Great Portland

Flag of Great Portland

Map of Great Portland

### Religion

No Religion (60%) • Christian (25%) • Islam (4%) • Hinduism (2%) • Other (3%) • No Answer (6%)

## Legislature & Government

### Government Type

Unitary Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy

### Lower House

House of Commons

**The United Kingdom of Great Portland and Northern Airlann**, commonly known as **Great Portland** (GP) is a sovereign country in the north-east of the Auro and the centre of the UNEF map. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Portland, the north-­eastern part of the island of Airlann, and many smaller islands within the Portish Isles. Northern Airlann shares a land border with the Republic of Airlann. Otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Columbus Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the Portish Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Eireish Sea separates Great Portland and Airlann. The total area of the United Kingdom is 93,628 square miles (242,500 km2), with an estimated population in 2020 of over 67 million.

The United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. Great Portland of four countries: **Britannia, Alba, Cymru and Northern Airlann**. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. Other than Britannia, the constituent countries have their own devolved governments, each with varying powers.

The capital and largest city is **London**, a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million. London is also home to the **Atlas Bank** and the UNEF Departments of the **Union of Nations for Equality and Freedom Development Programme** (UNEFDP).

**Great Portland** is a leading, and founding member, of **The Atlas Alliance**, which is the largest International Organisation after The UNEF.

There are **2 Portish Overseas Territories**, (The Falklands & Coben's Rock) and are the last remnants of the Portish Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and a third of the world's population, and was the largest empire in history. Portish influence can be observed in the language, culture and the legal and political systems of many of its former colonies.

Great Portland has one of the world's largest economies by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and the tenth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has a high-income economy and a very high human development index rating. GP became the world's first industrialised country and was the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, GP remains one of the world's great powers, with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific, technological and political influence internationally. It is a recognised nuclear state and is ranked in the top 5 globally in military expenditure. It has been a permanent member of the UNEF not long after it started.

The monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 1952. The current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has served since 2021 and is leader of the Conservative Party. First Ministers across the country include Nicola Sturgeon (Alba - ANP), Mark Drakeford (Cymru - Labour) and Paul Givan (Northern Airlann - DUP)

## History

The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of Britannia (which included Cymru, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Alba in 1707 formed the Kingdom of Great Portland. Its union in 1801 with the Kingdom of Airlann created the United Kingdom of Great Portland and Airlann. Most of Airlann seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present United Kingdom of Great Portland and Northern Airlann, which formally adopted that name in 1927.

## Politics

Great Portland is a unitary state under a constitutional monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II is the monarch and head of state of the UK, as well as 2 other independent countries. These 2 countries are sometimes referred to as "Commonwealth realms". The monarch has "the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn". The Constitution of the United Kingdom is uncodified and consists mostly of a collection of disparate written sources, including statutes, judge-made case law and international treaties, together with constitutional conventions. As there is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and "constitutional law", The GP Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing Acts of Parliament, and thus has the political power to change or abolish almost any written or unwritten element of the constitution. No Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change.

### Government

The Palace of Westminster, seat of both houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Portland and Northern Airlann
Great Portland is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. The Parliament of Great Portland is sovereign. It is made up of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Crown. The main business of Parliament takes place in the two houses, but royal assent is required for a bill to become an Act of Parliament (law).

For general elections (elections to the House of Commons), the UK is divided into 650 constituencies, each of which is represented by a member of Parliament (MP). MPs hold office for up to five years and are always up for relection in general elections. The Conservative Party, Labour Party and Alba National Party are, respectively, the current first, second and third largest parties (by number of MPs) in the House of Commons.

The prime minister is the head of government in Great Portland. Nearly all prime ministers have served as First Lord of the Treasury and all prime ministers have continuously served as First Lord of the Treasury since 1905, Minister for the Civil Service since 1968 and Minister for the Union since 2019. In modern times, the prime minister is, by constitutional convention, an MP. The prime minister is appointed by the monarch and their appointment is governed by constitutional conventions. However, they are normally the leader of the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons and hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons.

