Lecture 2

Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland are also widely referred to as countries. The UK Prime Minister's
website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United
Kingdom. Some statistical summaries, refer to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as
"regions". Northern Ireland is also referred to as a "province".

THE COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS

The Commonwealth of Nations, often simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a

voluntary association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are
former territories of the British Empire. It was originally created as the British
Commonwealth of Nations.

The current Commonwealth of Nations was formally constituted by the London

Declaration in 1949, which modernised the community and established the member
states as "free and equal".[9]
The head of the Commonwealth is Charles III. He is king of 15 member states, known
as the Commonwealth realms, while 36 other members are republics, and five others
have different monarchs.[10]
Member states have no legal obligations to one another but are connected through
their use of the English language and historical ties. Citizenship of a Commonwealth
country affords benefits in some member countries, particularly in the United Kingdom.

Purpose:

- promote peace and prosperity. This includes helping countries with small business
development, legislation, election monitoring, and human rights, particularly promoting
the role and rights of young people and of women.

England

England has a higher proportion of wealth and natural resources than the rest of the
UK. London, is the seat of government, center of business (the City) and the heart of
arts and culture.

Scotland

S is the second largest of the 4 nations both in area and population. It’s density is the
lowest due to most part of Scotland is rugged and unsuitable for people to live.

Before S joined the Union with England in 1797, it had been independent from the UK.
Today S no longer has a separate legislature and executive, its economy is integrated
into that of the rest of Britain. BUT it does have separate administration, different legal
and educational systems, as well as church.
Wales

Due to its adjacency to England, Wales has been dominated England for longer period
of time than the other nations of the UK. Nevertheless, it retains its unique culture,
social and economic development, as well as its national language – Welsh.

Northern Ireland

is a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland that is variously
described as a country, province or region

Cultural links between Northern Ireland, the rest of Ireland, and the rest of the UK are
complex, with Northern Ireland sharing both the culture of Ireland and the culture of the
United Kingdom.

Highlands & Lowlands

GB has been traditionally divided into 2 major natural regions – a Highland zone (north
& west) and a Lowland zone (south & east).

The highland zone is a region of high hills and mountains that are frequently broken by
valleys and plains. Scotland, some parts of England and Wales are located in this zone.

The Lowland zone occupies the most part of England consists mostly of rolling plains.

The UK of GB and NI is a constitutional monarchy, where the head of state is a monarch with
limited powers. The monarch reigns, but doesn’t rule. Britain is a democracy because the real
power is carried out by the Parliament and elective officials. The participation of the monarch in
government is a historical legacy. The monarch’s power is limited by the constitution.

The system of government has evolved for over 1000 years. The monarchy can be traced back
to the 9th century. Over centuries the monarch had an absolute power, he exercised executive,
legislative and judicial power.

In the 12th and 13th centuries these functions by monarch gradually decreased after law courts
were founded. 1215, King John signed Magna Carta granting limited rights to nobility. Magna
Carta is the foundation of constitutional government. 13th century: Montfort Parliament major
step in evolution of that body

In the 17th century struggle between the king and the parliament resulted in establishment of
the limited constitutional monarchy. First political parties born shortly afterward. King lost
importance; ministers gained. By the 19th century monarch’s participation in politics became
minimal. 19th century: growth of government responsible to the people.

Parliament today is a Representative government. Prime Minister: leader of majority party.

Cabinet: appointed by Prime Minister (heads of executive departments).
Cabinet of government officials called ministers actually rule because the Quinn in internal and
international affairs acts on decisions of the prime minister and the cabinet. (The Quinn, on
ministerial advice, - pardons or shows mercy to those convicted of crimes, confers peerages
knighthoods, appoints officials, concludes treaties, declares war, makes peace.

The Quinn is regarded as the living symbol of national unity. She provides the natural continuity
of national history. The birthday of the Sovereign is the national day. There is no written law to
define the Quinn’s power. Her function is a kind of a historical legacy. Today the Quinn only
does what Parliament and the Cabinet want her to do.

