons elections and maintain popularity in the majority party.

The Palace of Westminster, which lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster in central London, has been the meeting place for Parliamentarians since the thirteenth century. Initially built in 1016 and demolished in 1834 by fire, the current Palace is a refurbishment of 1840 blueprint whose construction took 30 years and finished in 1870. Buckingham Palace, which is also in the City of Westminster, is the official London residence and administrative headquarters of the reigning monarch. Near the Buckingham Palace is the 300 years old “10 Downing Street,” the headquarters of the UK government and official residence of the Prime Minister.

There are a number of political parties who are represented in the House of Commons. These include, in no particular order, the Conservative Party, the Co-operative Party, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Green Party, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the Scottish National Party, Sinn Fein, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and UK Independence Party, and the Ulster Unionist Party.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	London
Languages	English
Ethnic Groups	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% (2011 est.)
Religion	Christian (includes Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 59.5%, Muslim 4.4%, Hindu 1.3%, other 2%, unspecified 7.2%, none 25.7% (2011 est.)
Government	Parliamentary constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Independance	12 April 1927 (Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act establishes current name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); notable earlier dates: 927 (minor English kingdoms united); 3 March 1284 (enactment of the Statute of Rhuddlan uniting England and Wales); 1536 (Act of Union formally incorporates England and Wales); 1 May 1707 (Acts of Union formally unite England and Scotland as Great Britain); 1 January 1801 (Acts of Union formally unite Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland); 6 December 1921 (Anglo-Irish Treaty formalizes partition of Ireland; six counties remain part of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland)
Area	243,610.00 km²
Water Area	1,680.00 km²
Land Area	241,930.00 km²
Population	64,430,428.00 The core of the population lies in and around London, with significant clusters found in central Britain around Manchester and Liverpool, in the Scotish lowlands between Endinburgh and Glasgow, southern Wales in and around Cardiff, and far eastern Northern Ireland centered on Belfast
Location	Western Europe, islands - including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland - between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea; northwest of France
No. Bordering Countries	1
Bordering Countries	Ireland 443 km
GDP(PPP)	$2,790,000,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$42,500.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are the United States, Germany, and Switzerland.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals, and food.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are Germany, China, and the United States.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, and foodstuffs.
Climate	Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands:?equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Terrain	Mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast

United Kingdom Government

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