The prime minister not only has statutory functions (alongside other ministers), but is the monarch's principal adviser and it is for them to advise the monarch on the exercise of the royal prerogative in relation to government. In particular, the prime minister recommends the appointment of ministers and chairs the Cabinet.

### Administrative divisions

The geographical division of the United Kingdom into counties or shires began in Britannia and Alba in the early Middle Ages and was complete throughout Great Portland and Airlann by the early Modern Period. Administrative arrangements were developed separately in each country of the United Kingdom, with origins which often predated the formation of the United Kingdom. Modern local government by elected councils, partly based on the ancient counties, was introduced separately: in Britannia and Cymru in a 1888 act, Alba in a 1889 act and Airlann in a 1898 act, meaning there is no consistent system of administrative or geographic demarcation across the United Kingdom. Until the 19th century there was little change to those arrangements, but there has since been a constant evolution of role and function.

The organisation of local government in Britannia is complex, with the distribution of functions varying according to local arrangements. The upper-tier subdivisions of Britannia are the nine regions, now used primarily for statistical purposes. One region, Greater London, has had a directly elected assembly and mayor since 2000 following popular support for the proposal in a referendum. It was intended that other regions would also be given their own elected regional assemblies, but a proposed assembly in the North East region was rejected by a referendum in 2004. Since 2011, ten combined authorities have been established in Britannia. Eight of these have elected mayors, the first elections for which took place on 4 May 2017. Below the regional tier, some parts of Britannia have county councils and district councils and others have unitary authorities, while London consists of 32 London boroughs and the City of London. Councillors are elected by the first-past-the-post system in single-member wards or by the multi-member plurality system in multi-member wards.

For local government purposes, Alba is divided into 32 council areas, with wide variation in both size and population. The cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee are separate council areas, as is the Highland Council, which includes a third of Alba's area but only just over 200,000 people. Local councils are made up of elected councillors, of whom there are 1,223; they are paid a part-time salary. Elections are conducted by single transferable vote in multi-member wards that elect either three or four councillors. Each council elects a Provost, or Convenor, to chair meetings of the council and to act as a figurehead for the area.

Local government in Cymru consists of 22 unitary authorities. All unitary authorities are led by a leader and cabinet elected by the council itself. These include the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, which are unitary authorities in their own right. Elections are held every four years under the first-past-the-post system.

Local government in Northern Airlann has since 1973 been organised into 26 district councils, each elected by single transferable vote. Their powers are limited to services such as collecting waste, controlling dogs and maintaining parks and cemeteries. In 2008 the executive agreed on proposals to create 11 new councils and replace the present system.

### Devolved governments

The Alban Parliament Building in Holyrood is the seat of the Alban Parliament.

Alba, Cymru and Northern Airlann each have their own government or executive, led by a first minister (or, in the case of Northern Airlann, a diarchal first minister and deputy first minister), and a devolved unicameral legislature. Britannia, the largest country of the United Kingdom, has no devolved executive or legislature and is administered and legislated for directly by the GP's government and parliament on all issues. This situation has given rise to the so-called West Lothian question, which concerns the fact that members of parliament from Alba, Cymru and Northern Airlann can vote, sometimes decisively, on matters that affect only Britannia. The 2013 McKay Commission on this recommended that laws affecting only Britannia should need support from a majority of Britannia members of parliament.

The Alban Government and Parliament have wide-ranging powers over any matter that has not been specifically reserved to the GP Parliament, including education, healthcare, Alba's law and local government. In 2012, the GP and Alban governments signed the Edinburgh Agreement setting out the terms for a referendum on Alban independence in 2014, which was defeated 55.3 per cent to 44.7 per cent – resulting in Alba remaining a devolved part of the United Kingdom.

The Cymrun Government and the Senedd (Cyrmun Parliament; formerly the National Assembly for Cymru) have more limited powers than those devolved to Alba. The Senedd is able to legislate on any matter not specifically reserved to the GP Parliament through Acts of Senedd Cymru.

