 |
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
|
|
|
|
Physical Geography
The British Isles is the geographical term for a group of about 5,000 islands off the north-west coast of mainland Europe between the latitudes 50o N and 61o N. The largest island is Britain or Great Britain, which is also the largest island in Europe. It consists of England, Wales and Scotland. The next largest island is Ireland, which is made up of Northern Ireland (or Ulster) and the Irish Republic (also known as Eire). Britain and Northern Ireland, together with a number of small islands, form the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland. In everyday usage, however, Great Britain or Britain is used to mean the United Kingdom. The Isle of Man, between Ireland and Britain, and the Channel Islands, off the north-west coast of France, though recognising the Crown, have their own parliaments and are largely self-governing.
Great Britain is just under 1,000 km long and just under 500 km across in its widest part. The most mountainous region is Scotland (with Britain’s highest peak, Ben Nevis – 1,343 m), which also has a wide lowland area between the Grampians and the Southern Uplands, where most of the large towns, including Edinburgh and Glasgow, and three-quarters of the population are located. Much of Wales is also mountainous and in England the Pennine Range (the “backbone of England”) extends 224 km (although the highest peak is only 895 m high). The rest of England tends to be rather undulating, and not even the large agricultural plains of East Anglia are perfectly flat. In Ireland all the highland areas are around the edge, but there are no peaks over 1,100 m.
Rivers in Great Britain are quite short – the longest rivers are the Severn and the Thames – but their easy navigability has made them an important part of the inland transport network for the transportation of bulk products such as coal, iron ore and steel.
Population
With 57 million people, the United Kingdom ranks about fifteenth in the world in terms of population, with England (46 million) by far the most populous part (followed by Scotland 5 million, Wales 2.8 million and Northern Ireland 1.5 million). Although there are about 6% more male than female births, the higher mortality of men at all ages means that there are more females than males (29 million as against 27.6 million).
The average population density in Britain is about 239 per sq. km, compared with, for example, 190 per sq. km in Italy. The highest densities are to be found in conurbations, which are groups of once separate towns that have grown to form a single community. Although Britain is short of housing, planners like to keep a belt of undeveloped land around cities known as a green belt to reduce pollution and provide open spaces for leisure. The industrial area in these purpose-built towns is separate from housing and there are more green, open spaces. New towns have partially failed, however, especially since many are near enough to conurbations for people to use them as dormitory towns (towns where a large percentage of the population commutes daily to work in a conurbation) and recent government policy has been to expand existing towns like Telford and Milton Keynes (formed from the amalgamation of a group of villages), which is cheaper than creation an entirely new town.
|
|
|
National Production
Membership of the European Community has had a major impact on Britain’s pattern of trade. The proportion of Britain’s export of goods going to other EC countries has risen to around 50%, while that going to other Commonwealth countries has fallen to around 10%. In recent years, Britain has had a negative balance of trade as regards visible exports and imports, though the balance as regards invisible is better.
Among the main trends in industrial activity in Britain during the 1970s and 1980s have been the decline in heavy industry and the growth of the offshore oil and gas industries together with related products and services; the rapid development of electronic and microelectronic technologies and their application to a wide range of other sectors; and a continuous rise in the service (or tertiary) industries’ share of total employment. Tourism, for example, is now one of Britain’s most important industries and a growing source of employment (supporting an estimated 1 million jobs in 1985).
In certain regions, older industries, such as coal, steel, shipbuilding and textiles, have steadily declined. As a result unemployment is far higher in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the north of England. The Government has therefore provided various incentives to encourage industrial development in “assisted areas”.
In addition to these structural changes there have also been important changes in ownership. The Thatcher Government returned many of the nationalised industries, such as British Airways, British Gas and British Telecom, to the private sector, although other industries in the same sectors, such as British Rail, British Coal and the Post Office, are still publicly owned. There has also been a growing trend towards the formation of massive international corporations through merges and acquisitions.
Less than 3% of the working population (around 690,000 people) is employed in agriculture in Britain, yet the industry produces nearly two-thirds of Britain’s food requirements, with gross output accounting for about 4% of the country’s GDP. Just over three-quarters of the land in Britain is used for agriculture. About three-fifths of full-time farms are devoted to dairying or beef cattle and sheep. The majority of sheep and cattle are reared in the hill and moorland areas of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and south-western England. The farms devoted primarily to arable crops are found mainly in eastern and central southern England. Pig production occurs in most areas, but particularly important in eastern and northern England. Britain is also broadly self-sufficient in poultry meat and eggs.
Britain is one of Europe’s most important fishing nations. The fishing industry provides about 66% of British fish supplies and it is an important source of employment (16,150 fishermen in regular employment) and income in a number of ports.
Woodland covers an estimated 2.1 million hectares in Great Britain, but the rate of new planting – especially by private owners – is growing and home timber production is expected to double over the next 20 years (at present it provides only 10% of the nation’s requirements).
|
|
|
The Constitution
The British Constitution is an unwritten constitution, not being contained in a single legal document. It is based on status and important documents (such as the Magna Carta), case law (decisions taken by courts of law on constitutional matters), customs and conventions, and can be modified by a simple Act of Parliament like any other law. It contains two main principles – the rule of law (i.e. that everyone, whatever his or her station, is subject to the law) and the supremacy of Parliament, which implies that there is no body that can declare the activities of Parliament unconstitutional. The constitutional safeguard of the separation of powers between the Legislature (the two Houses of Parliament), which makes law, the Executive (the Government), which puts laws into effect and plans policy, and the Judiciary, which interprets laws and decides on cases arising out of the laws, is only theoretical.
Exercise
|
|
|
