United Kingdom

The **United Kingdom**, called the **UK**, is an island country situated between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, with its only land border with Ireland, and a close maritime border with France, Belgium and the Netherlands situated just across the English Channel. Due to overseas territories and dependencies, the UK also shares borders with Spain and Cyprus. The UK is a member of NATO and the European Union, and thus keeps a close relationship with many European countries and the United States.

## History

### Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century

The UK fought with France, Russia and (after 1917) the United States, against Germany and its allies in World War I. The UK armed forces were engaged across much of the British Empire and in several regions of Europe, particularly on the Western front. The high fatalities of trench warfare caused the loss of much of a generation of men, with lasting social effects in the nation and a great disruption in the social order.

After the war, the UK received the League of Nations mandate over a number of former German and Ottoman colonies. The British Empire reached its greatest extent, covering a fifth of the world's land surface and a quarter of its population. The rise of Irish Nationalism and disputes within Ireland over the terms of Irish Home Rule led eventually to the partition of the island in 1921, and the Irish Free State became independent with Dominion status in 1922. Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom. A wave of strikes in the mid-1920s culminated in the UK General Strike of 1926. The UK had still not recovered from the effects of the war when the Great Depression occurred. This led to considerable unemployment and hardship in the old industrial areas, as well as political and social unrest in the 1930s. A coalition government was formed in 1931.

The UK entered World War II by declaring war on Germany in 1939, after it had invaded Poland and Czechoslovakia. In 1940, Winston Churchill became prime minister and head of a coalition government. Despite the defeat of its European allies in the first year of the war, the UK continued the fight alone against Germany. In 1940, the RAF defeated the German Luftwaffe in a struggle for control of the skies in the Battle of Britain. The UK suffered heavy bombing during the Blitz. There were also eventual hard-fought victories in the Battle of the Atlantic, the North Africa campaign and Burma campaign against Japan. UK forces played an important role in the Normandy landings of 1944, achieved with its ally the US. After Germany's defeat, the UK was one of the Big Three powers who met to plan the post-war world; it was an original signatory to the Declaration of the United Nations. The UK became one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

In the immediate post-war years, the Labour government initiated a radical programme of reforms, which had a significant effect on British society in the following decades. Major industries and public utilities were nationalised, a Welfare State was established, and a comprehensive, publicly funded healthcare system, the National Health Service, was created. Over the next three decades, most colonies of the British Empire gained their independence. Many became members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Although the UK was the third country to develop a nuclear weapons arsenal (with its first atomic bomb test in 1952), the new post-war limits of Britain's international role were illustrated by the Suez Crisis in 1956. From the late 1960s, Northern Ireland suffered communal and paramilitary violence (sometimes affecting other parts of the UK) conventionally known as the Troubles.

In 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, sparking an armed response by Margret Thatcher’s Conservative government. Britain eventually defeated Argentina and regained control of the islands. In 1990, the UK joined the international coalition against Iraq after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. The UK also joined US-led wars in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, as well as leading the 2011 intervention in Libya. Around the end of the 20th century there were major changes to the governance of the UK with the establishment of devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In 2014 the Scottish Government held a referendum on Scottish independence, with 55% of voters rejecting the independence proposal and opting to remain within the United Kingdom. A second referendum was held in 2017 with 61% in favour of remaining part of the UK.

### Intervention in the Middle East

*See Full Articles: War against ISIS & Egyptian Civil War*

In 2014, the UK announced it would deploy forces to the Middle East to assist the US in intervening in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State. Operation Shader was established to manage British airstrikes from RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus. In 2016, Britain began to contribute troops to NATO build ups across Europe to prepare for an invasion of Libya and Syria. British Special Forces assisted Egypt and Tunisia forces in operations across Libya.

With the breakout of the Egyptian Civil War in 2020, Britain pressured NATO to allow for an intervention in Egypt in support of the government. In February, Prime Minister Ed Miliband announced an arms embargo on the Sinai region of Egypt, under the control of rebels led by Morsi. In March, Miliband requested NATO backing for a British-led invasion of the Sinai to elevate pressure on the government, but failed to receive backing.

## Government and Politics

The United Kingdom is a unitary state under a constitutional monarchy. King William V is the head of state of the UK as well as monarch of thirteen other independent Commonwealth countries. The monarch has "the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn". The position of prime minister, the UK's head of government, belongs to the person most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons; this individual is typically the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber. The cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the prime minister's party or coalition and mostly from the House of Commons but always from both legislative houses, the cabinet being responsible to both. Executive power is exercised by the prime minister and cabinet, all of whom are sworn into the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, and become Ministers of the Crown.

### Administrative Regions

The UK consists of four constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The latter three maintain their own devolved parliaments, but each with different levels of autonomy. The Scottish Government and Parliament have wide-ranging powers over any matter that has not been specifically reserved to the UK parliament, including education, healthcare, Scots law and local government. The Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales have more limited powers than those devolved to Scotland. The Assembly is able to legislate on devolved matters through Acts of the Assembly, which require no prior consent from Westminster. The Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly have powers similar to those devolved to Scotland.

The UK also has sovereignty over three Crown dependencies and fourteen overseas territories. The Crown dependencies are possessions of the Crown and are considered of the United Kingdom but not in it. They are:

* Jersey
* Guernsey
* Isle of Man

The fourteen overseas territories are Anguilla; Bermuda; the British Antarctic Territory; the British Indian Ocean Territory; the British Virgin Islands; the Cayman Islands; the Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; the Turks and Caicos Islands; the Pitcairn Islands; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; and Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus. However, the British claims in Antarctica overlap with the claims of Argentina and Chile.

### Foreign Relations

The UK is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of NATO, the Commonwealth of Nations, the G-7 forum (previously the G8 forum), the G-30 and is a member state of the European Union. The UK is said to have a "Special Relationship" with the United States and a close partnership with France—the "Entente cordiale"—and shares nuclear weapons technology with both countries. The UK is also closely linked with the Republic of Ireland; the two countries share a Common Travel Area and co-operate through the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and the British-Irish Council. Britain's global presence and influence is further amplified through its trading relations, foreign investments, official development assistance and military engagements. The UK is also a member of the ‘Four Eyes’ (formerly Five Eyes) intelligence cooperation with Australia, the US and Canada and a member of the ‘Four Powers’ (formerly Five Powers) Defence Pact with Australia, Malaysia and Singapore.