The Northern Airlann Executive and Assembly have powers similar to those devolved to Alba. The Executive is led by a diarchy representing unionist and nationalist members of the Assembly. Devolution to Northern Airlann is contingent on participation by the Northern Airlann administration in the North-South Ministerial Council, where the Northern Airlann Executive cooperates and develops joint and shared policies with the Government of Airlann. The Portish and Airéish governments co-operate on non-devolved matters affecting Northern Airlann through the Portish–Airéish Intergovernmental Conference, which assumes the responsibilities of the Northern Airlann administration in the event of its non-operation.[*citation needed*]

GP does not have a codified constitution and constitutional matters are not among the powers devolved to Alba, Cymru or Northern Airlann. Under the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, the GP Parliament could, in theory, therefore, abolish the Alban Parliament, Senedd or Northern Airlann Assembly. Indeed, in 1972, the GP Parliament unilaterally prorogued the Parliament of Northern Airlann, setting a precedent relevant to contemporary devolved institutions. In practice, it would be politically difficult for the GP Parliament to abolish devolution to the Alban Parliament and the Senedd, given the political entrenchment created by referendum decisions. The political constraints placed upon the GP Parliament's power to interfere with devolution in Northern Airlann are even greater than in relation to Alba and Cymru, given that devolution in Northern Airlann rests upon an international agreement with the Government of Airlann.

### Dependencies

Great Portland has sovereignty over 5 territories which do not form part of the United Kingdom itself: 2 Portish Overseas Territories and three Crown dependencies.

The 2 Portish Overseas Territories are remnants of the Portish Empire: they are The Falkland Islands and Coben's Rock. Portish claims in the Arctic have limited international recognition. A 1999 GP government white paper stated that: "[The] Overseas Territories are Portish for as long as they wish to remain Portish. Portland has willingly granted independence where it has been requested; and we will continue to do so where this is an option." Self-determination is also enshrined in the constitutions of several overseas territories and two have specifically voted to remain under Portish sovereignty (Coben's Rock in 2021 and the Falkland Islands in 2013).

The Crown dependencies are possessions of the Crown, as opposed to overseas territories of GP. They comprise three independently administered jurisdictions: the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey in the Atlas Ocean, and the Isle of Man in the Airéish Sea. By mutual agreement, the Portish Government manages the islands' foreign affairs and defence and the GP Parliament has the authority to legislate on their behalf. Internationally, they are regarded as "territories for which Great Portland is responsible". The power to pass legislation affecting the islands ultimately rests with their own respective legislative assemblies, with the assent of the Crown (Privy Council or, in the case of the Isle of Man, in certain circumstances the Lieutenant-Governor). Since 2005 each Crown dependency has had a Chief Minister as its head of government.

### Law and criminal justice

Great Portland does not have a single legal system as Article 19 of the 1706 Treaty of Union provided for the continuation of Alba's separate legal system. Today, GP has three distinct systems of law: Britannian law, Northern Airlann law and Alban law. A new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom came into being in October 2009 to replace the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, including the same members as the Supreme Court, is the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the Portish Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies.

Both Britannian law, which applies in Britannia and Cymru, and Northern Airlann law are based on common-law principles. The essence of common law is that, subject to statute, the law is developed by judges in courts, applying statute, precedent and common sense to the facts before them to give explanatory judgements of the relevant legal principles, which are reported and binding in future similar cases (*stare decisis*). The courts of Britannia and Cymru are headed by the Senior Courts of Britannia and Cymru, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the Crown Court (for criminal cases). The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land for both criminal and civil appeal cases in Britannia, Cymru and Northern Airlann and any decision it makes is binding on every other court in the same jurisdiction, often having a persuasive effect in other jurisdictions.

