Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also widely referred to as countries.[41] The UK Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom.[42] Some statistical summaries, such as those for the twelve NUTS 1 regions, refer to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as "regions".[43] Northern Ireland is also referred to as a "province".[44] With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences".[45]
The term "Great Britain" conventionally refers to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination.[46] It is sometimes used as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom as a whole.[47] The word England is occasionally used incorrectly to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole, a mistake principally made by people from outside the UK.[48]
The term "Britain" is used as a synonym for Great Britain,[49][50] but also sometimes for the United Kingdom.[51][50] Usage is mixed: the UK Government prefers to use the term "UK" rather than "Britain" or "British" on its website (except when referring to embassies),[52] while acknowledging that both terms refer to the United Kingdom and that elsewhere "British government" is used at least as frequently as "United Kingdom government".[53] The UK Permanent Committee on Geographical Names recognises "United Kingdom", "UK" and "U.K." as shortened and abbreviated geopolitical terms for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in its toponymic guidelines; it does not list "Britain" but notes that "it is only the one specific nominal term 'Great Britain' which invariably excludes Northern Ireland".[53] The BBC historically preferred to use "Britain" as shorthand only for Great Britain, though the present style guide does not take a position except that "Great Britain" excludes Northern Ireland.[54]
The adjective "British" is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United Kingdom and is used in law to refer to United Kingdom citizenship and nationality.[55][q] People of the United Kingdom use several different terms to describe their national identity and may identify themselves as being British, English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, or Irish;[58] or as having a combination of different national identities.[59]
Stonehenge in Wiltshire is a ring of stones, each about 4 m (13 ft) high, 2 m (7 ft) wide and 25 tonnes, erected 2400–2200 BC.
Settlement by Cro-Magnons of what was to become the United Kingdom occurred in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago.[60] The island has been continuously inhabited only since the last retreat of the ice around 11,500 years ago. By the end of the region's prehistoric period, the population is thought to have belonged largely to a culture termed Insular Celtic, comprising Brittonic Britain and Gaelic Ireland.[61]
In 1215 the Magna Carta was the first document to state that no government was above the law, that citizens have rights protecting them and that they were entitled to a fair trial.[68]
In 1603, the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in a personal union when James VI, King of Scots, inherited the crowns of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London; each country nevertheless remained a separate political entity and retained its separate political, legal, and religious institutions.[75]
Though previous attempts at uniting the two kingdoms within Great Britain in 1606, 1667, and 1689 had proved unsuccessful, the attempt initiated in 1705 led to the Treaty of Union of 1706 being agreed and ratified by both parliaments.
British merchants played a leading part in the Atlantic slave trade, mainly between 1662 and 1807 when British or British-colonial slave ships transported nearly 3.3 million slaves from Africa.[81] The slaves were taken to work on plantations, principally in the Caribbean but also North America.[82] However, with pressure from the abolitionism movement, Parliament banned the trade in 1807, banned slavery in the British Empire in 1833, and Britain took a leading role in the movement to abolish slavery worldwide through the blockade of Africa and pressing other nations to end their trade with a series of treaties.[83]
In 1800 the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland each passed an Act of Union, uniting the two kingdoms and creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801.[84]
Britain was one of the principal Allies that defeated the Central Powers in the First World War (1914–1918). Alongside their French, Russian and (after 1917) American counterparts,[96] British armed forces were engaged across much of the British Empire and in several regions of Europe, particularly on the Western Front.[97] 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. Britain had suffered 2.5 million casualties and finished the war with a huge national debt.[97] The consequences of the war persuaded the government to expand the right to vote in national and local elections to all adult men and most adult women with the Representation of the People Act 1918.[97] After the war, Britain became a permanent member of the Executive Council of the League of Nations and received a mandate over a number of former German and Ottoman colonies. Under the leadership of David Lloyd George, the British Empire reached its greatest extent, covering a fifth of the world's land surface and a quarter of its population.[98]
Nonetheless, "Britain was a very wealthy country, formidable in arms, ruthless in pursuit of its interests and sitting at the heart of a global production system."[105] After Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Britain entered the Second World War. Winston Churchill became prime minister and head of a coalition government in 1940. Despite the defeat of its European allies in the first year, Britain and its Empire continued the war against Germany. Churchill engaged industry, scientists and engineers to support the government and the military in the prosecution of the war effort.[105]
In the immediate post-war years, the Labour government under Clement Attlee initiated a radical programme of reforms, which significantly impacted British society in the following decades.[112] 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.[113] The rise of nationalism in the colonies coincided with Britain's much-diminished economic position, so that a policy of decolonisation was unavoidable. Independence was granted to India and Pakistan in 1947.[114] Over the next three decades, most colonies of the British Empire gained their independence, and many became members of the Commonwealth of Nations.[115]
The UK was the third country to develop a nuclear weapons arsenal (with its first atomic bomb test, Operation Hurricane, in 1952), but the post-war limits of Britain's international role were illustrated by the Suez Crisis of 1956. The international spread of the English language ensured the continuing international influence of its literature and culture.[116][117] As a result of a shortage of workers in the 1950s, the government encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries. In the following decades, the UK became a more multi-ethnic society.[118] Despite rising living standards in the late 1950s and 1960s, the UK's economic performance was less successful than many of its main competitors such as France, West Germany and Japan. The UK was the first democratic nation to lower its voting age to 18 in 1969.[119]
From the late 1960s, Northern Ireland suffered communal and paramilitary violence (sometimes affecting other parts of the UK) conventionally known as the Troubles. It is usually considered to have ended with the 1998 Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement.[121] Following a period of widespread economic slowdown and industrial strife in the 1970s, the Conservative government of the 1980s led by Margaret Thatcher initiated a radical policy of monetarism, deregulation, particularly of the financial sector (for example, the Big Bang in 1986) and labour markets, the sale of state-owned companies (privatisation), and the withdrawal of subsidies to others.[122]
In 1982, Argentina invaded the British territories of South Georgia and the Falkland Islands, leading to the 10-week Falklands War in which Argentine forces were defeated. The inhabitants of the islands are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and strongly favour British sovereignty, expressed in a 2013 referendum. From 1984, the UK economy was helped by the inflow of substantial North Sea oil revenues.[123] Another British overseas territory, Gibraltar, ceded to Great Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht,[124] is a key military base. A referendum in 2002 on shared sovereignty with Spain was rejected by 98.97% of voters in the territory.
