Chapter Outline

Section 1: Brief History

Section 2: Ethnic, Religious, and Cultural Identity

Section 3: Political Culture and Civil Society

Section 4: Political Participation

Section 5: Formal Political Institutions

Section 6: Political Economy

Section 7: Foreign Relations

Section 1: Brief History

The United Kingdom comprises Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This chapter includes Great Britain, Wales, and Scotland. Northern Ireland is covered in a separate chapter.

Wales was annexed by England in 1284 and was incorporated into the United Kingdom by King Henry VIII by his Act of Union 1536 and the Laws of Wales Acts in 1535 – 1542 (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024). The United Kingdom was created in 1707 when Britain, Scotland, and Wales were united by the Treaty of Union and the Acts of Union. The Act of Union of 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain defeated the Jacobite uprisings by the Stuarts at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. At the end of the 7-Years War (1756 – 1763), the UK greatly expanded its empire as the outcome of the Treaty of Paris, which incentivized the French to assist the 13 American colonies (1776 – 1783) in defeating Great Britain (History.com, 2009). From 1919 until 1922, Sinn Fein led a war for independence against Britain, which ended in a stalemate. In 1922, the Free State of Ireland seceded from the UK under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, leaving Northern Ireland under the rule of Great Britain (Britannica Editors, 2024).  (See the chapter on the Republic of Ireland and the chapter on Northern Ireland)

Empire

The first British Empire began with King Henry VII in 1496, trailing the explorations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. At its greatest extent, the British Empire covered 35.5 million sq. kilometers (13.7 million sq.miles), ruling over some 500 million people. It covered a quarter of the Earth’s surface. The empire lasted just under 400 years with colonies in the Americas, throughout Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and across Africa (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Throughout the 16th century, Great Britain expanded its territories into the Americas, with mixed success, gaining and losing various Caribbean Islands, Guiana in South America, and the American colonies while succeeding in defeating the French in Canada. In North America, the French were defeated at the Battle of Quebec (part of the French and Indian War) in September 1759 by Major General James Wolfe, gaining the expanding empire of French Canada (Britannica Editors, 2024). The British defeated Spain in 1789, and a few years later, Spain was defeated on the west coast at Vancouver Island and inland, which were also claimed for Britain. During this time, Great Britain competed with other continental states in the African Slave Trade. The Crown also paid privateers to attack ships from other continental powers, taking cargo and impressing crews into slave labor and prison. The Royal African Company was granted a monopoly in the slave trade in 1672. Overall, the British slave trade transported approximately 3.5 million Africans until Parliament abolished slavery and the slave trade in 1807.

The British victory at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, where they defeated the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, established the British East India Company as a dominant military and political force in Bengal. In the subsequent decades, the British East India Company expanded its territories, either directly governing or using local rulers under the threat of force from its Presidency Armies, primarily composed of Indian sepoys led by British officers. The British and French conflicts in India became part of the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) involving major European powers.

Since 1718, Britain sent about a thousand convicts annually to the American colonies as punishment for various crimes. After losing the Thirteen Colonies in 1783, Britain needed a new place for this purpose and chose Australia. In 1770, during a scientific expedition, James Cook mapped the eastern coast, claimed the land for Britain, and named it New South Wales. In 1787, the first ship carrying convicts set sail and arrived in 1788. Australia was claimed through proclamation since Indigenous Australians were deemed too uncivilized for treaties. Colonization brought diseases and violence that, along with the forced dispossession of their land and culture, devastated Indigenous populations. Britain continued sending convicts to New South Wales until 1840, Tasmania until 1853, and Western Australia until 1868.

Cook claimed the North and South islands of New Zealand for Britain in 1769 and 1770. Initially, European settlers interacted with the indigenous Maori primarily through trade. European settlement increased in the early 19th century, particularly in the North, where many trading stations were established. On February 6, 1840, Captain William Hobson and around 40 Maori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which is considered New Zealand’s founding document despite ongoing disputes over differing interpretations of the Maori and English versions (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Between World War 1 and World War II, the United Kingdom lost the political, military, and financial ability to hold onto its colonial possessions, and they each attained independence. While Australia, New Zealand, and Canada still recognize the ascendance of the British monarchy, each is an independent democracy.

Wales

Wales is a country within the United Kingdom. The Irish Sea borders it to the north and west, England to the east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. As of 2021, Wales had a population of 3,107,494. The country covers an area of 21,218 square kilometers (8,192 sq mi) and features over 2,700 kilometers (1,680 mi) of coastline. Wales is predominantly mountainous, with its highest peaks in the north and central regions, including Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its tallest summit. Situated in the north temperate zone, Wales experiences a changeable maritime climate. The capital and largest city is Cardiff.

The Welsh Language Act 1967 removed Wales from the legal definition of England established by the Wales and Berwick Act, legally recognizing Wales as a separate entity within the UK for the first time since the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The 1967 Act also allowed for the use of Welsh in more areas, including some legal contexts.

In a 1979 referendum, Wales overwhelmingly voted against creating a Welsh assembly, with 80 percent opposed. However, in a 1997 referendum, the vote was much closer, with a narrow majority of 50.3 percent in favor. This led to establishing the National Assembly for Wales (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) in 1999 under the Government of Wales Act 1998, granting it authority over Wales’s central government budget. However, the UK Parliament retained some control over its powers.