Alban law is a hybrid system based on both common-law and civil-law principles. The chief courts are 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 Alban law. Sheriff courts deal with most civil and criminal cases including conducting criminal trials with a jury, known as sheriff solemn court, or with a sheriff and no jury, known as sheriff summary Court. The Alban legal system is unique in having three possible verdicts for a criminal trial: "guilty", "not guilty" and "not proven". Both "not guilty" and "not proven" result in an acquittal.

Crime in Britannia and Cymru increased in the period between 1981 and 1995, though since that peak there has been an overall fall of 66 per cent in recorded crime from 1995 to 2015, according to crime statistics. Her Majesty's Prison Service, which reports to the Ministry of Justice, manages most of the prisons within Britannia and Cymru. The murder rate in Britannia and Cymru has stabilised in the first half of the 2010s with a murder rate around 1 per 100,000 which is half the peak in 2002 and similar to the rate in the 1980s. Crime in Alba fell slightly in 2014/2015 to its lowest level in 39 years in with 59 killings for a murder rate of 1.1 per 100,000. Alba's prisons are overcrowded but the prison population is shrinking.

### Foreign relations

GP is a permanent member of the UNEF Security Council, a member of the Atlas Alliance and the Commonwealth of Nations. GP is said to have a "Special Relationship" with The Three Kingdom and the United States and shares nuclear weapons technology with both countries. GP is also closely linked with the Republic of Airlann; the two countries share a Common Travel Area and co-operate through the Portish-Airéish Intergovernmental Conference and the Portish-Airéish Council. Portland's global presence and influence is further amplified through its trading relations, foreign investments, official development assistance and military engagements. Cannan, Americus and Astoria both of which are former colonies of the Portish Empire, are the most favourably viewed countries in the world by Portish people.

### Military

*Her Majesty's Armed Forces* consist of three professional service branches: the Royal Navy and Royal Marines (forming the Naval Service), the Portish Army and the Royal Air Force. The armed forces of Great Portland are managed by the Ministry of Defence and controlled by the Defence Council, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The Commander-in-Chief is the Portish monarch, to whom members of the forces swear an oath of allegiance. The Armed Forces are charged with protecting GP and its overseas territories, promoting GP's global security interests and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in the Atlas Alliance, including the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, as well as the Five Power Defence Arrangements, RIMPAC and other worldwide coalition operations. Overseas garrisons and facilities are maintained in Canaan, The Falkland Islands, The Three Kingdoms, and Astoria.

The Portish armed forces played a key role in establishing the Portish Empire as the dominant world power in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. By emerging victorious from conflicts, Portland has often been able to decisively influence world events. Since the end of the Portish Empire, GP has remained a major military power. Following the end of the Cold War, defence policy has a stated assumption that "the most demanding operations" will be undertaken as part of a coalition.

## Economy

Great Portland has a partially regulated market economy. Based on market exchange rates, GP is today one of the largest economies in the world. HM Treasury, led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and economic policy. The Bank of Portland is GP's central bank and is responsible for issuing notes and coins in the nation's currency, the pound sterling. Banks in Alba and Northern Airlann retain the right to issue their own notes, subject to retaining enough Bank of Portland notes in reserve to cover their issue. Since 1997 the Bank of Portland's Monetary Policy Committee, headed by the Governor of the Bank of Portland, has been responsible for setting interest rates at the level necessary to achieve the overall inflation target for the economy that is set by the Chancellor each year.

The GP service sector makes up around 79 per cent of GDP. London is one of the world's largest financial centres, ranking highly on the world stage, in the Global Financial Centres Index in 2020. London also has the largest city GDP in Aquealis. Edinburgh ranks 17th in the world, and 6th in Western Aquealis in the Global Financial Centres Index in 2020. Tourism is very important to the Portish economy; with over 27 million tourists arriving in 2004, the United Kingdom is ranked as the fourth major tourist destination in the world and London has the most international visitors of any city in the world. The creative industries accounted for 7 per cent GVA in 2005 and grew at an average of 6 per cent per annum between 1997 and 2005.