Parliament

Britain was the first country to institute the parliamentary system in the 13 th century. The
British parliament consists of three branches: the monarch, the House of Lords and the House
of Commons. They are independent. There is no written constitution in GB. Parliament has the
power to make or change any law.

House of Lords

It is the upper house of the parliament, consist Currently, there are about 800 members. The
majority are life peers appointed for their lifetime by the Queen on the advice of the Prime
Minister. Any UK resident over the age of 21 can apply to become a member. 26 archbishops
and bishops. 92 hereditary peers.

The person who presides over the debate of the upper house is the Lord Chancellor. The Upper
House has a limited veto power: it can delay but not defeat the bill from passing into law
passed by the House of Commons. House of Lords is also the Highest court of Appeal. The
powers of the house of Lords are greatly reduced because its members are not elected. Many
british people would like to abolish the upper house or replace it with some form of an elected
second chamber. Since 2017 there were many attempts and plans to reduce the number of its
members. The members of the House of Lords get no pay for their work in Parliament. Today
The House of Lords doesn’t have real power, but just a moral influence of the british citizens.

House of Commons

Is the other chamber of Parliament and the source of real political power in the UK. It is a
representative assembly because all its members are elected by british people over the age of
18 through general elections. The house of Commons now consists of 650 seats. The
distribution of seats among the 4 countries is based on their population: England has the most
number of members – 529, and Northern Ireland only 18. The chairman who conducts debates
is called Speaker. Members of Parliament receive the pay. Their travels by train are also free of
charge, because this enables them to keep in touch with citizens from their constituencies,
whose votes can decide their political career. Each member represents a voting district called a
constituency. Members need not reside in their constituency. General election must be held at
least every 5 years. An election may be called at any time if the government is defeated on an
important piece of legislation.
Civil service

Civil servants are government employees. Their duty is to run government departments and do
the daily routine work. They are selected by impartial examinations. They don’t belong to any
political party because they should serve loyally the government.

Local governments

The british government has a three-level system:

 Central government
 County government
 District government
In 1997 both Scotland and Wales created their own legislatures to handle local matters – a
parliament in Scotland and an assembly in Wales. But they continue to elect members to the
House of Commons.

British monarchy

The British monarchy traces its origin from the small kingdoms of early medieval Scotland and
Anglo-Saxon England 1000 years back. Queen can trace ancestry to England’s earliest kings in
800’s. Throne passes from king or queen to oldest son (Prince of Wales). Throne passes to
oldest daughter if no son. Only Protestant descendants are eligible to succeed. A Roman
Catholic is specifically excluded from succession to the throne.

Today’s monarchy

Queen Elizabeth II, 1952-present When her father died in 1952, Elizabeth became head of the
Commonwealth and queen of seven independent Commonwealth countries. She is the longest-
lived and longest-reigning British monarch as well as the world's longest-serving female head of
state. King or Queen has no real power. Royal family participates in Ceremonial functions only
such as cutting ribbons, launching ships, they also take part in charity work. English people
overwhelmingly love their monarchs. Monarchy great asset to tourist industry.

• On Wednesday, September 9, 2015, Queen Elizabeth II became England’s longest-

reigning monarch (King or Queen) in over 1000 years of monarchy, and the longest
reigning female monarch in the world history

• Charles became king upon his mother's death on 8 September 2022.

• At the age of 73, he became the oldest person to accede to the British throne, after
having been the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales in British history.

• His coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023

British Politics

Politics in Britain is based on two party system and Parliament is dominated by one or the other
of the two most important parties. At present there are two major parties: the Conservative
party and the Labour party. The history of political parties in Britain can be traced back to the
17th century when two political parties were founded, the Whigs and the Tories.

(Small parties or minor parties cannot win a majority of the seats in Parliament and they have
no chance to organize the government.) Minor parties exist but are unimportant – except that
in 2010 a minor party formed a coalition government with the Conservative Party because
neither Conservatives nor Labour won a majority of seats in Parliament. They ruled jointly until
2015. And after 2016 the Conservatives formed a new coalition government with a third party.

