United Kingdom: Key Facts About the UK
United Kingdom: Key Facts
Countries: England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland
Patron Saints: George (England), David (Wales), Andrew (Scotland), Patrick (Ireland)
National Emblems: Rose (England), Leek (Wales), Thistle (Scotland), Shamrock (Ireland)
Ancient Names: Caledonia (Scotland), Cambria (Wales), Hibernia (Ireland)
Largest Lakes
- Northern Ireland: Lough Neagh, 382km²
- Scotland: Loch Lomond, 71km²
- England: Windermere, 15km²
- Wales: Bala Lake, 4.8km²
- Deepest: Loch Morar, Scotland, 309m
Longest Rivers
- England: The Thames, 346km
- Scotland: The Tay, 188km
- Northern Ireland: The Bann, 122km
- Wales: The Tywi, 103km
- Whole UK: River Severn, 354km (England & Wales)
Highest Mountains
- Scotland: Ben Nevis, 1344m
- Wales: Snowdon, 1085m
- England: Scafell Pike, 978m
- Northern Ireland: Slieve Donard, 852m
National Parks
- Wales: Brecon Beacons, Pembrokeshire Coast, Snowdonia
- Scotland: Cairngorms, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs
- England (North): Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors, Lake District, Northumberland
- England (South): The Broads, South Downs, New Forest, Exmoor, Dartmoor
Tees-Exe Line: Lowland/Highland division
Total Area: ~250,000 km²
Population: 67.2 million
Social Classes: Elite, Established Middle Class, Technical Middle Class, New Affluent Workers, Traditional Working Class, Emergent Service Workers, Precariat
Top 5 Industries: Finance, IT, Construction, Oil and Gas, Manufacturing
Financial Hubs: City of London and Canary Wharf
Government: Constitutional Monarchy, Bicameral (2 houses of Parliament)
Constitution: Uncodified, flexible, no judicial review
Sources of Law: Acts of Parliament, Common Law, Conventions, Historical Principles
Government Branches
- Legislative: Parliament, House of Lords, House of Commons
- Executive: Prime Minister, The Cabinet, Civil Service
- Judiciary: Courts
Prime Minister: Boris Johnson
The Cabinet: 20-25 senior ministers
Official Residences: 10 Downing Street
Major Political Parties and Leaders
- Conservatives: Boris Johnson
- Labour: Keir Starmer
- The Scottish National Party: Nicola Sturgeon
- The Liberal Democrats: Ed Davey
- The Democratic Unionist Party: Jeffrey Donaldson
Other Parties: Sinn Fein, Plaid Cymru, Mebyon Kernow, The Scottish National Party
Parliamentary Details
- House of Commons: 650 MPs
- The Speaker: Sir Lindsay Hoyle
- The Serjeant at Arms: Ugbana Oyet
- House of Lords:
- Lords Spiritual (Archbishops of Canterbury and York + 24 senior bishops)
- Lords Temporal (90 peers/peeresses with hereditary titles, rest life peers/peeresses)
- Lord Speaker: John McFall
- The Black Rod: Sarah Clarke
- 650 constituencies, The FPTP (First-Past-The-Post) System
Classification of Offences: Summary only, Either-way, Indictable only
Church of England
- Archbishop of Canterbury: Justin Welby (30 dioceses)
- Archbishop of York: Stephen Cottrell (12 dioceses)
Governance: House of Bishops, House of Clergy, House of Laity
Main Wings: Evangelical, Anglo-Catholic, Liberal
Affiliations: Anglican Communion
The Church of Scotland: Presbyterian Church
Founder: John Knox – The Scots Confession – 1560
Education System
- Nursery School: (3-4 years old)
- Primary School: (5-11 years old) – SATs
- Secondary School: (11-18 years old) – GCSE and BTEC
- Tertiary School: (18+ years old) – Bachelor, Master, Doctor
Clarendon Schools: Winchester, Eton, St. Paul’s, Shrewsbury, Westminster, Merchant Taylors’, Rugby, Harrow, Charterhouse
Top Universities
- Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge)
- Old Scottish Universities (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, St. Andrews)
- Early 19th Century English Universities (Durham University, University of London)
- Older Civic (Redbrick) Universities (Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham)
- Newer Civic Universities (Aston, Salford)
- Campus Universities (East Anglia, Lancaster, Sussex)