The Government of Wales Act 2006 reformed the National Assembly, making it easier to grant additional powers and creating a government system with a separate executive accountable to the legislature. Following a successful 2011 referendum, the Assembly could make laws on devolved matters without the UK Parliament’s consent.

In the 2016 referendum, Wales voted to leave the European Union with the UK’s Brexiters. Oxford University geography professor Danny Dorling suggested that the Leave vote was influenced by the high proportion (21 percent) of retired English people living in Wales.

The Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 renamed the National Assembly to “Senedd Cymru” in Welsh and the “Welsh Parliament” in English, reflecting its expanded legislative powers (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Scotland

Scotland is a country within the United Kingdom, occupying nearly one-third of the UK’s land area. It includes the northern part of Great Britain and over 790 nearby islands, mainly in the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Scotland shares a 96-mile (154 km) land border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. As of 2022, Scotland’s population was 5,439,842, making up 8% of the UK’s population. Edinburgh is the capital, while Glasgow is the largest city.

Scotland became an independent sovereign state in the 9th century. In 1603, James VI inherited the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Ireland, creating a personal union of the three kingdoms. On May 1, 1707, Scotland and England united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, with the Parliament of Scotland merging into the Parliament of Great Britain. A Scottish Parliament was re-established in 1999, devolving powers over many domestic policies. Scotland maintains a distinct legal system, educational system, and religious history, which have all helped preserve its unique culture and national identity. A 2014 referendum on remaining in the United Kingdom captured 55.4% to remain. The parliamentary plans after the Brexit split, discussed below, precipitated a consideration to float a second independence referendum, but it failed to gain traction (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Section 2: Ethnic, Religious, and Cultural Identity

“The core of the population lies in and around London, with significant clusters found in central Britain around Manchester and Liverpool, in the Scottish lowlands between Edinburgh and Glasgow, southern Wales in and around Cardiff, and far eastern Northern Ireland centered on Belfast (Central Intelligence Agency, 2024).”

Population

total: 68,459,055 United Kingdom
male: 34,005,445
female: 34,453,610 (2024 est.)

Nationality

noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural)
adjective: British

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.).

Languages

English
The following are recognized regional languages: Scots (about 30% of the population of Scotland), Scottish Gaelic (about 60,000 speakers in Scotland), Welsh (about 20% of the population of Wales), Irish (about 10% of the population of Northern Ireland), Cornish (some 2,000 to 3,000 people in Cornwall) (2012 est.).

Religions

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.).

Section 3: Political Culture and Civil Society

Political scientists Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba described the political culture of the United Kingdom as a deferential civic culture in 1963. In the UK, factors like class, regionalism, and the nation’s history, including the legacy of the British Empire, influence its political culture (Almond, 1965).

The United Kingdom has long exemplified the development of a nation through a complex, multi-layered system of social, political, and economic solidarities. It has integrated national identities (English, Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish) with a broader British identity and, for a few decades, was a member of the European Union, which ended with Brexit on January 30, 2020. This system has been facilitated by the sharing of political authority and economic resources between its national entities, the establishment of a welfare state that redistributes resources across nations and social classes, and the monarchy’s constitutional role.

However, the mechanisms that have sustained cross-national solidarity for many years face challenges, jeopardizing the UK’s foundational framework. Power sharing among the various nations and actors has come under intense scrutiny for their capacity to adequately represent diverse interests and voices. This scrutiny has produced movements like Scotland’s pursuit of independence through a referendum. The welfare state, a crucial institution for maintaining solidarity, has been undermined by austerity policies implemented in response to the financial and economic crisis. Finally, the UK’s decision to exit the European Union, determined by a referendum in June 2016, has eroded the solidarity that had previously been a cornerstone of the UK’s identity. For more reading on the increase in protests in the U.K., read Decade of dissent: how protest is shaking the UK and why it’s likely to continue (Bailey, 2020).

3.1 – Civil Society

Civil society is considered the third sector of the polity, which includes the family and the community and their relationships with each other and with the government. There are two primary definitions of civil society. The first posits that civil society comprises a voluntary organization system that empowers citizens to challenge the government and each other. The second definition emphasizes informal organizations, such as kinship ties and patron-client relationships, as the cohesive elements that facilitate smooth societal functioning. Although variations exist among theorists, most scholars tend to analyze civil society from one of these two perspectives (Hollis, 2002).

Robert Putnam posits that in a robust civil society, citizens actively engage in public affairs and form associations, which do not necessarily need to be political in nature. Whether individuals join a bowling league or advocate for a political cause, the key is their cooperation and interaction. Such interactions foster the development of “horizontal bonds of fellowship,” which Putnam identifies as characteristic of a healthy civil society. He explicitly excludes kinship ties from his definition, viewing these “vertical bonds of authority” as inward-looking and detrimental to broader societal interaction. According to Putnam, societal stagnation occurs when groups do not interact. For similar reasons, he excludes religion, particularly Roman Catholicism, as practiced in Italy, arguing that its hierarchical organization makes it an “alternative to civic community” rather than an integral part of it. The ultimate aim of a strong civil society, Putnam argues, is to produce effective governance (Putnam, 1994).