Conservative Party

This party was called the Tories, a nickname from the Irish term meaning “robbers”. They
represented interests of landed gentry and tradesmen – predecessors of the middle class. The
policies of this party are characterized with pragmatism and individualism. Party stands for free
enterprise and privatization of business and industries, cutting back expenditures on the social
welfare programme. The main support comes from the middle and upper-middle classes. That’s
why people call the Conservative party the party of the rich. The educational level of the
Conservatives is usually higher that of other political parties. Greatest modern leader: Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher, 1979-1991.

Labour Party

Formerly Whig party. The Whigs represented interests of the landed aristocracy and big
merchants of the towns. Its goal was to promote national growth , not the uprising of one class
by overthrowing another one. Their basic beliefs are nationalization of key industries, improve
business efficiency, reject class struggle, and promote welfare state. They also supported the
equal distribution of wealth. Its supporters were mainly from unionists, liberals, socialists and
the Fabian society. Many of the Labour leaders are from working-class families.

Tony Blair

Began to end Labour Party socialism as most other nations made move to market economies. A
turning point in his career was when Blair controversially allied himself with US
President George W. Bush in supporting the Iraq War, which caused him to lose much of his
political support.[74] The UN Secretary-General considered the war illegal and a violation of
the UN Charter.[

Prime Minister Boris Johnson

On 24 July 2019, the day following Johnson's election as Conservative Party leader,
Queen Elizabeth II accepted Theresa May's resignation and appointed Johnson as prime
minister.
As for the foreign policy, Johnson said his government will be very "pro-China". He voiced
support for Chinese President Xi Jinping's infrastructure investment effort, and promised to
keep the United Kingdom "the most open economy in Europe" for Chinese investment.

Brexit

is the scheduled withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). It
follows a referendum held in the UK on 23 June 2016, in which 52% of those voting supported
withdrawal.

They resented all the rules the EU made and which they were forced to follow. They also feared
the Syrian invasion – already they experienced much terrorism. In March 2019, the British
parliament voted for May to ask the EU to delay Brexit until October. Having failed to pass her
agreement, May resigned as Prime Minister in July and was succeeded by Boris Johnson. In
his first speech as PM, Johnson promised that the United Kingdom would leave the European
Union on 31 October 2019 with or without a deal.

Liz Truss

• Truss’s political crisis started with an economic one.

• The Growth plan

• This plan introduced the UK’s biggest tax cuts in 50 years, estimated at about 45 billion
pounds over five years.

• Global markets responded to the policy by selling off UK-backed assets

causing the pound sterling falling to a record low against the US dollar

• on 17 October that most of the measures in the mini-budget would no longer be

implemented

• At least five Conservative MPs calling for Truss's resignation by 17 October

Rishi Sunak
is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the
Conservative Party since 2022. The first British Asian prime minister, he previously held
two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, lastly as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to
2022. Sunak has been Member of Parliament (MP) since 2015.
Sunak was born in Southampton to parents of Indian descent who immigrated to Britain from
East Africa.
As a backbencher, Sunak supported the successful campaign for Brexit in the 2016 European
Union membership referendum.
Sunak stood in the July–September Conservative Party leadership election to succeed Johnson.
He had received the most votes in each of the series of MP votes, but lost the members' vote to
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
After Truss resigned, He was elected unopposed as Conservative leader and appointed prime
minister. Sunak took office amid the cost of living crisis and energy supply crisis that began
during his chancellorship, as well as amid industrial disputes and strikes. He has
authorised foreign aid and weapons shipments to Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion
of that country.

Elections

The goal of the two major parties is to win the general election and dominate Parliament to
carry out the party’s programme. Members of the parliament are elected in nationwide general
elections. To distribute the seats fairly the UK is divided into 650 electoral districts called
constituencies. Each constituency can elect only one member of the Parliament. MPs don’t
need to reside in their constituencies. Every man and woman aged 18 has the right to vote.
General elections take part every 5 years. Majority party selects Prime Minister. Prime Minister
may call for early elections.

