The
United Kingdom (UK), informally referred to as Britain, consists of England,
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. England’s union with Wales begun with
the Statue of Rhuddlan in 1284, and was finalized with the 1536’s Act of
Union. In another Act of Union in 1707, Scotland was added to form Great
Britain, which was later renamed the United Kingdom when Ireland was added
in 1801. The Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a separation of what is
now the Republic of Ireland; thus leaving six northern Irish counties to
form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Britain is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, where the
hereditary monarch is the head of state, and the elected Prime Minister is
the head of government. The parliament, with its supreme legislative power,
has two houses: the House of Lords, whose main function is to revise
legislation, and the House of Commons where the effective power resides and
most legislation originates. The executive power of the Crown is exercised
by the cabinet, headed by the prime minister. The two main parties are the
Conservative party, and the moderately socialist Labour party. |