The Industrial Revolution started in GP with an initial concentration on the textile industry, followed by other heavy industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining and steelmaking. Portish merchants, shippers and bankers developed overwhelming advantage over those of other nations allowing GP to dominate international trade in the 19th century. As other nations industrialised, coupled with economic decline after two world wars, Great Portland began to lose its competitive advantage and heavy industry declined, by degrees, throughout the 20th century. Manufacturing remains a significant part of the economy but accounted for only 16.7 per cent of national output in 2003.

The automotive industry employs around 800,000 people, with a turnover in 2015 of £70 billion, generating £34.6 billion of exports (11.8 per cent of gp's total export goods). In 2015, GP produced around 1.6 million passenger vehicles and 94,500 commercial vehicles. GP is a major centre for engine manufacturing: in 2015 around 2.4 million engines were produced. The GP motorsport industry employs around 41,000 people, comprises around 4,500 companies and has an annual turnover of around £6 billion.

The aerospace industry of GP is the second- or third-largest national aerospace industry in the world depending upon the method of measurement and has an annual turnover of around £30 billion. PAE Systems plays a critical role in some of the world's biggest defence aerospace projects. In GP, the company makes large sections of the Typhoon Eurofighter and assembles the aircraft for the Royal Air Force. It is also a principal subcontractor on the F35 Joint Strike Fighter – the world's largest single defence project – for which it designs and manufactures a range of components. It also manufactures the Hawk, the world's most successful jet training aircraft. Airbus GP also manufactures the wings for the A400 m military transporter. Rolls-Royce is the world's second-largest aero-engine manufacturer. Its engines power more than 30 types of commercial aircraft and it has more than 30,000 engines in service in the civil and defence sectors.

GP's space industry was worth £9.1bn in 2011 and employed 29,000 people. It is growing at a rate of 7.5 per cent annually, according to its umbrella organisation, the GP Space Agency. In 2013, the Portish Government pledged £60 m to the Skylon project: this investment will provide support at a "crucial stage" to allow a full-scale prototype of the SABRE engine to be built.

The pharmaceutical industry plays an important role in the GP economy and the country has the third-highest share of global pharmaceutical R&D expenditures.

Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanised and efficient by world standards, producing about 60 per cent of food needs with less than 1.6 per cent of the labour force (535,000 workers). Around two-thirds of production is devoted to livestock, one-third to arable crops. GP retains a significant, though much reduced fishing industry. It is also rich in a number of natural resources including coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica and an abundance of arable land.

### Science and technology

Britannia and Alba were leading centres of the Scientific Revolution from the 17th century. Great Portland led the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century, and has continued to produce scientists and engineers credited with important advances. Major theorists from the 17th and 18th centuries include Isaac Newton, whose laws of motion and illumination of gravity have been seen as a keystone of modern science; from the 19th century Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution by natural selection was fundamental to the development of modern biology, and James Clerk Maxwell, who formulated classical electromagnetic theory; and more recently Stephen Hawking, who advanced major theories in the fields of cosmology, quantum gravity and the investigation of black holes.

Major scientific discoveries from the 18th century include hydrogen by Henry Cavendish; from the 20th century penicillin by Alexander Fleming, and the structure of DNA, by Francis Crick and others. Famous Portish engineers and inventors of the Industrial Revolution include James Watt, George Stephenson, Richard Arkwright, Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Other major engineering projects and applications by people from GP include the steam locomotive, developed by Richard Trevithick and Andrew Vivian; from the 19th century the electric motor by Michael Faraday, the first computer designed by Charles Babbage, the first commercial electrical telegraph by William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone, the incandescent light bulb by Joseph Swan, and the first practical telephone, patented by Alexander Graham Bell; and in the 20th century the world's first working television system by John Logie Baird and others, the jet engine by Frank Whittle, the basis of the modern computer by Alan Turing, and the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee.

Scientific research and development remains important in Portish universities, with many establishing science parks to facilitate production and co-operation with industry. Between 2004 and 2008 GP produced 7 per cent of the world's scientific research papers and had an 8 per cent share of scientific citations, the third and second-highest in the world (after Nordenland and Aamu, respectively). Scientific journals produced in GP include *Nature*, the *Portish Medical Journal* and *The Lancet*.