Civil Society in the UK is considered the “third sector” of the polity, influenced over time by historical changes in politics, economics, and culture. The National Council of Voluntary Organizations (NCVO) publishes an annual almanac tracking civil society participation. Voluntary participation by the public is trackable for charities and other formal non-governmental organizations, but informal volunteering is more difficult to track (Government of the United Kingdom, 2018).

In 2022, 165,758 voluntary organizations operated, the majority of which were small or micro-organizations. Over a third of the population volunteered time at least once a year during the pandemic, with rates dropping from 37% to 30% between 2019 and 2021, and remaining steady afterward. Social services is by far the largest sector, with approximately 32,000 registered organizations. The second and third-largest sectors are culture and recreation.  Government support for the third sector has dropped from 37% in 2009 to around 26% in 2022. Ethnic diversity in the voluntary sector workforce is low, only 10%, compared with 14% in the public sector and 13% in the private sector. The voluntary sector workforce comprises about 3% of the total workforce and is 90% white. Data and graphics can be found at UK Civil Society Almanac 2022 | Home | NCVO (UK Civil Society Almanac, 2024).

3.2 – Gender

“Gender equality in the UK is better than in the US, although gender gaps, gender-based violence, and disadvantageous social norms facing women and girls persist, and gains in the human capital of women and girls remain untapped,” according to the data from the World Bank. The following graphic demonstrates the Gender Landscape in the United Kingdom (World Bank Group, 2024).

Gender inequality remains a tenacious problem in the United Kingdom. It affects multiple dimensions of women’s and men’s lives, including the gender pay gap, representation in politics, education and employment, and health and life expectancy. Despite progress, disparities in pay persist. Women continue to earn less than men on average for similar work. On average, women enter the workplace with higher qualifications than men but are paid at lower rates from the beginning—almost two-thirds of women entering retail work as assistants, while managers and directors are men. Once women have children, the pay gap widens. This means that because women are paid less, they save less for later life. While the proportion of women Members of Parliament has increased, there’s still room for improvement. In 2019, 34% of MPs were women, compared to just 3% in 1979. Women in the UK still struggle for educational and healthcare parity with men, but efforts are underway to improve.

Some of these initiatives include the Gender Equality Policy Hub, which maps relevant policies, consultations, and inquiries about inequality for women and men. It also takes into account civil society initiatives and international events. The Gender Equality Roadmap outlines government actions to tackle gendered inequalities across life stages and focuses on participation, power, education, the economy, justice, and culture. The UK is also committed to implementing the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women and Girls. In line with CEDAW, the UK passed the Equality Act of 2010, which protects against workplace discrimination, including sexual harassment and unequal pay. It also has strategies in place to combat violence against women and has a focus on gender-specific needs in the criminal justice system (Government of the United Kingdom, 2019).

Section 4: Political Participation

4.1 – Political Parties and the Electoral System in the House of Commons

By the mid-19th century, the Tories had evolved into the Conservative Party, while the Whigs transformed into the Liberal Party. During the late 19th century, the Liberal Party shifted toward the political left. Disagreements over Irish Home Rule led to the formation of the Liberal Unionists, who eventually aligned with the Conservatives. For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, political power in the UK alternated between the Liberals and Conservatives. However, by the 1920s, the Liberal Party experienced a sharp decline due to waning public support and internal resignations. Rising from an alliance of the labor movement, trade unions, and socialist organizations, the Labour Party supplanted the Liberals as the main opposition to the Conservatives (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Since then, governance in the UK has primarily alternated between the Conservative and Labour parties, though the system is not strictly two-party. Smaller parties have played significant roles, particularly at regional levels. The Liberal Democrats were the third-largest party until the 2015 general election when they were surpassed by the Scottish National Party (SNP) in parliamentary seats and membership and by the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in the popular vote.

The UK’s first-past-the-post electoral system often disadvantages smaller parties nationally while benefiting those with concentrated regional support. This disparity was stark in the 2015 general election, where UKIP and the Green Party secured 4.9 million votes (12.6% for UKIP and 3.8% for the Greens) but only one parliamentary seat each. Following the election, a coalition of smaller parties—including UKIP, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Plaid Cymru, and the Green Party—submitted a petition with 477,000 signatures to Downing Street, advocating for electoral reform (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Proportional representation has been introduced for various devolved and regional elections since 1997, including those for the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), the Northern Ireland Assembly, the London Assembly, and, until Brexit in 2020, the European Parliament. This shift has allowed smaller parties to gain greater representation. Historically, UK political parties operated as private organizations without state recognition. However, the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 formalized their status by establishing a party register. Despite these changes, party membership in the UK has seen a sharp decline, dropping by over 65% from 1983 to 2005—from 4% of the electorate to just 1.3% (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

4.2 – The 2024 Election

In the July 2024 election, the Labour Party won a landslide, winning 411 seats out of 650, regaining power after more than 14 years in the opposition. Its leader, Keir Starmer, was elected Prime Minister.  The Conservative Party, led by Rishi Sunak, suffered a sharp downturn, gaining only 121 seats, down from 365 won in 2019. The Liberal Democrats came in a distant third, winning only 72 seats, followed by the Scottish National Party with 9 seats, Sinn Fein with 7, and Reform UK (formerly UKIP) with 5. As of July 2024, thirteen parties are represented in the House of Commons, with six parties seating between 1 and 4 MPs (International Parliamentary Union, 2024).