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.[125] The statutory incorporation followed acceptance of the European Convention on Human Rights. The UK remained a great power with global diplomatic and military influence and a leading role in the United Nations and NATO.[126]
The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 94,354 square miles (244,376 km2),[f][12] with a land area of 93,723 square miles (242,741 km2).[12] The country occupies the major part of the British Isles[142] archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the southeast coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel.[143]
The United Kingdom lies between latitudes 49° and 61° N, and longitudes 9° W and 2° E. Northern Ireland shares a 224-mile (360 km) land boundary with the Republic of Ireland.[143] The coastline of Great Britain is 11,073 miles (17,820 km) long,[146] though measurements can vary greatly due to the coastline paradox.[147] It is connected to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel, which at 31 miles (50 km) (24 miles (38 km) underwater) is the longest underwater tunnel in the world.[148]
Most of the United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with generally cool temperatures and plentiful rainfall all year round.[143] The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below 0 °C (32 °F) or rising above 30 °C (86 °F).[151] Some parts, away from the coast, of upland England, Wales, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland, experience a subpolar oceanic climate. Higher elevations in Scotland experience a continental subarctic climate and the mountains experience a tundra climate.[152]
The prevailing wind is from the southwest and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean,[143] although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind. Since the majority of the rain falls over the western regions, the eastern parts are the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream, bring mild winters, especially in the west where winters are wet and even more so over high ground. Summers are warmest in the southeast of England and coolest in the north. Heavy snowfall can occur in winter and early spring on high ground, and occasionally settles to great depth away from the hills.[153]
The average total annual sunshine in the United Kingdom is 1339.7 hours, which is just under 30% of the maximum possible.[154] The hours of sunshine vary from 1200 to about 1580 hours per year, and since 1996 the UK has been and still is receiving above the 1981 to 2010 average hours of sunshine.[155]
Scotland accounts for 32 per cent of the UK, covering 30,410 square miles (78,772 km2).[161] This includes nearly 800 islands,[162] notably the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. Scotland is the most mountainous constituent country of the UK, the Highlands to the north and west are the more rugged region containing the majority of Scotland's mountainous land, including the Cairngorms, Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and Ben Nevis which at 1,345 metres (4,413 ft)[163] is the highest point in the British Isles.[164]Wales accounts for less than 9 per cent of the UK, covering 8,020 square miles (20,779 km2).[165] Wales is mostly mountainous, though South Wales is less mountainous than North and mid Wales. The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia and include Snowdon (Welsh: Yr Wyddfa) which, at 1,085 metres (3,560 ft), is the highest peak in Wales.[160] Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,704 kilometres) of coastline including the Pembrokeshire Coast.[146] Several islands lie off the Welsh mainland, the largest of which is Anglesey (Ynys Môn).
Northern Ireland, separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea and North Channel, has an area of 5,470 square miles (14,160 km2) and is mostly hilly. It includes Lough Neagh which, at 150 square miles (388 km2), is the largest lake in the British Isles by area,[166]Lough Erne which has over 150 islands and the Giant's Causeway which is a World Heritage Site. The highest peak in Northern Ireland is Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains at 852 metres (2,795 ft).[160]
King Charles III is the current monarch and head of state of the UK and of 14 other independent countries. These 15 countries are today referred to as "Commonwealth realms". The monarch is formally vested with all executive authority as the personal embodiment of the Crown and is "fundamental to the law and working of government in the UK."[177] The disposition of such powers however, including those belonging to the royal prerogative, is generally exercised only on the advice of ministers of the Crown responsible to Parliament and thence to the electorate. Nevertheless, in the performance of official duties, the monarch has "the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn".[178] In addition, the monarch has a number of reserve powers at his disposal, albeit rarely used, to uphold responsible government and prevent constitutional crises.[s]
For general elections (elections to the House of Commons), the UK is currently divided into 650 constituencies, each of which is represented by one member of Parliament (MP) elected by the first-past-the-post system.[180] MPs hold office for up to five years and must then stand for re-election if they wish to continue to be an MP.[180] The Conservative Party, colloquially known as the Tory Party or the Tories, and the Labour Party have been the dominant political parties in the UK since the 1920s, leading to the UK being described as a two-party system. However, since the 1920s other political parties have won seats in the House of Commons, although never more than the Conservatives or Labour.[181]
Although not part of the United Kingdom, the three Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man and 14 British Overseas Territories across the globe are subject to the sovereignty of the British Crown. The Crown exercises its responsibilities in relation to the Crown Dependencies mainly through the British government's Home Office and for the British Overseas Territories principally through the Foreign Office.[193]
The geographical division of the United Kingdom into counties or shires began in England and Scotland in the early Middle Ages, and was completed throughout Great Britain and Ireland by the early Modern Period.[194] Modern local government by elected councils, partly based on the ancient counties, was established by separate Acts of Parliament: in England and Wales in 1888, Scotland in 1889 and Ireland in 1898, meaning there is no consistent system of administrative or geographic demarcation across the UK.[195]
Until the 19th century there was little change to those arrangements, but there has since been a constant evolution of role and function.[196]
Local government in England is complex, with the distribution of functions varying according to local arrangements. The upper-tier subdivisions of England are the nine regions, now used primarily for statistical purposes.[197] One of the regions, Greater London, has had a directly elected assembly and mayor since 2000 following popular support for the proposal in a 1998 referendum.[198]
Local government in Scotland is divided into 32 council areas with a wide variation in 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 Scotland's area but only just over 200,000 people. Local councils are made up of elected councillors, of whom there are 1,223.[199]
Local government in Wales consists of 22 unitary authorities, each 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.[200] Elections are held every four years under the first-past-the-post system.[200]
Local government in Northern Ireland since 1973, has been organised into 26 district councils, each elected by single transferable vote. Their powers are limited to services such as waste collection, dog control, and maintaining parks and cemeteries.[201] In 2008 the executive agreed on proposals to create 11 new councils and replace the present system.[202]
The UK has an uncodified constitution and constitutional matters are not among the powers that have been devolved. Under the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, the UK Parliament could, in theory, therefore, abolish the Scottish Parliament, Senedd or Northern Ireland Assembly.[204] Though in the Scotland Act 2016 and the Wales Act 2017 it states that the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government "are a permanent part of the United Kingdom's constitutional arrangements".[205][206]
In practice, it would be politically difficult for the UK Parliament to abolish devolution to the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd, because these institutions were created by referendum decisions.[207] The political constraints placed upon the UK Parliament's power to interfere with devolution in Northern Ireland are greater still, because devolution in Northern Ireland rests upon an international agreement with the Government of Ireland.[208] The UK Parliament restricts the three devolved parliaments' legislative powers in economic policy matters through an act passed in 2020.[209]
England
Unlike Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, England does not have a separate devolved government or national parliament,[210] rather a process of devolution of powers from the central government to local authorities has taken place, first in 1998.[211] The Greater London Authority (GLA) was set up following a referendum in 1998. Colloquially known as City Hall, it is the devolved regional government body for Greater London. It consists of two political branches: an Executive Mayor and the London Assembly, which serves as a check and balance on the Mayor.