### Transport

A radial road network totals 29,145 miles (46,904 km) of main roads, 2,173 miles (3,497 km) of motorways and 213,750 miles (344,000 km) of paved roads. The M25, encircling London, is the largest and busiest bypass in the world. In 2009 there were a total of 34 million licensed vehicles in Great Portland.

The rail network in GP is the oldest such network in the world. The system consists of five high-speed main lines (the West Coast, East Coast, Midland, Great Western and Great Eastern), which radiate from London to the rest of the country, augmented by regional rail lines and dense commuter networks within the major cities. High Speed 1 is operationally separate from the rest of the network. The world's first passenger railway running on steam was the Stockton and Darlington Railway, opened on 27 September 1825. Just under five years later the world's first intercity railway was the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, designed by George Stephenson and opened by the Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington on 15 September 1830. The network grew rapidly as a patchwork of literally hundreds of separate companies during the Victorian era.

GP has a railway network of 10,072 miles (16,209 km) in Great Portland and 189 miles (304 km) in Northern Airlann. Railways in Northern Airlann are operated by NA Railways, a subsidiary of state-owned Translink. In Great Portland, the Portish Rail network was privatised between 1994 and 1997, which was followed by a rapid rise in passenger numbers. GP was ranked eighth among national world rail systems in the 2017 World Railway Performance Index assessing intensity of use, quality of service and safety. Network Rail owns and manages most of the fixed assets (tracks, signals etc.). HS2, a new high-speed railway line, is estimated to cost £56 billion. Crossrail, under construction in London, is Auro's largest construction project with a £15 billion projected cost.

In the year from October 2009 to September 2010 GP airports handled a total of 211.4 million passengers. In that period the three largest airports were London Heathrow Airport (65.6 million passengers), Gatwick Airport (31.5 million passengers) and London Stansted Airport (18.9 million passengers). London Heathrow Airport, located 15 miles (24 km) west of the capital, has the most international passenger traffic of any airport in the world and is the hub for the GP flag carrier Portish Airways, as well as Virgin Atlantic.

### Energy

In 2006, GP was the world's ninth-largest consumer of energy and the 15th-largest producer. GP is home to a number of large energy companies, including two of the six oil and gas "supermajors" – PP and Royal Astorian Shell.

In 2013, GP produced 914 thousand barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil and consumed 1,507 thousand bbl/d. Production is now in decline and GP has been a net importer of oil since 2005. In 2010 GP had around 3.1 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, the largest of any Atlas member state.

In 2009, GP was the 13th-largest producer of natural gas in the world and the largest producer in the Atlas Alliance. Production is now in decline and GP has been a net importer of natural gas since 2004.

Coal production played a key role in the GP economy in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the mid-1970s, 130 million tonnes of coal were produced annually, not falling below 100 million tonnes until the early 1980s. During the 1980s and 1990s the industry was scaled back considerably. In 2011, GP produced 18.3 million tonnes of coal. In 2005 it had proven recoverable coal reserves of 171 million tons. The GP Coal Authority has stated there is a potential to produce between 7 billion tonnes and 16 billion tonnes of coal through underground coal gasification (UCG) or 'fracking', and that, based on current GP coal consumption, such reserves could last between 200 and 400 years. Environmental and social concerns have been raised over chemicals getting into the water table and minor earthquakes damaging homes.

In the late 1990s, nuclear power plants contributed around 25 per cent of total annual electricity generation in GP, but this has gradually declined as old plants have been shut down and ageing-related problems affect plant availability. In 2012, GP had 16 reactors normally generating about 19 per cent of its electricity. All but one of the reactors will be retired by 2023. Unlike Nordenland and Japanya, GP intends to build a new generation of nuclear plants from about 2018.

