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Definition: United Kingdom (UK) from A Glossary of UK Government and Politics

The official title of the sovereign state, the full version being the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ‘Great Britain’ technically refers to the mainland only, although the term is sometimes used synonymously with United Kingdom. Apart from England, Scotland and Wales, other component parts of the UK are the province of Northern Ireland (the British part of the partitioned island of Ireland), the Isle of Man and other small islands.


United Kingdom

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Country in northwest Europe off the coast of France, comprising England, Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland . Government The UK is a multiparty liberal democracy, with a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system of government, with a prime ministerial executive. There is no written constitution. Cabinet government, which is at the heart of the system, is founded on rigid convention, and the relationship between the monarch as head of state and the prime minister as head of government is similarly based. Parliament is sovereign, in that it is free to make and unmake any laws that it chooses, and the government is subject to the laws that Parliament makes, as interpreted by the courts. Since the UK joined the European Union (EU), the supremacy of Parliament has been challenged and it has become clear that domestic legislation can in certain circumstances be overridden by that of the EU as a whole. Parliament has two legislative and debating chambers, the House of Lords and…
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Full text Article United Kingdom

From New Americans: A Guide to Immigration Since 1965
It will undoubtedly surprise many, migration scholars as well as casual observers, to discover that the British are still among the largest foreign-born populations in the United States. The enormous influx of British immigrants from the colonial period to the early 19th century is widely…
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Full text Article United Kingdom

From Encyclopedia of Intelligence & Counterintelligence
The Tower of London prison, on the River Thames,...
The image of the British secret intelligence agent has occupied a prominent place in modern popular culture, fueled by depictions ranging from the debonair, swashbuckling James Bond to the grimly realistic George Smiley. The long and distinguished record of the real British intelligence services…
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History In the early decades of British cinema, there was considerable overlap between stage and screen. As moving-picture reels became a music-hall attraction in the late 19th century, the theatre provided not only plays for adaptation, but also the actors to appear in them. Classically trained…
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Full text Article United Kingdom

From Philip's Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a union of four countries. Three of them - England, Scotland and Wales - make up Great Britain. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, including Jersey and Guernsey, are not part of the UK but are instead self-governing British…
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United Kingdom
For a small country, the United Kingdom (UK) has had a huge influence on world affairs. At one time it controlled a vast empire, which is why English is now spoken across the globe. The Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s, which brought large-scale factory production, began here before spreading…
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Full text Article United Kingdom

From Brewer's Britain and Ireland
In full, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the official name of what is often colloquially referred to as BRITAIN or GREAT BRITAIN , although technically those expressions denote the island comprising ENGLAND , WALES and SCOTLAND , and thus do not include NORTHERN IRELAND . …
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Full text Article United Kingdom

From The Gun Debate: An Encyclopedia of Gun Control & Gun Rights
Both pro- and anti-gun control groups in the United States have used Great Britain's experience with firearms to argue for their respective positions. Gun rights advocates note that the Magna Carta, signed by King John in 1215, granted rights and freedoms to free men, including the possession of…
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Full text Article United Kingdom

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Situated off the northwest coast of Europe, these islands extend between 50° and 60°N. The climate of Britain is notoriously variable and changeable from day to day. Weather is generally cool to mild with frequent cloud…
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United Kingdom
Immigration – which had more or less plateaued in the past few years – increased sharply in 2014 to 632 000. The outflow of 320 000 in 2014 was similar to the year before. The net outflow of 55 000 British citizens, similar to 2013, was more than compensated for by a net inflow of 367 000…
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Full text Article United Kingdom

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
National name United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) Area 243,610 sq km/94,058 sq mi Capital London Language English (official); recognized regional languages: Welsh (also official in Wales), Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Irish (in Northern Ireland), Cornish; many languages spoken by…
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