A Combined Authority (CA) is a type of local government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. CAs allow a group of local authorities to pool appropriate responsibility and receive certain devolved functions from central government in order to deliver transport and economic policy more effectively over a wider area.[212]
Since 1999, Scotland has had a devolved national government and parliament with wide-ranging powers over any matter that has not been specifically reserved to the UK Parliament.[214][215] Their power over economic issues is significantly constrained by an act of the UK parliament passed in 2020.[209]
The Scottish Parliament is separate from the Scottish Government. It is made up of 129 elected Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). It is the law-making body of Scotland, and thus it scrutinises the work of the incumbent Scottish Government and considers any piece of proposed legislation through parliamentary debates, committees and parliamentary questions.[224]
Wales
Since 1999, Wales has a devolved national government and legislature, known as the Senedd. Elections to the Senedd use the additional member system. It has more limited powers than those devolved to Scotland.[225] The Senedd can legislate on any matter not specifically reserved to the UK Parliament by Acts of Senedd Cymru. The current Welsh Government is Labour, led by First MinisterEluned Morgan, who has been the First Minister since 2024. Local government in Wales consists of 22 unitary authorities, each led by a leader and cabinet elected by the council itself.
Crime in England and Wales 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,[245] according to crime statistics. As of June 2023, the United Kingdom has the highest per-capita incarceration rate in Western Europe.[246][247][248]
UK labour laws entitle staff to have a minimum set of employment rights including a minimum wage, a minimum of 28 days annual holiday, parental leave, statutory sick pay and a pension. Same-sex marriage has been legal in England, Scotland, and Wales since 2014, and in Northern Ireland since 2020.[249]LGBT equality in the United Kingdom is considered advanced by modern standards.[250][251]
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 Department for Business and Trade is responsible for business, international trade, and enterprise. The Bank of England is the UK's central bank and is responsible for issuing notes and coins in the pound sterling. Banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland retain the right to issue their own notes, subject to retaining enough Bank of England notes in reserve to cover their issue. In 2022, the UK became the world's fourth-largest exporter behind only China, the US, and Germany.[268] The estimated nominal GDP of the UK for 2024 is £2.765 trillion.[269] This value is 23% higher than the 2019 figure of £2.255 trillion[270] before leaving the EU (at similar US and EU exchange rates to 2019).[271][t] Inflation in the UK rose by 2% in the year to May 2024 which was the governments target.[273][274]
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based.
The country's tourism sector is very important to the British economy; London was named as Europe's most popular destination for 2022.[279][280] The creative industries accounted for 5.9% of the UK's GVA in 2019, having grown by 43.6% in real terms from 2010.[281] Creative industries contributed more than £111bn to the UK economy in 2018, growth in the sector is more than five times larger than growth across the UK economy as a whole as reported in 2018.[282]Lloyd's of London is the world's largest insurance and reinsurance market and is located in London.[283]WPP plc, the world's biggest advertising company, is also based in the UK. The UK is one of the leading retail markets in Europe and is home to Europe's largest e-commerce market.[284] With consumption expenditures of over $2 trillion in 2023, the UK has the second-largest consumer market in Europe.[285]John Lewis is the UK's largest employee-owned business.[286]
Edinburgh is the financial centre of Scotland and is ranked the 4th largest in Europe and 13th largest internationally
The British automotive industry employs around 800,000 people, with a turnover in 2022 of £67 billion, generating £27 billion of exports (10% of the UK's total export of goods).[287] In 2023, the UK produced around 905,100 passenger vehicles and 120,400 commercial vehicles, output was up 17.0% on the previous year.[288] Britain is known for iconic cars such as Mini and Jaguar,[289] also other luxury cars such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Range Rover. The UK is a major centre for engine manufacturing: in 2022 around 1.5 million engines were produced.[287] It is also the world's fourth-largest exporter of engines, as of 2021.[290] The UK motorsport industry employs more than 40,000 people, comprises around 4,300 companies and has an annual turnover of around £10 billion.[291] 7 of the 10 Formula One teams are based in the UK, with their technology being used in supercars and hypercars from McLaren, Aston Martin and Lotus.[u]
The aerospace industry of the UK is the second-largest national aerospace industry in the world depending upon the method of measurement[clarification needed] and has an annual turnover of around £30 billion.[292] The UK space industry was worth £17.5bn in 2020/21 and employed 48,800 people. Since 2012, the number of space organisations has grown on average nearly 21% per year, with 1,293 organisations reported in 2021.[293][294] The UK Space Agency has stated in 2023 that it is investing £1.6 billion in space-related projects.[295]
Its agriculture industry is intensive, highly mechanised and efficient by European standards, producing approximately 60% of the country's overall food requirements and 73% of its indigenous food needs, utilising around 0.9 per cent of the labour force (292,000 workers).[296] Around two-thirds of production is devoted to livestock, one-third to arable crops. The UK retains a significant, though much reduced fishing industry. It is also rich in a variety of natural resources including coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica and an abundance of arable land.[297] The UK has among the highest levels of income inequality in the OECD, but has a very high HDI ranking.[298][299]
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is responsible for helping to encourage, develop and manage the UK's scientific, research, and technological outputs. Scientific research and development remains important in British universities, with many establishing science parks to facilitate production and co-operation with industry.[305] In 2022 the UK retained its number one spot for technology in Europe reaching a combined market value of $1 trillion. Cambridge was named the number one university in the world for producing successful technology founders.[306]
In 2024 the UK ranked 5th in the Global Innovation Index, a position determined by approximately 80 indicators encompassing the political environment, education, infrastructure, and knowledge creation, among others.[307][300] During 2022, the UK produced 6.3 per cent of the world's scientific research papers and had a 10.5 per cent share of scientific citations, the third highest in the world for both. The UK ranked 1st in the world for Field-Weighted Citation Impact.[308] Scientific journals produced in the UK include publications by the Royal Society, Nature, the British Medical Journal and The Lancet.[309]