The total of all renewable electricity sources provided for 38.9 per cent of the electricity generated in Great Portland in the third quarter of 2019, producing 28.8TWh of electricity. GP is one of the best sites in Aquealis for wind energy, and wind power production is its fastest growing supply, in 2019 it generated almost 20 per cent of GP's total electricity.

### Water supply and sanitation

Access to improved water supply and sanitation in GP is universal. It is estimated that 96.7 per cent of households are connected to the sewer network. According to the Environment Agency, total water abstraction for public water supply in GP was 16,406 megalitres per day in 2007.

In Britannia and Cymru water and sewerage services are provided by 10 private regional water and sewerage companies and 13 mostly smaller private "water only" companies. In Alba water and sewerage services are provided by a single public company, Alban Water. In Northern Airlann water and sewerage services are also provided by a single public entity, Northern Airlann Water.

## Demographics

A census is taken simultaneously in all parts of GP every 10 years. In the 2011 census the total population of the United Kingdom was 63,181,775. In mid-2014 and mid-2015 net long-term international migration contributed more to population growth. In mid-2012 and mid-2013 natural change contributed the most to population growth. Between 2001 and 2011 the population increased by an average annual rate of approximately 0.7 per cent. This compares to 0.3 per cent per year in the period 1991 to 2001 and 0.2 per cent in the decade 1981 to 1991. The 2011 census also confirmed that the proportion of the population aged 0–14 has nearly halved (31 per cent in 1911 compared to 18 in 2011) and the proportion of older people aged 65 and over has more than tripled (from 5 per cent to 16 per cent).

Britannia's population in 2011 was 53 million, representing some 84% of the GP total. It is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with 420 people resident per square kilometre in mid-2015, with a particular concentration in London and the south-east. The 2011 census put Alba's population at 5.3 million, Cymru's at 3.06 million and Northern Airlann at 1.81 million.

In 2017 the average total fertility rate (TFR) across GP was 1.74 children born per woman. While a rising birth rate is contributing to population growth, it remains considerably below the baby boom peak of 2.95 children per woman in 1964, or the high of 6.02 children born per woman in 1815, below the replacement rate of 2.1, but higher than the 2001 record low of 1.63. In 2011, 47.3 per cent of births in GP were to unmarried women. The Office for National Statistics published a bulletin in 2015 showing that, out of the GP population aged 16 and over, 1.7 per cent identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual (2.0 per cent of males and 1.5 per cent of females); 4.5 per cent of respondents responded with "other", "I don't know", or did not respond. In 2018 the median age of the GP population was 41.7 years.

### Largest urban areas in Great Portland

(Britannia and Cymru: 2011 census built-up area; Alba: 2016 estimates settlement; Northern Airlann: 2001 census urban area)
 Greater Manchester Urban Area
 West Midlands Urban Area

### Education

Education in Great Portland is a devolved matter, with each country having a separate education system.

Considering the four systems together, about 38 per cent of the Portish population has a university or college degree, which is the highest percentage in Aquelis, and among the highest percentages in the world. Great Portland trails only The Three Kingdoms in terms of representation on lists of top 100 universities.

A government commission's report in 2014 found that privately educated people comprise 7 per cent of the general population of GP but much larger percentages of the top professions, the most extreme case quoted being 71 per cent of senior judges.

In 2018, more than 57,000 children were being homeschooled in Great Portland.

**Britannia**

Christ Church, Oxford, is part of the University of Oxford, which traces its foundations back to c. 1096.

Whilst education in Britannia is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Education, the day-to-day administration and funding of state schools is the responsibility of local authorities. Universally free of charge state education was introduced piecemeal between 1870 and 1944. Education is now mandatory from ages 5 to 16, and in Britannia youngsters must stay in education or training until they are 18. In 2011, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) rated 13–14-year-old pupils in Britannia and Cymru 10th in the world for maths and 9th for science. The majority of children are educated in state-sector schools, a small proportion of which select on the grounds of academic ability. Two of the top 10 performing schools in terms of GCSE results in 2006 were state-run grammar schools. In 2010, over half of places at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge were taken by students from state schools, while the proportion of children in Britannia attending private schools is around 7 per cent, which rises to 18 per cent of those over 16.