Anyone can offer himself as a candidate. A candidate without a party is called independent
candidate. The candidate who gets most votes wins the election. There are so called “safe
seats’ for both parties. A safe seat refers to a constituency that supports the same party in
every general elections no matter who the candidate is. Party candidates go from house to
house soliciting votes and offering free rides to the voting places. A candidate must have a good
campaign programme . His speeches must be convincing and inspiring. He must know how to
smile and how to please the voters. Sometimes candidates “sell themselves” by literally paying
people to vote for them (with other people’s money).

Democracy in action:

To be elected to an office, a candidate must be:

 Tall
 Attractive
 A good talker (A good liar, because much of the talk will be making promises they will
never keep)
 Rich, very rich, or have rich “friends”
 Large corporations often will “buy” their favorite candidate who must then promote the
interests of the corporation

British Law

Britain doesn’t have a single document that can be called the written constitution. The British
constitution comprises three elements: Acts of Parliament, common law and Upon Brexit, EU
law was transplanted into domestic law as "retained EU law". The Retained EU Law act gives
ministers and authorities substantial powers to change the law accumulated
during the UK's membership of the EU.
The EU Withdrawal Act cut off the source of EU law in the UK ... and removed the competence of
EU institutions to legislate for the UK.
There are also by-laws made by local councils. But they cannot contradict national laws.

Britain has a long judicial history. In 1215 Magna Carta was signed by King John. Magna Carta or
the Great Chamber of Liberties contained due process of law or legal principles to protect
individual rights. British and Americans both consider the Magna Carta the foundation of their
freedoms and their justice system. Today in Britain and the US due process of law means the
protection of human rights. The writ of Habeas Corpus is also of English origin. The purpose of it
to liberate illegally detained persons, and it is still a protection against arbitrary imprisonment.
Britain also practiced jury trial.

Law courts

British law courts are based on the three-tier system: magistrates’ courts, county courts and the
Supreme court. The final court of appeals is the House of Lords. Judges are appointed by the
Quinn on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Britain practices jury trial. The jury is composed of 12 members – jurors. Jurors are selected at
random. To serve as a juror is the duty of every citizen, not privilege. After the court debate the
jury retires from the courtroom to reach a verdict. The verdict must be unanimous. If the jury
cannot reach a unanimous agreement, it becomes known as a hung jury. Then a new jury has to
be formed.

Rules of evidence are applied, if evidence is illegally obtained, the conviction can be annulled.

British economics
Britain is one of the major market economies in the world. Britain was the first country to
introduce a new economic system, known as capitalist system. It means free enterprise, market
economy. The system of free enterprise is based on Adam Smith’s theory in his book “Wealth of
Nations” 1776. Adam Smith was the british philosopher and economist. The central idea of
Smith’s work is that all men are selfish and they pursue their own good. The government should
allow private men to start their businesses and not interfere. And a person pursuing his own
good will achieve the best good for all.

In history Britain was known as a “workshop of the world” producing all sorts of goods that
were sold all over the world.

Principles of Capitalism

Economic freedom – individual freedom and limited government intervention

Individualism – it believes that society is an artificial organization, existing only for the sake of
its members as individuals. Individualism claims that the goal of social, political and economic
organizations should be the greatest good for the society.

Equality – individual freedom and limited government intervention reflected in the growing
demand of freedom and equality in Britain.
Competition – between enterprises

Role of the government

Abuses of Capitalism

The main principle of capitalism when government does not interfere into businesses, led to
abuses. For example, Capitalists’ greed led to exploitation of workers. To cut labour cost, they
used child labour and working conditions were unhealthy. Capitalists seek to lower wages and
cut benefits, decreasing the price of labor-power in order to maximize their profits. Capitalism
also implies dishonesty in marketing when big companies control prices for their own benefit.

Personal opinion

Deng Xiaoping understood economics better than many other leaders, While he never held
office as the head of state, head of government or , some called him "the architect of modern
China. He combined socialist ideology with free enterprise . He opened China to foreign
investment and the global market, thus making China develop into one of the fastest-
growing economies in the world for several generations and raising the standard of living of
hundreds of millions.

