The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign state in the European Union. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, it includes the island of "Great Britain" (a term also applied loosely to refer to the whole country), the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands.Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to its east, the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south-southwest. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 93,800 square miles (243,000 km2), the UK is the 80th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also is the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 64.5 million inhabitants.
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. Its capital city is London, an important global city and financial centre with an urban population of 10,310,000, the fourth-largest in Europe and second-largest in the European Union. The current monarch—since 6 February 1952—is Queen Elizabeth II. The UK consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The latter three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast, respectively. The nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the United Kingdom, being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation.
The United Kingdom is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe.
United Kingdom may also refer to:
United Kingdom is the fourth album by American Music Club. It was recorded primarily for the UK, where the band had a larger following than in their native USA, and consists of a mixture of studio and live tracks. The LP was produced by Tom Mallon who also produced the band's previous three LPs, The Restless Stranger, Engine and California. United Kingdom contained the song "Kathleen", the most obvious of many that Mark Eitzel has composed about his long-term muse, Kathleen Burns.
All songs written by Mark Eitzel.
Law enforcement is any system by which some members of society act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. Although the term may encompass entities such as courts and prisons, it is most frequently applied to those who directly engage in patrols or surveillance to dissuade and discover criminal activity, and those who investigate crimes and apprehend offenders, a task typically carried out by the police or another law enforcement agency. Furthermore, although law enforcement may be most concerned with the prevention and punishment of crimes, organizations exist to discourage a wide variety of non-criminal violations of rules and norms, effected through the imposition of less severe consequences.
Most law enforcement is conducted by some type of law enforcement agency, with the most typical agency fulfilling this role being the police. Societal investment in enforcement through such organizations can be massive, both in terms of the resources invested in the activity, and in the number of people professionally engaged to perform those functions.
Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Most law enforcement is carried out by police officers serving in regional police forces within one of these jurisdictions. These regional forces are complemented by UK-wide agencies, such as the National Crime Agency, and specialist bodies hosted by regional police forces, such as the Specialist Operations directorate of the Metropolitan Police.
Police officers are granted certain powers to enable them to execute their duties. Their primary duties are the protection of life and property, preservation of the peace, and prevention and detection of criminal offences. In the British model of policing, officers exercise their powers to police with the implicit consent of the public. "Policing by consent" is the phrase used to describe this. It expresses that the legitimacy of policing in the eyes of the public is based upon a general consensus of support that follows from transparency about their powers, their integrity in exercising those powers and their accountability for doing so.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established on 1 January 1801 under the terms of the Acts of Union 1800, by which the nominally separate kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were united. In 1922, twenty-six of thirty-two counties of Ireland seceded to form the Irish Free State (later becoming the Republic of Ireland) and, to reflect the change in the United Kingdom's boundaries, the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 formally amended the name of the UK Parliament to the "Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".
The period began with the newly formed United Kingdom defeating the French Empire in 1814 in the Napoleonic Wars. As a direct result of this, the British Empire became the foremost world power for the next century. Great Britain and the northeast of Ireland industrialised rapidly, whereas the rest of Ireland did not, deepening economic and social disparities between them. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the mid-19th century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland, and increased calls for Irish land reform and the devolution of executive power. During and after the Great War, the rise of Irish nationalism and physical force republicanism eventually culminated in the Irish War of Independence, and in 1922 the partition of Ireland between the newly founded Irish Free State and the northeast, which opted to remain part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland.
The United Kingdom Pavilion is a United Kingdom-themed pavilion that is part of the World Showcase, within Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Its location is between the French and Canadian Pavilions.
The United Kingdom Pavilion, designed to look like a stereotypical British village, has English gardens including a hedge maze.
The shops sell British items, such as tea, toys, clothing, and Beatles merchandise.
A band called the British Revolution performed British rock music covers from acts such as the Police, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Blur, and Led Zeppelin.
A comedic group, known as the World Showcase Players, used to perform humorous and interactive versions of "King Arthur and the Holy Grail" and "Romeo and Juliet" (renamed "Romeo and Edna").
There's a gang I've just joined
There's a gang I've just joined
Three million strong you'd agree
Four million strong you'd agree
Enrollment was easy, so easy
Getting out proves to be the difficulty
From land's end to john o'groats
From land's end to john o'groats
They are making ends meet
Mending holes in their coat
Fasting and feasting on bread and margarine
Burning dreams build upon buried hopes
United kingdom - you'd better ring them
You've a solution - you better bring them
United kingdom - united kingdom
You've a solution - you better bring them
Opportunity, I guess they all came and went
Finding it hard
Finding the rent you'll find it funny
With your finger running down
Situations vacant
In school he was an athlete
Now he's not so self-assured
"after all of these o-levels is this my reward? "
There's a silent majority, that's seen and
Never heard from charles i, charles ii
To charles iii
United kingdom - you'd better ring them
You've a solution - you better bring them
United kingdom - united kingdom
This busted, rusted, upper-crusted
Bankrupted done and dusted
No-man-to-be-trusted united kingdom
Proud to stand beneath the union jack?
Happy dealing up a no ace pack?
Polishing black boots
Priming the riot squad
There go I but for the grace of god
Covering up the agony with mindless entertainment
You'll be happy when they're ripping up the pavement
Bringing down the axe on steelworks and foundries
Someone said love knows no boundaries
Close your eyes and think of england
Lie back and think of her
United kingdom - you better ring them