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.[143] The M25, encircling London, is the largest and busiest bypass in the world.[310] In 2022, there were a total of 40.8 million licensed vehicles in Great Britain.[311]
The UK has an extensive railway network of 10,072 miles (16,209 km). In Great Britain, the British Rail network was privatised between 1994 and 1997, followed by a rapid rise in passenger numbers. Great British Railways is a planned state-owned public body that will oversee rail transport in Great Britain. The UK was ranked eighth among national European rail systems in the 2017 European Railway Performance Index assessing intensity of use, quality of service and safety.[312]
The UK has a direct train between London and Paris which takes 2hrs 16mins[313] called the Eurostar, it travels through the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel, at 23.5 miles long it is the world's longest undersea tunnel.[314] There is also a car service through the tunnel to France called LeShuttle. The Elizabeth line, a rail link running between East and West London, was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II in 2016 and opened in 2022. It was Europe's largest construction project at the time and is estimated to bring in £42 billion to the UK economy.[315][316] Another major infrastructure project is High Speed 2 (HS2), a new high speed railway currently under construction. It will link London with Birmingham, with the potential to extend further north and capable of speeds of up to 225 mph.[317][318]
In 2014, there were 5.2 billion bus journeys in the UK, 2.4 billion of which were in London.[319] The red double-decker bus has entered popular culture as an internationally recognised icon of England.[320] The London bus network is extensive, with over 6,800 scheduled services every weekday carrying about six million passengers on over 700 different routes making it one of the most extensive bus systems in the world and the largest in Europe.[321]
Wind turbines overlooking Ardrossan in Scotland. The UK is the best site in Europe for wind energy, and its wind power production is its fastest-growing supply.
In 2021, the UK was the world's 14th-largest consumer of energy and the 22nd-largest producer.[325] The UK is home to many large energy companies, including two of the six major oil and gas companies – BP and Shell.[326]
The total of all renewable electricity sources provided 43% of the electricity generated in the UK in 2020.[327] Wind power production is the country's fastest-growing supply; in 2022, 26.8% of the UK's total electricity was generated by wind power.[328] The UK has the largest offshore wind farm in the world, which is located off the coast of Yorkshire.[329]
In 2023, the UK had 9 nuclear reactors normally generating about 15 per cent of the UK's electricity.[330] Unlike Germany and Japan, there are two reactors under construction and more planned.[331][332] In the late 1990s, nuclear power plants contributed around 25 per cent of the total annual electricity generation in the UK, but this has gradually declined as old plants have been shut down. The UK Government is investing in Small Modular Reactors, Advanced Modular Reactors and Nuclear Fusion Reators[333] research and development.
In 2021, the UK produced 935 thousand barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil (and other liquids) and consumed 1,258 thousand bbl/d.[325] Production is now[when?] in decline and the UK has been a net importer of oil since 2005.[334] In 2020[update], the UK had around 2 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves.[334]
In 2021, the UK was the 21st-largest producer of natural gas in the world.[335] Production is now[when?] in decline and the UK has been a net importer of natural gas since 2004.[335] In 2020, the UK produced 1.8 million tonnes of coal falling 91% in 10 years.[330] In 2020 it had proven recoverable coal reserves of 26 million tonnes.[330] The UK Coal Authority has stated that there is a potential to produce between 7 billion tonnes and 16 billion tonnes of coal through underground coal gasification or 'fracking',[336] and based on current UK coal consumption, such reserves could last between 200 and 400 years.[337]
Access to improved water supply and sanitation in the UK is universal. It is estimated that 96 per cent of households are connected to the sewer network.[338] According to the Environment Agency, total water abstraction for public water supply in the UK was 16,406 megalitres per day in 2007.[339]
In England and Wales water and sewerage services are provided by 10 private regional water and sewerage companies and 13 mostly smaller private "water only" companies. In Scotland, water and sewerage services are provided by a single public company, Scottish Water. In Northern Ireland water and sewerage services are also provided by a single public entity, Northern Ireland Water.[340]
In the 2011 census the total population of the United Kingdom was 63,181,775.[341] It is the fourth-largest in Europe (after Russia, Germany and France), the fifth-largest in the Commonwealth and the 22nd-largest in the world. 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.[342] Between 2001 and 2011 the population increased by an average annual rate of approximately 0.7 per cent.[341] The 2011 census also showed that, over the previous 100 years, the proportion of the population aged 0–14 fell from 31 per cent to 18 per cent, and the proportion of people aged 65 and over rose from 5 to 16 per cent.[341] In 2018 the median age of the UK population was 41.7 years.[343]
Population of the United Kingdom by country (2022)[344]
Country
Land area
Population
Density (/km2)
(km2)
(%)
People
(%)
England
130,310
54%
57,106,398
84%
438
Scotland
77,901
32%
5,447,700
8%
70
Wales
20,737
9%
3,131,640
5%
151
Northern Ireland
13,547
6%
1,910,543
3%
141
United Kingdom
242,495
100%
67,596,281
100%
279
England's population in 2011 was 53 million, representing some 84 per cent of the UK total.[345] It is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with 420 people per square kilometre in mid-2015,[342] with a particular concentration in London and the south-east.[346] The 2011 census put Scotland's population at 5.3 million,[347] Wales at 3.06 million and Northern Ireland at 1.81 million.[345]
In 2017 the total fertility rate across the UK was 1.74 children born per woman.[348] 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,[349] or the high of 6.02 children born per woman in 1815,[350] below the replacement rate of 2.1, but higher than the 2001 record low of 1.63.[351] In 2011, 47.3 per cent of births in the UK were to unmarried women.[352] The Office for National Statistics reported in 2015 that out of the UK 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.[353] The number of transgender people in the UK was estimated to be between 65,000 and 300,000 by research between 2001 and 2008.[354]
Historically, indigenous British people were thought to be descended from the various ethnic groups that settled there before the 12th century: the Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Norse and the Normans. Welsh people could be the oldest ethnic group in the UK.[358] The UK has a history of non-white immigration with Liverpool having the oldest Black population in the country dating back to at least the 1730s during the period of the African slave trade. During this period it is estimated the Afro-Caribbean population of Great Britain was 10,000 to 15,000[359] which later declined due to the abolition of slavery.[360] The UK also has the oldest Chinese community in Europe, dating to the arrival of Chinese seamen in the 19th century.[361] In 2011[update], 87.2 per cent of the UK population identified themselves as white, meaning 12.8 per cent of the UK population identify themselves as of one of an ethnic minority group.[362]