4.3 – Major Political Parties

Established in 1900, the Labour Party is a social-democratic political organization in the United Kingdom, described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists, and trade unionists. It is the governing party, positioned on the center-left of the political spectrum, having secured a victory in the 2024 general election. Currently, it is the largest political party regarding votes cast and seats held in the House of Commons. The party has produced seven prime ministers and fourteen ministries. Annually, the Labour Party holds its Labour Party Conference during the party conference season, where senior figures advocate for party policies. Under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, Labour governed from 1964 to 1970 and from 1974 to 1979. In the 1990s, Tony Blair moved Labour to the political center with his New Labour project, leading the government from 1997 to 2010 under Blair and then Gordon Brown. In the 2020s, Keir Starmer also shifted Labour towards the center, governing since 2024 (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Labour is the largest party in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and is the sole party in the current Welsh government. It secured the majority of Scottish seats in the 2024 general election. Labour is affiliated with the Party of European Socialists and the Progressive Alliance and holds observer status in the Socialist International. The party includes semi-autonomous branches in London, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and it supports the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in Northern Ireland while still organizing there. As of March 2024, Labour has 366,604 registered members. (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Founded in 1834 as a successor to the Tory Party, the Conservative and Unionist Party, commonly known as the Conservative Party and referred to as the Tories, is one of the two principal political parties in the United Kingdom, alongside the Labour Party. Since its defeat in the 2024 general election, it serves as the Official Opposition. The party occupies the right-wing to center-right of the political spectrum, encompassing various ideological factions, including one-nation conservatives, Thatcherites, and traditionalist conservatives. The party has produced twenty prime ministers. Notable leaders include Winston Churchill during World War II and Margaret Thatcher, who led the party from 1979 to 1990 and succeeded by John Major until 1997. David Cameron aimed to modernize the party after becoming leader in 2005, with the Conservatives governing from 2010 to 2024 under five prime ministers, most recently Rishi Sunak (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Since the 1980s, the Conservative Party has generally embraced liberal economic policies that favor free markets, including deregulation, privatization, and marketization, although it historically supported protectionism. The party advocates for British unionism, opposing a united Ireland and Scottish and Welsh independence, and has been critical of devolution. Historically, it supported the maintenance of the British Empire. There are Eurosceptic and, to a lesser extent, pro-European factions within the party. Traditionally, the party espoused socially conservative views. Regarding defense policy, it supports an independent nuclear weapons program and a commitment to NATO membership.

The Liberal Democrats are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom, established in 1988. Ed Davey currently leads the party. As the third-largest party in the UK, they hold 72 seats in the House of Commons, 84 seats in the House of Lords, four in the Scottish Parliament, one in the Welsh Senedd, and over 3,000 local council seats. The Liberal Democrats have strong support in northern Scotland, southwest London, South West England, and mid-Wales. The party operates as a federation of the English, Scottish, and Welsh Liberal Democrats and partners with the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland.

Ideologically, the Liberal Democrats are a centrist to center-left party, drawing from liberalism and social democracy. The party supports constitutional reform, including a shift to proportional representation, and advocates for civil liberties, social-liberal policies on LGBT rights, drug liberalization, education, and criminal justice. Economically, they favor a market-based economy with social welfare spending. The party is progressive, internationalist, and pro-European, having supported the People’s Vote for continued EU membership and greater European integration. They have historically advocated for environmental protections and opposed military interventions like the Iraq War (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

The Scottish National Party (SNP; Scots: Scots National Party, Scottish Gaelic: Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 63 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It has 453 local councilors out of the 1,227 available. The SNP advocates for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom and Scotland’s membership in the European Union, promoting progressive social policies and civic nationalism. Established in 1934 through the merger of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party, the SNP has maintained continuous parliamentary representation at Westminster since Winnie Ewing’s victory in the 1967 Hamilton by-election. The 2024 general election resulted in the SNP losing 38 seats, making it the second-largest party in Scotland and the fourth-largest in the Westminster Parliament. The SNP has no members in the House of Lords, adhering to its principle of opposing the upper house and advocating for its abolition (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Sinn Féin (shin FAYN, Irish: [We] Ourselves’) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin was established in 1905. Its members played a crucial role in founding the revolutionary Irish Republic and its parliament, the First Dáil, and were significantly involved in the Irish War of Independence, during which the party was closely associated with the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922).

Sinn Féin is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, having secured the largest share of first-preference votes and the most seats in the 2022 election, marking the first time an Irish nationalist party has achieved this. Since 2024, Michelle O’Neill has served as the first-ever Irish nationalist First Minister of Northern Ireland. From 2007 to 2022, Sinn Féin was the second-largest party in the Assembly, after the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), with its nominees serving as deputy First Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive. In the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Sinn Féin has held seven of Northern Ireland’s seats since the 2024 election, maintaining its policy of abstentionism at Westminster (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Plaid Cymru (English: /plaɪd ˈkʌmri/ Welsh: [plaid ˈkəmri], lit. ‘Party of Wales’; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a center-left to left-wing Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. In 1925, Plaid Cymru won its first seat in the UK Parliament in 1966. Currently, the party holds 4 of the 32 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, 12 of the 60 seats in the Senedd, and 202 of the 1,231 principal local authority councilors.