But Mao Zedong was correct when he said, “Serve the People”. Capitalism must be combined
with compassion. Helping others is always more important than getting rich. Getting rich is all
right, but use your riches to help others

Public vs. Private sector

Public sector refers to state-owned enterprises, while private sector is composed of businesses
owned by people as private individuals. The British Labour government nationalized big
companies and introduced welfare state. But State-owned enterprises (like electricity,
coalmining, gas, oil, post railway companies) proved to be very inefficient, they couldn’t make
profit. And welfare system led to very high taxes.

Conservative party reforms

So when the Conservative government came to power, they denationalized many of these
companies (such as oil, gas, airlines, railways, electricity and water companies). These reforms
began under the rule of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1979. She also reduced
expenditures on the social policies, making the private sector more effective but this led to
more abuses.

UK economy after Brexit

it has been three years since the UK left the European Union.
Since then there has been a pandemic, swiftly followed by an energy
crisis.
That has made it hard to decipher exactly what the impact of Brexit
has been.
data and survey evidence strongly suggest that Brexit is at least in part
responsible for the particularly poor performance since 2016, with investment
perhaps 10% lower than it would otherwise have been
Industry in Britain

The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain, and many of the

technological innovations were of British origin. By the mid-18th century Britain was the world's
leading commercial nation, controlling a global trading empire with colonies in North America
and the Caribbean, and with political influence on the Indian subcontinent.

Important technological developments:

 Textiles – spinning and weaving machines were developed

 Steam power – the efficiency of steam engines increased
 Invention of machine tools/ farm machinery – The first machine tools were invented. Also
such farm machinery as tractors, ploughs appeared.
 Iron making

Industrial Revolution made England the greatest world power of 19th century.
Deposits of iron & coal promoted great steelmaking industry.
Cheap American cotton & domestic wool promoted textile industry.

Transportation and Communication

Britain invented locomotive and was the first country to build a railway in the world on 1825.
The world had changed. People could now travel using mechanical, rather than animal, energy.
In 1845 a journey from London to York, which took over three days in 1750, took just over 10
hours. The 20th century brought a transport revolution with roads. Today people travel
primarily by private cars rather than public transport.

Britain is an island country and shipping has always been important for the nation. Britain was
the world leader in shipping with the largest merchant fleet. Its coastline provides many good
natural harbors and its rivers can also be used for shipping.

British Airways is one of the world’s leading airlines, traveling to almost 90 countries. The
company had a reputation for its supersonic flights across the Atlantic Ocean provided by the
Concorde. In 1970 Britain joined Airbus Industries, a consortium of aircraft manufacturers.

Today British transportation is characterized as the growing high tech industry.

British Foreign trade

Britain is a trading nation. Britain was rich in mineral resources before the Industrial Revolution,
but today the resources are exhausted or produced in small quantities. So Britain has to import
a lot of raw materials, then it turns them into finished goods and exports these finished goods
for profits.

For example, Chinese-British trade has been expanding for years. China’s traditional exports to
Britain are handicrafts, textiles, farm produce. British exports to China are mainly advanced
machinery (new technologies).

Agriculture

Britain is an industrialized country, but its agriculture is important. British agriculture is very
intensive and highly productive. Britain has favorable conditions for agricultural development.
Why? It’s climate is mild and there is abundant rainfall. Soils are very productive. ¼ of farmland
is devoted to crops. Main agricultural products are wheat, barley, rye, potatoes, sugar beets
and oats. Most of barley crop is turned into whiskey.

¾ of farmland is devoted for grazing lands. More than 2/3s of farms are devoted to dairy
farming, beef production and sheep farming. Most English people regard fresh milk and cheese
as a must. Britain was once known as a nation of sheep farmers, sheep farming supplies woolen
industry. They also raise pigs and poultry.

British disease

After the WW II Britain faced a number of economic problems. Britain had to import more than
a tenth of its food, large quantities of raw materials and other goods. Another problem was
industrial inefficiency. State-owned industries were very inefficient and government had to
support them with money from taxpayers. Social welfare programme also required the
government to spend large amounts of money. So slow growth of productivity, growing
inflation, large unemployment gave birth to a term “British disease”. Productive people were
heavily taxed to pay for non-productive people. British economy unable to compete in world
market.