Ethnic diversity varies significantly across the UK. 30.4 per cent of London's population and 37.4 per cent of Leicester's was estimated to be non-white in 2005[update],[366] whereas less than 5 per cent of the populations of North East England, Wales and the South West were from ethnic minorities, according to the 2001 census.[367] In 2016[update], 31.4 per cent of primary and 27.9 per cent of secondary pupils at state schools in England were members of an ethnic minority.[368]
The English language is the official and most spoken language of the United Kingdom.[369][370] The United Kingdom proactively promotes the language globally to build connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.[371][372] It is estimated that 95 per cent of the UK's population are monolingual English speakers.[373] Over 5.5 per cent of the population are estimated to speak languages brought to the UK as a result of relatively recent[when?] immigration.[373] South Asian languages are the largest grouping which includes Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Sylheti, Hindi, Pahari-Pothwari, Tamil, and Gujarati.[374] According to the 2011 census, Polish has become the second-largest language spoken in England and has 546,000 speakers.[375] In 2019, some three-quarters of a million people spoke little or no English.[376]
Three indigenous Celtic languages are spoken in the UK: Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic. Cornish, which became extinct as a first language in the late 18th century, is subject to revival efforts and has a small group of second language speakers.[377][2] According to the 2021 census, the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 people (17.8 per cent).[378] In addition, it is estimated that about 200,000 Welsh speakers live in England.[379] In the 2021 census in Northern Ireland 12.4% of people had some ability in the Irish language and 10.4% of people had some ability in the Ulster-Scots language.[380] Over 92,000 people in Scotland (just under 2 per cent of the population) had some Gaelic language ability, including 72 per cent of those living in the Outer Hebrides.[381] The number of children being taught either Welsh or Scottish Gaelic is increasing.[382]Scots, a language descended from early northern Middle English, has limited recognition alongside its regional variant, Ulster Scots in Northern Ireland, without specific commitments to protection and promotion.[2][383] As of April 2020, there are said to be around 151,000 users of British Sign Language (BSL), a sign language used by deaf people, in the UK.[384]
Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in what is now the United Kingdom for more than 1,400 years.[386] Although a majority of citizens still identify with Christianity in many surveys, regular church attendance has fallen dramatically since the middle of the 20th century,[387] while immigration and demographic change have contributed to the growth of other faiths, most notably Islam.[388] This has led some commentators to variously describe the UK as a multi-faith,[389]secularised,[390] or post-Christian society.[391]
In the 2001 census, 71.6 per cent of all respondents indicated that they were Christians, with the next largest faiths being Islam (2.8 per cent), Hinduism (1.0 per cent), Sikhism (0.6 per cent), Judaism (0.5 per cent), Buddhism (0.3 per cent) and all other religions (0.3 per cent).[392] Of the respondents, 15 per cent stated that they had no religion and a further 7 per cent did not state a religious preference.[393] A Tearfund survey in 2007 showed that only one in ten Britons actually attend church weekly.[394] Between the 2001 and 2011 census, there was a 12 per cent decrease in the number of people who identified as Christian, while the percentage of those reporting no religious affiliation doubled. This contrasted with growth in the other main religious group categories, with the number of Muslims increasing by the most substantial margin to a total of about 5 per cent.[395] The Muslim population has increased from 1.6 million in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2011, making it the second-largest religious group in the UK.[396]
The Church of England is the established church in England.[397] It retains a representation in the UK Parliament, and the British monarch is its Supreme Governor.[398] In Scotland, the Church of Scotland is recognised as the national church. It is not subject to state control, and the British monarch is an ordinary member, required to swear an oath to "maintain and preserve the Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Government" upon his or her accession.[399][2][400] The Church in Wales was disestablished in 1920 and, because the Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1870 before the partition of Ireland, there is no established church in Northern Ireland.[401] Although there are no UK-wide data in the 2001 census on adherence to individual Christian denominations, it has been estimated that 62 per cent of Christians are Anglican, 13.5 per cent Catholic, 6 per cent Presbyterian, and 3.4 per cent Methodist, with small numbers of other Protestant denominations.[402]
Estimated foreign-born population by country of birth from April 2007 to March 2008Estimated number of British citizens living overseas by country in 2006
Immigration is now[when?] contributing to a rising UK population,[403][404] with arrivals and UK-born children of migrants accounting for about half of the population increase between 1991 and 2001. According to official statistics released in 2015, 27 per cent of UK live births in 2014 were to mothers born outside the UK.[405] The ONS reported that net migration rose from 2009 to 2010 by 21 per cent to 239,000.[406]
In 2013, approximately 208,000 foreign nationals were naturalised as British citizens, the highest number since 1962. This figure fell to around 125,800 in 2014. Between 2009 and 2013, the average number of British citizenships granted annually was 195,800. The most common previous nationalities of those naturalised in 2014 were Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Nigerian, Bangladeshi, Nepali, Chinese, South African, Polish and Somali.[407] The total number of grants of settlement, which confer permanent residence in the UK but not citizenship,[408] was approximately 154,700 in 2013, higher than the previous two years.[407] Long-term net migration (the number of people immigrating minus the number emigrating) reached a record high of 764,000 in 2022, with immigration at 1.26 million and emigration at 493,000.[409] In 2023 net migration was 685,000; 10% of the total who came to the UK in that year were EU Nationals.[404] More EU Nationals left the UK than arrived.[404]
Emigration was an important feature of British society in the 19th century. Between 1815 and 1930, around 11.4 million people emigrated from Britain and 7.3 million from Ireland. Estimates show that by the end of the 20th century, some 300 million people of British and Irish descent were permanently settled around the globe.[410] Today,[when?] at least 5.5 million UK-born people live abroad,[411][412] mainly in Australia, Spain, the United States and Canada.[411][413]
University of Oxford is widely regarded as one of the world's leading universities.
Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, with each country having a separate education system. About 38 per cent of the United Kingdom population has a university or college degree, which is the highest percentage in Europe, and among the highest percentages in the world.[414] The United Kingdom is home to many universities, including the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge which often achieve first place on global rankings.[415][416]
University education has varied tuition fees between the different regions of the UK. England and Wales have a fixed maximum annual fee for all UK citizens, contingent on attaining a certain level of income. Only those who reach a certain salary threshold (£21,000) pay this fee through general taxation. Northern Ireland and Scotland have a reduced maximum fee or no fee for citizens where it is their home region. Some NHS courses have bursaries which pay the fee and in 2017 it was stated that each doctor gets subsidised by £230,000 during their training.[417][418]
In 2022, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), coordinated by the OECD, ranked the overall knowledge and skills of British 15-year-olds as 14th in the world in reading, mathematics and science. The average British student scored 494, well above the OECD average of 478.[419][420]
The modern system of universalpublicly funded in the United Kingdom has its origins in the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1949 which still exists to this day and is the primary healthcare provider in the United Kingdom. The widespread popularity of the NHS has led to it being described as a "national religion".[421][422] Healthcare in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter and each country has its own system of universal publicly funded healthcare, although private healthcare is also available. Public healthcare is provided to all UK 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 the United Kingdom as fifteenth best in Europe and eighteenth in the world.[423]
Since 1979, expenditure on healthcare has been increased significantly.[424] The 2018 OECD data, which incorporates in health a chunk of what in the UK is classified as social care, has the UK spending £3,121 per head.[425] In 2017 the UK spent £2,989 per person on healthcare, around the median for members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.[426]
The culture of the United Kingdom is influenced by many factors including: the nation's island status; its history; and being a political union of four countries with each preserving elements of distinctive traditions, customs and symbolism. As a result of the British Empire, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies, in particular, the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland, a common culture known today as the Anglosphere.[428][429] The substantial cultural influence of the United Kingdom has led to it being described as a cultural superpower.[116][117] A global survey in 2023 ranked the UK 3rd in the 'Most Influential Countries' rankings (behind the US and China).[430]
A number of UK cities are known for their music. Acts from Liverpool have had 54 UK chart number 1 hit singles, more per capita than any other city worldwide.[474] Glasgow's contribution to music was recognised in 2008 when it was named a UNESCOCity of Music.[475] Manchester played a role in the spread of dance music such as acid house, and from the mid-1990s, Britpop. London and Bristol are closely associated with the origins of electronic music sub-genres such as drum and bass and trip hop.[476]
2019 was a particularly good year for British films which grossed around £10.3 billion globally which was 28.7% of global box office revenue.[491] UK box-office takings totalled £1.25 billion in 2019, with around 176 million admissions.[492] In 2023 UK film and television studio stage space stands at 6.9 million sq ft, with 1 million sq ft added in the past year with more in development.[493] The annual BAFTA Film Awards are hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.[494]
Fish and chips, a traditional British dish served with lemon, tartar sauce and mushy peas
British cuisine developed from various influences reflective of its land, settlements, arrivals of new settlers and immigrants, trade and colonialism. The food of England has historically been characterised by its simplicity of approach and a reliance on the high quality of natural produce.[495] The traditional Sunday roast is one example, featuring a roasted joint, usually of beef, lamb, chicken or pork, often free range (and generally grass-fed, in the case of beef). Roasts are served with either roasted or boiled vegetables, Yorkshire pudding, and gravy. Other traditional meals include meat pies and various stews. A 2019 YouGov poll rated classic British food, the following had more than 80% of people like them who had tried them: Sunday roast, Yorkshire pudding, Fish and chips, Crumpets, and Full English breakfast.[496]
The UK is home to a large selection of fine-dining experiences, in 2024 there were 187 Restaurants with a Michelin Star, 49 of them consider their cuisine to be 'Modern British'.[497] Sweet foods are common within British cuisine, and there is a long list of British desserts. Afternoon tea is a light afternoon meal served with tea in tea rooms and hotels around the United Kingdom, with the tradition dating back to around 1840.[498]Vegan and vegetarian diets have increased in Britain in recent years.[499]
The British Empire facilitated a knowledge of Indian cuisine with its "strong, penetrating spices and herbs". British cuisine has absorbed the cultural influence of those who have settled in Britain, producing hybrid dishes, such as chicken tikka masala.[500] The British have embraced world cuisine and regularly eat recipes or fast food from Europe, the Caribbean and Asia.