While it remains part of the United Kingdom, Plaid Cymru advocates for further devolution of powers from the UK Government to Wales, including broadcasting and communication powers, devolution of the Crown Estate, welfare, and rail. The party also opposes nuclear power and nuclear weapons, including the UK’s Trident program, and supports lowering the voting age to 16 for all elections (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Initially founded as the Brexit Party in November 2018, it advocated for a no-deal Brexit and won the most seats in the 2019 European Parliament election in the UK. However, it did not secure any seats in the 2019 general election. The UK withdrew from the European Union (EU) in January 2020, and a year later, in January 2021, the party was renamed Reform UK. Following Nigel Farage’s return to leadership in early June 2024 during the general election campaign, the party saw a significant increase in support. Reform UK gained five Members of Parliament (MPs) in the election and received the third-highest popular vote, with 4,117,221 votes, accounting for 14.3% of the vote share. Nigel Farage had previously been the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), a right-wing populist and Eurosceptic party, during the early 2010s (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

The Green Party of England and Wales (often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens) is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. The party currently has four representatives in the House of Commons and two in the House of Lords, along with over 800 local councilors and three members of the London Assembly. The Green Party was established in 1990, alongside the Scottish Greens and the Green Party Northern Ireland, following the division of the pre-existing Green Party, founded initially as the PEOPLE Party in 1973. The party’s ideology blends environmentalism with left-wing economic policies, advocating for well-funded and locally controlled public services. It supports a steady-state economy with regulated capitalism and proportional representation. The Greens take progressive stances on civil liberties, animal rights, LGBT rights, and drug policy reform. The Green Party advocates replacing the UK’s first-past-the-post voting system with proportional representation to allocate parliamentary seats based on national vote share (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

Section 5: Formal Political Institutions

The UK is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy operating under the Westminster system, also known as a “democratic parliamentary monarchy.” It is a centralized, unitary state where the Parliament of the United Kingdom is sovereign. Parliament consists of the elected House of Commons, the appointed House of Lords, and the Crown (personified by the monarch). The primary business of Parliament occurs in the two houses, but royal assent is required for a bill to become an act of Parliament (statute law). Due to parliamentary sovereignty, the British constitution is uncodified, comprising various written sources, including parliamentary statutes, judge-made case law, international treaties, and constitutional conventions. The Supreme Court recognizes several principles underlying the British constitution, such as parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law, democracy, and adherence to international law (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

The lower chamber of the UK Parliament is the House of Commons, which contains 650 statutory seats. They are elected to serve five-year terms unless snap elections are called by the Prime Minister or the House of Commons votes no-confidence in the Prime Minister, at which time new elections are set. As of 2024, 387 men are seated and 263 women (40.5%). An electoral quota is voluntary for political parties but not required.

The upper chamber of the UK Parliament is the House of Lords, which usually numbers around 800 individuals (785 in 2024). Of these, 662 Life Peers are appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, while hereditary peers hold 92 seats and 26 archbishops and bishops. Seats are held by 557 men and 228 women (29%). There is no electoral quota for women (International Parliamentary Union, 2024).

King Charles III is the current monarch and head of state of the UK and 14 other independent countries, collectively known as the “Commonwealth realms.” The monarch holds all executive authority as the personal embodiment of the Crown and is fundamental to the UK’s law and functioning of government. However, these powers, including those of the royal prerogative, are generally exercised on the advice of ministers responsible to Parliament and the electorate. The monarch retains the right to be consulted, to encourage, and to warn in performing official duties and has several reserve powers to uphold responsible government and prevent constitutional crises.

For general elections to the House of Commons, the UK is divided into 650 constituencies, each represented by one member of Parliament (MP) elected by the first-past-the-post system. MPs serve for up to five years and must then stand for re-election if they wish to continue as MPs. Since the 1920s, the Conservative Party (Tories) and the Labour Party have been the dominant political parties in the UK, leading to a somewhat two-party system. Other political parties have also won seats in the House of Commons, though never more than the Conservatives or Labour.

The Prime Minister is the head of government in the UK, leading a Cabinet of senior ministers selected and directed by the Prime Minister. All are Members of Parliament (MPs) who hold Portfolios in the major policy areas. The principal opposition party maintains a “shadow government” where PMs hold the same portfolios and an alternative set of policies is held. That way, if the government fails through a vote of no confidence or an election, the next government is probably ready to step up.

The Government serves as the main instrument for public policymaking, administers public services, and, through the Privy Council, promulgates statutory instruments and advises the monarch. Nearly all prime ministers have concurrently served as First Lord of the Treasury and have continuously held this position since 1905, along with being the Minister for the Civil Service since 1968 and Minister for the Union since 2019. Appointed by the monarch, the Prime Minister is an MP, the leader of the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons, and holds office by commanding the confidence of the House. The current Prime Minister, as of July 2024, is Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party.

Although not part of the United Kingdom, the three Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man) and 14 British Overseas Territories are subject to the sovereignty of the British Crown. The Crown exercises its responsibilities for the Crown Dependencies mainly through the British government’s Home Office and the British Overseas Territories principally through the Foreign Office.