It was under these circumstances when Margaret Thatcher was elected Britain’s first woman
prime minister in 1979. Thatcher’s economic policy can be called monetarist and supply-side
theory. She supported free markets and reduced government control over businesses and
encourage competition. She also reduced taxes to stimulate investment and consumption. She
made efforts to carry out popular capitalism – it means to turn workers into capitalists by giving
them a share in the company that employs them.

Britain, America, & China all faced similar economic hardships in the 1970s
All 3 countries adopted similar free market solutions:
 Deng Xiaoping 1978 reforms
 Margaret Thatcher 1979-1991
 Ronald Reagan 1981-1989
 Free market reforms proved very successful in all three countries
British cities

Britain is an urbanized nation. The largest and most important city is London with a population
of more than 11% of Britain’s total population.

Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is well known for the University of Edinburgh. Edinburgh is
the port city.

Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland.

Cardiff is the capital of Wales.

British society

Traditionally the British culture has a reputation for its decency and civility in doing things. It is
reflected in the traditional image of a British gentleman. (For example, American culture was
more likely to admire the image of cowboys).

The English society is unique in that the upper and middle classes have always played the role
in the development of English culture. The British nation pioneered in pursuit of democracy and
industrial revolution.

Speaking about class structure, there are roughly three classes in Britain: upper class, middle
class and working class, which are also subdivided into other classes. People with incomes from
rents and property payments were the upper class. Those who were educated and dealt with
paper work in business were the middle class. And those who did manual work were working
class. The upper class became the nobility.

The British inheritance system is based in primogeniture. It means that in noble families the
first born son would inherit the title in the estate, while younger brothers got only title and no
estate. So they had to do something for a living, they could serve the army, or become a
politician or get the parish. Primogeniture promoted social mobility and limited the growth of
the noble class. The British has always rejected the class struggle.

The middle class (originally, gentry) expanded rapidly with the development of the economy
after the Industrial revolution and it is still the biggest class in Britain today. Today the middle
class is the largest and most important in Britain. Economically, it plays the most important role
because its members are the best educated and most skilled.

Family values

Family life has always been of a great importance for the British people. The British culture
influenced by Christianity, gives the utmost importance to family life and upbringing of children.

Quinn Victoria has the big influence on the British people: she set an example of morality,
honesty, good manners and devotion to hard work, but also she is regarded as a symbol of
devotion to family life.

English family is called nuclear family – two adults and their unmarried children. Marriage
marks the beginning of complete independence from parents.

The British marriage has always been based on monogamy without exceptions. Historically,
British families were patriarchal in structure. A wife took his husband’s last name, she was
expected to obey her husband, she was also barred (excluded) from the right to own property.

Today women were liberated from many of these restrictions, both spouses have equal rights
and obligations, but wife still takes her husband’s name.

Social problems

The issue is the huge scale of immigration, It is now massive compared to the past.
It is adding more than a million to the UK population every three years.

Mass immigration places major pressure on public services.

Nearly three-quarters of the public supports a large reduction in immigration levels.

Many people are concerned that freedom of movement within the EU makes it easier for
terrorists to travel around the continent.

On 3 June 2017, a terrorist vehicle-ramming and stabbing took place in London, England. A van
was deliberately driven into pedestrians on London Bridge before crashing on the south bank of
the River Thames. Its three occupants then ran to the nearby Borough Market area and began
stabbing people in and around restaurants and pubs. The attackers were Islamists inspired
by Islamic State (ISIS). They were shot dead by the Police officers and were found to be wearing
fake explosive vests. Eight people were killed and 48 were injured, including members of the
public and four unarmed police officers who attempted to stop the assailants.
The attack happened almost three months after a similar vehicle-ramming and stabbing
attack at Westminster Bridge in London.
British education

Literacy rate over 99%

2-tier system of government & private schools
Premier British Universities: Oxford & Cambridge