The BBC, founded in 1922, is the UK's publicly funded radio, television and Internet broadcasting corporation, and is the oldest and largest broadcaster in the world.[501][502][503] It operates numerous television and radio stations in the UK and abroad and its domestic services are funded by the television licence.[504] The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest of any kind.[505] It broadcasts radio news, speech and discussions in more than 40 languages.[506]
London dominates the media sector in the UK: national newspapers and television and radio are largely based there, although MediaCityUK in Manchester is also a significant national media centre. Edinburgh and Glasgow, and Cardiff, are important centres of newspaper and broadcasting production in Scotland and Wales, respectively.[510] The UK publishing sector, including books, directories and databases, journals, magazines and business media, newspapers and news agencies, has a combined turnover of around £20 billion and employs around 167,000 people.[511] In 2015, the UK published 2,710 book titles per million inhabitants, more than any other country, much of this being exported to other Anglophone countries.[512]
In 2010, 82.5 per cent of the UK population were Internet users, the highest proportion among the 20 countries with the largest total number of users in that year.[513] The British video game industry is the largest in Europe, and, since 2022, the UK has the largest video game market in Europe by sales, overtaking Germany.[514] It is the world's third-largest producer of video games after Japan and the United States.[515]
A 2003 poll found that football is the most popular sport in the UK.[518] England is recognised by FIFA as the birthplace of club football, and the Football Association is the oldest of its kind, with the rules of football first drafted in 1863 by Ebenezer Cobb Morley.[519] Each of the Home Nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) has its own football association, national team and league system, and each is individually a governing member of the International Football Association Board alongside FIFA. The English top division, the Premier League, is the most watched football league in the world.[520] The first international football match was contested by England and Scotland on 30 November 1872.[521] England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland usually compete as separate countries in international competitions.[522]
The flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag (also referred to as the Union Jack).[527] It was created in 1606 by the superimposition of the flag of England, representing Saint George, on the flag of Scotland, representing Saint Andrew, and was updated in 1801 with the addition of Saint Patrick's Flag.[528] Wales is not represented in the Union Flag, as Wales had been conquered and annexed to England prior to the formation of the United Kingdom. The possibility of redesigning the Union Flag to include representation of Wales has not been completely ruled out.[529] The national anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the King", with "King" replaced with "Queen" in the lyrics whenever the monarch is a woman.
^"God Save the King" is the national anthem by custom, not statute, and there is no authorised version. Only the first verse is usually sung.[1] The words King, he, him, his, used at present, are replaced by Queen, she, her when the monarch is female.
^ abcScotland held its census a year later after England, Wales and Northern Ireland due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the data shown is from two separate years.
^Although the United Kingdom has traditionally been seen as a unitary state, an alternative description of the UK as a "union state", put forward by, among others, Vernon Bogdanor,[9] has become increasingly influential since the adoption of devolution in the 1990s.[10] A union state is considered to differ from a unitary state in that while it maintains a central authority it also recognises the authority of historic rights and infrastructures of its component parts.[11]
^Some of the devolved countries, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories issue their own sterling banknotes or currencies, or use another nation's currency. See List of British currencies.
^The .gb domain is also reserved for the UK, but has been little used.
^Usage is mixed. The Guardian and Telegraph use Britain as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Some prefer to use Britain as shorthand for Great Britain. The British Cabinet Office's Government Digital Servicestyle guide for use on gov.uk recommends: "Use UK and United Kingdom in preference to Britain and British (UK business, UK foreign policy, ambassador and high commissioner). But British embassy, not UK embassy."
^The United Kingdom does not have a codified constitution but an unwritten one formed of Acts of Parliament, court judgments, traditions, and conventions.[31]
^Compare to section 1 of both of the 1800 Acts of Union which reads: "the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland shall... be united into one kingdom, by the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland".
^Historically, the term British was used to refer to members and institutions within the British Empire and later Commonwealth and was not limited to the geographical British Isles. The UK Government adopted the term for its exclusive use only in 1961, but in recognition of its wider usage first sought the prior consent of Australia, Canada and New Zealand.[56][57]
^British sovereignty derives from the Crown, a corporation sole occupied by the monarch. It is therefore by and through the monarch that Parliament exercises supreme legislative authority over both the executive and judiciary. Distinguished Professor of Public Law Maurice Sunkin opined the Crown symbolically occupies "…what in other places would be a core element of a written constitution."[171] As a result of this state of constitutional affairs, the monarch is formally referred to as "the Sovereign" in legislation.[172]
^Real GDP is an inflation-adjusted GDP, which is needed if you need to study changes in volume rather than value especially if the currency devalues due to the inflation but does not show current market values.[272]
^Car brands here are classed as British based on several of the following criteria: historical heritage, cultural significance, design and engineering base, manufacturing location, headquarters location, UK registered company (even with overseas investors).
^The 2011 census recorded Gypsies and Travellers as a separate ethnic group for the first time.
^In the 2011 census, for the purpose of harmonising results to make them comparable across the UK, the ONS includes individuals in Scotland who classified themselves in the "African" category (29,638 people), which in the Scottish version of the census is separate from "Caribbean or Black" (6,540 people),[364] in this "Black or Black British" category. The ONS note that "the African categories used in Scotland could potentially capture White/Asian/Other African in addition to Black identities".[365]
^Berkeley is in fact Irish but was called a 'British empiricist' due to the territory of what is now known as the Republic of Ireland being in the UK at the time.
^In 2012, the president of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, stated, "This great, sports-loving country is widely recognised as the birthplace of modern sport. It was here that the concepts of sportsmanship and fair play were first codified into clear rules and regulations. It was here that sport was included as an educational tool in the school curriculum".[516][517]
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^"Definition of Great Britain in English". Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2014. Great Britain is the name for the island that comprises England, Scotland and Wales, although the term is also used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom.
^Dewart, Megan (2019). The Scottish Legal System. UK: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 57. ISBN978-1-5265-0633-7. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023. The laws and legal institutions of Scotland and of England and Wales were not merged by the Union of 1707. Thus, they remain separate 'law areas', with separate court systems (as does Northern Ireland), and it is necessary to distinguish Scots law and English law (and Northern Irish law).; "The justice system and the constitution". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023. The United Kingdom has three separate legal systems; one each for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This reflects its historical origins and the fact that both Scotland and Ireland, and later Northern Ireland, retained their own legal systems and traditions under the Acts of Union 1707 and 1800.