As the first country to undergo the industrial revolution, Britain created unprecedented wealth, setting new benchmarks for economic prosperity globally. It was also the first country to develop a modern parliamentary system, where a representative body, founded on the consent of the governed, became the primary ruling entity. While representative institutions existed on a smaller scale in some European cities, the British Parliament’s consolidation of power over the monarchy across the United Kingdom established a new framework and political standard for legitimacy. Despite facing significant challenges, this framework continues to govern the UK today (Belanger M. a., 2024).

A unique feature of the British political system is its lack of a written constitution in the conventional sense. Unlike most nations with a written constitution detailing government structure, leadership mechanisms, citizenship definitions, and rights, the UK’s constitution comprises a millennium of political processes and practices. This includes parliamentary acts, such as the Bill of Rights in 1689 and the Magna Carta, which initially established the King’s duty to consult wealthy barons. The constitution also encompasses conventions or practices that are not codified but have evolved into relatively inviolable precedents. For instance, before the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act of 2011, there was no explicit constitutional requirement for elections at least every five years, yet no prime minister would breach this convention. Although there is occasional debate about the need for a written constitution, the prevailing view is that the current constitution has proven flexible and effective over time, providing stability and continuity unmatched by many other countries with multiple constitutions.

The United Kingdom does not operate under a single legal system, owing to Article 19 of the 1706 Treaty of Union, which ensured the continuation of Scotland’s distinct legal framework. Today, the UK is governed by three separate legal systems: English law, Northern Ireland law, and Scots law. In October 2009, the United Kingdom Supreme Court was established to replace the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. Additionally, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which shares members with the Supreme Court, acts as the highest appellate court for several independent Commonwealth countries, British Overseas Territories, and the Crown Dependencies (Government of the United Kingdom, 2024).

English law, applicable in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland law are rooted in common law (or case law) principles, originating in medieval England and forming the basis of legal systems worldwide. The courts of England and Wales are overseen by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, comprising the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases), and the Crown Court (for criminal cases). Scots law, conversely, is a blend of common-law and civil-law principles. Its principal courts include the Court of Session (for civil cases) and the High Court of Justiciary (for criminal cases). The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom serves as the highest court of appeal for civil cases under Scots law (Government of the United Kingdom, 2024).

Section 6: Political Economy

The years between the two World Wars were a time of continual conflict between powerful new unions representing importing economic sectors such as mining and transport on the one hand and a state dominated by commercial interests. These conflicts reflect the tensions between free market policies, which generate growth but also tend to foster inequality and the demands of democratic citizens for policies that both foster growth and address those inequalities at the same time. In countries where politicians have to be responsive to these demands, the result has been variations on a set of social programs known generally as the Welfare State. In the United States, this term often connotes programs focused on the poor, but elsewhere, it refers to universally available benefits. Examples include health insurance, social security, free public education, and unemployment insurance (Belanger M. a., 2024).

The UK has a regulated social market economy. It ranks as the sixth-largest economy in the world and the second-largest in Europe by nominal GDP based on market exchange rates. The UK’s pound sterling is the fourth most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market and the world’s fourth-largest reserve currency, following the US dollar, euro, and yen. In 2023, sterling was the second best-performing G10 currency against the dollar, with a gain of about 5%, surpassed only by the Swiss franc. London is the global capital for foreign exchange trading, holding a 38.1% share of the $7.5 trillion daily global turnover in 2022.

The Treasury, headed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, develops and executes the government’s public finance and economic policy. The Department for Business and Trade oversees business, international trade, and enterprise. The Bank of England, the UK’s central bank, issues notes and coins in pound sterling, while banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland can issue their own notes, provided they hold enough Bank of England notes in reserve. In 2022, the UK was the world’s fourth-largest exporter, behind China, the US, and Germany. The UK’s estimated nominal GDP for 2024 is £2.765 trillion, a 23% increase from the 2019 figure of £2.255 trillion, before leaving the EU, based on similar US and EU exchange rates. Inflation in the UK rose by 2% in the year to May 2024, meeting the government’s target (WorldData.Info, 2024).

6.1 – Brexit

For much of the second half of the 20th Century, Britons demonstrated strong support and fidelity to the major political parties. At the time, the UK was part of the European Common Market, and in 1975, a referendum asked the population if they wanted to remain in the EC, which they did by a two-to-one majority. The outcome was driven by high inflation, high unemployment, and a stagnating economy. The European Common Market was seen to be in better condition, which would benefit the UK.  In the 21st Century, that all changed. In the early 2000s, the population was politically divided by waves of immigrants due to the wars in the Middle East and Africa and the impact of the 2008 Great Recession, which caused a strong economic downturn across Europe. The expansion of the European Union from nine to twenty-eight states, many economically weaker than the original group, led the Conservative Party in the UK to doubt the viability of the European Union and want to renegotiate its position. David Cameron, a strong Prime Minister who had just been reelected in 2016, decided that the population should “have their say” in an “in or out referendum (Clark, 2017).” He believed he could convince the population that the UK’s sovereignty was secure.

The right-wing UKIP party, led by Nigel Farage, had been gaining seats in Parliament and was a loud voice for the “Leave” coalition. Farage then, as now, is a populist opposed to ongoing immigration policy, an issue even many Remainers embraced. Farage, whose campaign to build a “people’s army,” was supported by the vast numbers of the discontented. On board was future Prime Minister Boris Johnson, another conservative leading “Leave” voice who was more popular with party members than then Prime Minister David Cameron. He brought along those who were Euroskeptics who did not want to be seen supporting Farage.

