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.
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but its majority now stood at 66 seats compared to the 160-seat majority it had previously held. It remains the last Labour general election victory in the UK.
The Labour campaign emphasised a strong economy; however, Blair had suffered a decline in popularity even before the decision to send British troops to invade Iraq in 2003. The Conservative Party, led by Michael Howard since late 2003, campaigned on policies, such as immigration limits, improving poorly managed hospitals and reducing high crime rates, all under the slogan 'Are you thinking what we're thinking?'. The Liberal Democrats, led by Charles Kennedy, were opposed to the Iraq War given there had been no second UN resolution, and collected votes from disenchanted Labour voters.
Tony Blair was returned as Prime Minister, with Labour having 355 MPs but with a popular vote of 35.2%, the lowest of any majority government in British history. In terms of votes they were only narrowly ahead of the Conservatives, but still had a comfortable lead in terms of seats. The Conservatives had 198 MPs, 32 more than they had previously, and won the popular vote in England, while still ending up with 91 fewer MPs in England than Labour. The Liberal Democrats saw their popular vote increase by 3.7% and won the most seats for any third party since 1923, with 62 MPs. Former Labour MP and anti-war activist George Galloway was elected as a member of the Commons under the Respect – The Unity Coalition banner, and two single area party candidates were elected: Blaenau Gwent People's Voice and Kidderminster Health Concern in Worcestershire.
These are the collated results of the United Kingdom general election, 2005 in the city of Glasgow in Scotland.
For individual results see Results of the United Kingdom general election, 2005.
This summary does not include the Scottish National Party gain at the Glasgow East by-election, 2008
For other collated results see:
The results of the 2005 United Kingdom general election in Cornwall were all announced on Friday 6 May 2005.
The United Kingdom general election of 2010 was held on Thursday, 6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom under the first-past-the-post system. None of the parties achieved the 326 seats needed for an overall majority. The Conservative Party, led by David Cameron, won the largest number of votes and seats but still fell 20 seats short. This resulted in a hung parliament where no party was able to command a majority in the House of Commons. This was only the second general election since World War II to return a hung parliament, the first being the February 1974 election. Unlike in 1974, the potential for a hung parliament had this time been widely considered and predicted and both the country and politicians were better prepared for the constitutional process that would follow such a result. The coalition government that was subsequently formed was the first coalition in British history to eventuate directly from an election outcome.
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