Political, Social, and Economic Environments of the United Kingdom

December 2, 2010

Political, Social, and Economic Environments of the United Kingdom Historically, the United Kingdom has been one of the dominant world powers. While much of their power has declined over the course of the last 100 years, the UK remains a relevant western power in today’s world. The reason for this are varied between their political and legal history, social environment and economic status in today’s world.
Political and Legal History Prior to 1707, the nations that currently make up the UK were each separate states. On May 1, 1707, the UK was formed by the unification of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Wales by the Act of Unions (Duncan 2010). This act formally joined all three kingdoms located on the British Isle under the same crown and government, with England remaining the most powerful entity within the UK. Also formed under the Act of Unions was the Parliament at Westminster, the UK’s main political body and rough equivalent to the United States’ Congress (Duncan 2010). Nearly 100 years later, the kingdom of Ireland joined the UK under the Union with Ireland Act of 1800 (Office of Public Sector Information). While Ireland would remain a part of the UK for over 120 years, they would leave the UK on December 6, 1921 as part of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (Factindex.com 1). During Ireland’s exit from the UK, the subdivisions of Ireland had to each approve the move to leave the UK. Because of this, some of the territory of Northern Ireland refused to approve this measure, and returned to the UK two days later (Factindex.com 1). Today, the territories of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland make up the UK. Prior to 1945, the UK was one of the most active nations in the world as an imperial power. During the UK’s colonial reign, they controlled an empire