Cameron was betting that most of the population would vote to “Remain,” maintaining the less-risky status quo. “Remain was the position of the majority of MPs in parliament, Cameron’s government, the business community, and the international community. They led a campaign called “Project Fear” that sought to frighten the populace into believing Brexit would cause extreme financial and economic hardship and convince everyone that leaving was a threat to the UK’s security.

The Referendum was held in 2016. To everyone’s surprise, “Leave” won with 51.9% of the overall vote and 54% of the vote in England. For the first time in its history, the House of Commons was required to follow a policy to which three-quarters of the body was opposed. The overall turnout was 72%, with 28% of eligible voters not participating. Post-referendum polling of non-voting eligible voters indicated that the majority would have voted with Remainers (Clark, 2017). Brexit created a seismic shift in the UK’s politics and economics. It would cause a conundrum for Northern Ireland’s trade relationship with England, the Republic of Ireland, and the European Union. “Remainers” have attempted to float another referendum but have not received the support needed.

Survey research was regularly conducted before and after the referendum by Clark, Goodwin, and Whiteley (2017), in conjunction with their annual social surveys (ECMS) conducted since 2007 and the European Social Surveys. Data analysis shows that while economics was a significant factor in the referendum, attitudes on immigration comprised a more substantial push variable. For current information about immigration, go to Summary of latest statistics – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The rules under which the divorce from the EU would occur and a new set of bilateral agreements were attempted under Prime Minister Teresa May. Failing a parliamentary vote and snap election, May was replaced by Boris Johnson. Prime Minister Johnson successfully negotiated Article 50 (the divorce) with the EU and situating new trade arrangements.

Public opinion of post-Brexit consequences demonstrates that many regret leaving the EU. Between 2016 and 2023, the economy stabilized, but immigrant flows are perceived to increase rather than decrease. (Stowers, 2023). Among “Leavers,” support for Brexit dropped from 88% to about 77% in 2023, and support for returning to the EU has increased, but it is not enough to hold another referendum focused on returning to the EU. As of May 2024, 55% of the population believe that leaving the EU was a mistake, compared to 33% who prefer to stay out. Since mid-2022, poll numbers show that over 50% of respondents hold regrets about leaving the European Union, and in late 2023, only 31% of respondents wanted to return to the EU, while 30% wanted to improve trade relations (Stowers, 2023). See the graphic of change in opinion just below from Statista (Statista, 2020-2024).

6.2 – Trade

The UK includes Trade in its foreign policy agenda. The Minister of State holds the portfolio for Business and Trade. The new Trade Minister in July 2024 stated that he hoped that ongoing barriers between the UK and EU can be removed (Balmer, 2024).

After leaving the European Union and its customs union, the UK established the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which took effect in 2020. This agreement maintained tariff- and quota-free trade between the UK and the EU but did not provide a framework for deeper future integration. Consequently, the UK and the EU have a rigid customs and regulatory border (Freeman, 2022). This marked an unprecedented event in global trade, as no state had previously departed from such a deeply integrated agreement.

Research by Freeman et al. (2022) indicates that UK-EU trade declined sharply post-Brexit but gradually recovered in line with global trends during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, following the pandemic, the UK reduced the range of products it exported to the EU by 30%, primarily affecting low-value trade relationships. Imports from the EU also plummeted through 2021 due to increased trade costs as businesses adjusted their supply chains and shifted trade flows away from the EU. Many firms began sourcing materials from alternative markets or targeting non-EU countries for exports, bypassing the EU altogether (Freeman, 2022).

The graphs below illustrate the fluctuations in UK monthly trade in goods with both EU and non-EU countries, highlighting the impact of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic on trade flows.

In 2022, the UK exported goods and services worth £340 billion to the EU, representing 42% of its total exports. Simultaneously, the UK imported £432 billion in goods and services from the EU, accounting for 48% of total imports. This imbalance resulted in a trade deficit of £92 billion with the EU, compared to a £5 billion surplus with non-EU countries (Ward, 2024).

It is important to note that these figures are presented in current prices, unadjusted for inflation. Other factors, such as the pandemic and changes in data collection methodologies post-Brexit, may also have influenced these statistics. Despite these complexities, the data provides a broad overview of the evolving UK-EU trade relationship during this period.  (Ward, 2024)

Another source of post-Brexit trade issues is Northern Ireland’s situation. When the UK was a member of the EU, Northern Ireland traded over the border with the Republic of Ireland without barriers. Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland wanted to continue this relationship after Brexit, but new rules needed to be written. Northern Ireland comprises only 1% of UK trade.

The status of Northern Ireland under the withdrawal agreement is multifaceted and continues to be a subject of contentious debate. In essence, Northern Ireland retains membership in the EU market for goods and possesses a hybrid customs status, which places it partially within the EU and UK customs territories. These provisions obviate the need for a customs border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland but have necessitated establishing a customs and regulatory border in the Irish Sea, separating Great Britain from Northern Ireland. Consequently, the trade repercussions of Brexit are anticipated to manifest differently in Northern Ireland compared to the remainder of the United Kingdom (Freeman, 2022). This agreement is called the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill. Under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the Protocol was abandoned for the new Windsor Framework. Improvements within the new deal include keeping the same system for food safety, establishing permanent regulations on the movement of some goods, and removing onerous pet travel regulations. The “Stormont Brake” is a new mechanism that permits London to hold a sovereignty veto over any new goods rules for Northern Ireland impacting the United Kingdom (Horne, 2023).