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^"The "Special Relationship" between Great Britain and the United States Began with FDR". Roosevelt Institute. 22 July 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018. and the joint efforts of both powers to create a new post-war strategic and economic order through the drafting of the Atlantic Charter; the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; and the creation of the United Nations.; "Remarks by the President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron in Joint Press Conference" (Press release). The White House. 22 April 2016. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2018. That's what we built after World War II. The United States and the UK designed a set of institutions – whether it was the United Nations, or the Bretton Woods structure, IMF, World Bank, NATO, across the board.
^Francis, Martin (1997). Ideas and policies under Labour, 1945–1951: Building a new Britain. Manchester University Press. pp. 225–233. ISBN978-0-7190-4833-3.
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^Griffiths, Alan; Wall, Stuart (2007). Applied Economics(PDF) (11th ed.). Harlow: Financial Times Press. p. 6. ISBN978-0-273-70822-3. Archived from the original(PDF) on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
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^Oxford English Dictionary: "British Isles: a geographical term for the islands comprising Great Britain and Ireland with all their offshore islands including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands."
^Bagehot, Walter (1867). The English Constitution. London: Chapman and Hall. p. 103.
^David Torrance (11 January 2023). "The Crown and the Constitution"(PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 22. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
^Burrows, N. (1999). "Unfinished Business: The Scotland Act 1998". The Modern Law Review. 62 (2): 241–260 [p. 249]. doi:10.1111/1468-2230.00203. The UK Parliament is sovereign and the Scottish Parliament is subordinate. The White Paper had indicated that this was to be the approach taken in the legislation. The Scottish Parliament is not to be seen as a reflection of the settled will of the people of Scotland or of popular sovereignty but as a reflection of its subordination to a higher legal authority. Following the logic of this argument, the power of the Scottish Parliament to legislate can be withdrawn or overridden...; Elliot, M. (2004). "United Kingdom: Parliamentary sovereignty under pressure". International Journal of Constitutional Law. 2 (3): 545–627, 553–554. doi:10.1093/icon/2.3.545. Notwithstanding substantial differences among the schemes, an important common factor is that the UK Parliament has not renounced legislative sovereignty in relation to the three nations concerned. For example, the Scottish Parliament is empowered to enact primary legislation on all matters, save those in relation to which competence is explicitly denied ... but this power to legislate on what may be termed "devolved matters" is concurrent with the Westminster Parliament's general power to legislate for Scotland on any matter at all, including devolved matters ... In theory, therefore, Westminster may legislate on Scottish devolved matters whenever it chooses...
^Gamble, A. (2006). "The Constitutional Revolution in the United Kingdom". Publius. 36 (1): 19–35 [p. 29]. doi:10.1093/publius/pjj011. The British parliament has the power to abolish the Scottish parliament and the Welsh assembly by a simple majority vote in both houses, but since both were sanctioned by referenda, it would be politically difficult to abolish them without the sanction of a further vote by the people. In this way, several of the constitutional measures introduced by the Blair government appear to be entrenched and not subject to a simple exercise of parliamentary sovereignty at Westminster.
^Meehan, E. (1999). "The Belfast Agreement – Its Distinctiveness and Points of Cross-Fertilization in the UK's Devolution Programme". Parliamentary Affairs. 52 (1): 19–31 [p. 23]. doi:10.1093/pa/52.1.19. [T]he distinctive involvement of two governments in the Northern Irish problem means that Northern Ireland's new arrangements rest upon an intergovernmental agreement. If this can be equated with a treaty, it could be argued that the forthcoming distribution of power between Westminster and Belfast has similarities with divisions specified in the written constitutions of federal states...Although the Agreement makes the general proviso that Westminster's 'powers to make legislation for Northern Ireland' remains 'unaffected', without an explicit categorical reference to reserved matters, it may be more difficult than in Scotland or Wales for devolved powers to be repatriated. The retraction of devolved powers would not merely entail consultation in Northern Ireland backed implicitly by the absolute power of parliamentary sovereignty but also the renegotiation of an intergovernmental agreement.
^Keating, Michael (2 February 2021). "Taking back control? Brexit and the territorial constitution of the United Kingdom". Journal of European Public Policy. 28 (4). Abingdon: Taylor & Francis: 6–7. doi:10.1080/13501763.2021.1876156. hdl:1814/70296. S2CID234066376. The UK Internal Market Act gives ministers sweeping powers to enforce mutual recognition and non-discrimination across the four jurisdictions. Existing differences and some social and health matters are exempted but these are much less extensive than the exemptions permitted under the EU Internal Market provisions. Only after an amendment in the House of Lords, the Bill was amended to provide a weak and non-binding consent mechanism for amendments (equivalent to the Sewel Convention) to the list of exemptions. The result is that, while the devolved governments retain regulatory competences, these are undermined by the fact that goods and services originating in, or imported into, England can be marketed anywhere.
^Wolffe, W James (7 April 2021). "Devolution and the Statute Book". Statute Law Review. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/slr/hmab003. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021. the Internal Market Bill—a Bill that contains provisions which, if enacted, would significantly constrain, both legally and as a matter of practicality, the exercise by the devolved legislatures of their legislative competence; provisions that would be significantly more restrictive of the powers of the Scottish Parliament than either EU law or Articles 4 and 6 of the Acts of the Union...The UK Parliament passed the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 and the Internal Market Act 2020 notwithstanding that, in each case, all three of the devolved legislatures had withheld consent.
^Dougan, Michael; Hunt, Jo; McEwen, Nicola; McHarg, Aileen (2022). "Sleeping with an Elephant: Devolution and the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020". Law Quarterly Review. London: Sweet & Maxwell. ISSN0023-933X. SSRN4018581. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022 – via Durham Research Online. The Act has restrictive – and potentially damaging – consequences for the regulatory capacity of the devolved legislatures...This was not the first time since the Brexit referendum that the Convention had been set aside, but it was especially notable given that the primary purpose of the legislation was to constrain the capacity of the devolved institutions to use their regulatory autonomy...in practice, it constrains the ability of the devolved institutions to make effective regulatory choices for their territories in ways that do not apply to the choices made by the UK government and parliament for the English market.
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