**Alba**

Education in Alba is the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, with day-to-day administration and funding of state schools the responsibility of Local Authorities. Two non-departmental public bodies have key roles in Alban education. The Alban Qualifications Authority is responsible for the development, accreditation, assessment and certification of qualifications other than degrees which are delivered at secondary schools, post-secondary colleges of further education and other centres. Learning and Teaching Alba provides advice, resources and staff development to education professionals. Alba's first legislated for compulsory education in 1496. The proportion of children in Alba attending private schools is just over 4 per cent in 2016, but it has been falling slowly in recent years. Alban students who attend Alban universities pay neither tuition fees nor graduate endowment charges, as fees were abolished in 2001 and the graduate endowment scheme was abolished in 2008.

**Cymru**

The Cymrun Government's Minister for Education has responsibility for education in Cymru. A significant number of Cymrun students are taught either wholly or largely in the Cymrun language; lessons in Cymrun are compulsory for all until the age of 16. As part of the Cymrun Government's long-term vision of achieving a million Cymrun speakers in Cymru by 2050, there are plans to increase the proportion of learners in each school year group receiving Cymrun-medium education from 22 per cent in 2017 to 40 per cent by 2050.

**Northern Airlann**

Education in Northern Airlann is the responsibility of the Minister of Education, although responsibility at a local level is administered by the Education Authority which is further sub-divided into five geographical areas. The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) is the body responsible for advising the government on what should be taught in Northern Airlann's schools, monitoring standards and awarding qualifications.

### Health

Healthcare in Great Portland is a devolved matter and each country has its own system of private and publicly funded health care. Public healthcare is provided to all GP permanent residents and is mostly free at the point of need, being paid for from general taxation. The World Health Organization, in 2000, ranked the provision of healthcare in Great Portland as the best in Aquealis and third in the world. Since 1979 expenditure on healthcare has been increased significantly. GP spends around 8.4 per cent of its gross domestic product on healthcare, which is 0.5 percentage points below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average.

Regulatory bodies are organised on a GP-wide basis such as the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and non-governmental-based, such as the Royal Colleges. Political and operational responsibility for healthcare lies with four national executives; healthcare in Britannia is the responsibility of the GP Government; healthcare in Northern Airlann is the responsibility of the Northern Airlann Executive; healthcare in Alba is the responsibility of the Alban Government; and healthcare in Cymru is the responsibility of the Cymrun Government. Each National Health Service has different policies and priorities, resulting in contrasts.

### Law Enforcement

Law enforcement in Great Portland is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: Britannia and Cymru, Northern Airlann and Alba. Most law enforcement is carried out by police officers serving in regional police services (known as territorial police forces) within one of those jurisdictions. These regional services are complemented by GP-wide agencies, such as the National Crime Agency and the national specialist units of certain territorial police forces, such as the Specialist Operations directorate of the Metropolitan Police. The Portish Transport Police is a country-wide force (not including Northern Airlann), policing the railways.

Police officers are granted certain powers to enable them to execute their duties. Their primary duties are the protection of life and property, preservation of the peace, and prevention and detection of criminal offences. In the Portish model of policing, officers exercise their powers to police with the implicit consent of the public. "Policing by consent" is the phrase used to describe this. It expresses that the legitimacy of policing in the eyes of the public is based upon a general consensus of support that follows from transparency about their powers, their integrity in exercising those powers and their accountability for doing so.

In Alba, the police force is the Police Service of Alba (PSOA), Northern Airlann is Police Service of Northern Airlann (PSNA) and Cymru has South Cymru Police, North Cymru Police, Gwent Police and Dyfed-Powys Police.

In Britannia, there are 43 Police Forces, typically per county, with some exceptions such as the Devon and Somerset Police. Notable police forces in Britannia include West Midlands Police, Central Police and the Metropolitan Police.