6.3 – Poverty and Income Inequality

The United Kingdom is a developed country in the High Income grouping of the World Bank. The overall population was about 66 million people in 2021. The unemployment level is 4.1%, and the UK’s GINI index is .32 as of 2023. Its share of the population living below $2.15 a day has dropped from 0.05% (2018-2020) to 0.25% in 2021. However, the population living at or below $6.85 per day has risen from .5% in 2016 to .74% in 2021. That is about .5 million people living in poverty in the UK (World Bank Group, 2024). The GINI index measures income distribution across an entire population, ranging from 0 to 1 where 0 represents perfect equality and 1 represents perfect inequality. But this is not the whole story. Unemployment at the national level does not consider ethnicities, only males and females with various educational levels. Note: See the discussion about women’s pay gap in the section on Gender.

Comparativists often examine how income is distributed between income groups rather than just using GDP, GNI, and per capita income. Studying income distribution tells us how much difference there is between the lowest income groups, the highest income groups, and the size of the middle class. The chart below shows the distribution of income among income groups for 2021. The highest 20% holds 40% of all income in the UK, while the lowest 20% holds only 7.6%. The three middle-income groups hold about 52% of national income (World Bank Group, 2024).

The McKinsey Group for Black Economic Mobility has found that while efforts have been made to improve employment access for Black, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani citizens, disparities remain. In 2019, these three groups earned 15% to 16% less than White workers, compared with Indian and Chinese workers, who earned 15%-20% more than White workers on average. The McKinsey Group surveyed 80 UK companies, finding that two-thirds of companies made significant improvements in promoting higher-than-average workforce participation of women, but only 50% had higher participation of ethnic minority groups (Dixon-Fyle, 2023).

The population is far from accepting ongoing inequalities. During the decade of 2000 – 2010, protests among groups increased as the banking crisis of 2007-2010 brought widespread shutdowns, causing a significant number of people to suddenly become unemployed. The graphic below shows the rise in the types of groups and their focus areas protesting UK government actions, or lack thereof, during the economic crisis (Bailey, 2020). “The end of the 2010s, however, now allows us to provide an overview of the changing nature of protest trends in Britain. As the figure below shows, reported protest events steadily rose throughout the decade. In 2019 there were over 280 reported protest events, compared with 154 in 2010 – and only 83 in 2007, the year before the global economic crisis hit (Bailey, 2020).”

Section 7: Foreign Relations

The diplomatic foreign relations of the United Kingdom are managed by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, led by the Foreign Secretary. The Prime Minister and various other agencies play a significant role in policy formulation, while numerous institutions and businesses also contribute to and influence these processes. Trade is held under the Foreign Secretary (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025).

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the United Kingdom was the preeminent global power, particularly during the “Pax Britannica” era characterized by unmatched dominance and unprecedented international peace in the mid-to-late 1800s. The UK maintained its status as a superpower until the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the subsequent dissolution of the British Empire, which led to a gradual decline in its global influence. Despite this, the United Kingdom remains a major power and is a permanent United Nations Security Council member. It is also a founding member of the G7, G20, NATO, AUKUS, OECD, WTO, Council of Europe, OSCE, and the Commonwealth of Nations, the latter being a remnant of the British Empire.

The UK had been a member of the European Union (and its predecessor organizations) since 1973. However, following the 2016 membership referendum, the process of withdrawing from the EU commenced in 2017. It culminated with the UK’s formal exit on January 31, 2020, and the end of the transition period on December 31, 2020, by establishing a trade agreement with the EU. Since the referendum and the conclusion of trade negotiations with the EU, UK policymakers have actively pursued new trade agreements with other global partners.

The United Kingdom holds a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. It is a member of numerous international organizations, including NATO, AUKUS, the Commonwealth of Nations, the G7 finance ministers, the G7 forum, the G20, the OECD, the WTO, the Council of Europe, and the OSCE. The UK operates the British Council, an organization in over 100 countries specializing in international cultural and educational exchanges. The UK maintains a “Special Relationship” with the United States and a close partnership with France, known as the “Entente Cordiale,” sharing nuclear weapons technology with both nations. The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, the oldest binding military alliance in the world, further underscores the UK’s historical alliances (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025).

Additionally, the UK is closely connected with the Republic of Ireland, sharing a Common Travel Area and cooperating through the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and the British-Irish Council. The UK’s global influence is bolstered by its trade relationships, foreign investments, official development assistance, and military engagements.

Under the recent leadership of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party, the primary foreign policy emphasis has been on the “Global UK” initiative, with a significant focus on bolstering UK interests in the Asia-Pacific region. The Labour Party, under the leadership of Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, is concentrating foreign policy efforts on reinforcing the UK’s transatlantic relationships. Policy documents from both parties identify the war in Ukraine and the threat posed by Russia as the foremost security concerns. Additionally, China is regarded as the UK’s principal economic competitor, given its ongoing efforts to strengthen its economy and consolidate its influence in the Asia-Pacific region (Goddard, 2023).

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