The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,m is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland,n with a population of over 69 million in 2024. The capital and largest city of both England and the UK is London; Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
She also announced measures to ease the financial pressure on households, by freezing rail fares and cutting levies on household energy bills. But the chaos that has engulfed the government during weeks of mixed messaging and political infighting continued up to the final moment. The entire contents of the budget were leaked half an hour before Treasury chief Rachel Reeves delivered the budget statement in the House of Commons. Prof Peter Murphy says working together would give the islands more influence in negotiations.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Other major cities include Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester in England, Belfast and Londonderry in Northern Ireland, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, and Swansea and Cardiff in Wales. The UK became the first industrialised country and was the world’s foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the Pax Britannica between 1815 and 1914. At its height in the 1920s, the empire encompassed almost a quarter of the world’s landmass and population, and was the largest empire in history. However, its involvement in the First World War and in the Second World War damaged Britain’s economic power, and a global wave of decolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. Like the Retail Price Index, the Consumer Price Index inflation rate also reached a recent peak in October 2022.
- The nearby island polities of the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey are crown dependencies, in union with the British monarch, but do not strictly form part of the United Kingdom or any of its three jurisdictions or four countries, although the British government retains responsibility for their external affairs.
- This was followed by energy and food inflation skyrocketing after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Although Labour ruled out raising the main government tax sources, Income Tax, National Insurance, and VAT, at the 2024 election, they did raise National Insurance for employers (rather than employees) and also cut Winter Fuel allowances for large numbers of pensioners.
- Upland areas include the Lake District, the Pennines, the Yorkshire Dales, Exmoor and Dartmoor.
- In London, the average annual salary was far higher than the rest of the country, at 47,455 pounds per year, compared with just 32,960 in North East England.
The peoples who, over the centuries, have hewed an existence from this Atlantic extremity of Eurasia have put their own imprint non gamstop casinos on the environment, and the ancient and distinctive palimpsest of their field patterns and settlements complements the natural diversity. The next election doesn’t have to be held until 2029, and the government continues to hope that its economic measures will spur higher growth and ease financial pressures. The budget is a high-stakes moment for Reeves and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is facing mounting concern from Labour lawmakers over his dire poll ratings.
Land
One noticeable anomaly during this period was in December 2015, when the average daily temperature reached 9.5 degrees Celsius. This month also experienced the highest monthly rainfall in the UK since before 2014, with England, Wales, and Scotland suffering widespread flooding. This statistic is using original data from the Office for National Statistics and includes copyright material from © Crown, licensed under the Open Government License v3.0.
List of Largest Cities in the United Kingdom
The archipelago formed by Great Britain and the numerous smaller islands is as irregular in shape as it is diverse in geology and landscape. This diversity stems largely from the nature and disposition of the underlying rocks, which are westward extensions of European structures, with the shallow waters of the Strait of Dover and the North Sea concealing former land links. Britain’s public finances, like those of other nations, have been squeezed in recent years by the costs of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Northern Ireland also has symbols, many of which are shared with the Republic of Ireland. Although the Retail Price Index is a commonly utilized inflation indicator, the UK also uses a newer method of calculating inflation, the Consumer Price Index. The CPI, along with the CPIH (Consumer Price Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs) are usually preferred by the UK government, but the RPI is still used in certain instances. Increases in rail fares for example, are calculated using the RPI, while increases in pension payments are calculated using CPI, when this is used as the uprating factor.
The north of England has many mountains and lakes, like Windermere, the largest lake in England. A dynamic port city with a colourful past, Belfast is a vibrant cultural hub on Northern Ireland’s eastern coast. A quirky seaside city filled with diverse cuisine, vintage shopping and adrenaline-fuelled adventure. But speculation is swirling about a potential challenge to Starmer’s leadership from within his party, and analysts say a misfiring budget could add to the sense of crisis within the government. Then, the entire fiscal forecast from the independent watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), including details of the budget’s main measures, was published online half an hour before Reeves’ statement. Reeves also abolished a much-hated cap on benefits paid out to families with more than two children.