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124-550: In the United Kingdom , acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Consolidation of the statute book has been discussed since at least the 16th-century and the reformation . In 1549, the House of Commons sent a proposal to the House of Lords that the statute law "should be digested into a body under titles and heads and put into good Latin", in imitation of Roman law . In 1551, in his Discourse on

248-828: A fair trial . The English monarchs, through inheritance of substantial territories in France and claims to the French crown, were also heavily involved in conflicts in France, most notably the Hundred Years' War , while the Kings of Scots were in an alliance with the French during this period. Early modern Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation and the introduction of Protestant state churches in each country. The English Reformation ushered in political, constitutional, social and cultural change in

372-521: A subpolar oceanic climate . Higher elevations in Scotland experience a continental subarctic climate and the mountains experience a tundra climate . The prevailing wind is from the southwest and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean, although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind. Since the majority of the rain falls over the western regions,

496-604: A welfare state was established, and a comprehensive, publicly funded healthcare system, the National Health Service , was created. The rise of nationalism in the colonies coincided with Britain's much-diminished economic position, so that a policy of decolonisation was unavoidable. Independence was granted to India and Pakistan in 1947. Over the next three decades, most colonies of the British Empire gained their independence, and many became members of

620-654: A "Copy of the Memorandum of the Attorney-general as to the plan of proceeding in Consolidation of the Statutes". The memorandum, dated 2 April 1856, was published on 9 May 1856. Attorney General , Alexander Cockburn , proposed a plan of proceeding for the consolidation of the statutes, remarking that: "In order to form a correct judgment as to the course of proceeding which it is expedient to adopt in

744-482: A Method and Head as may conduce to the more ready Understanding and better Execution of such Laws." The committee consisted of the Solicitor General , Heneage Finch , Serjeant John Maynard , Sir Robert Atkins , William Prynne and others. Nothing came of the work of the committee, and this was the last recorded effort of statute law revision by Parliament for some time. Blackstone 's Commentaries on

868-481: A digest of the statutes, which was declared "very expedient to be done." However, this was never done. In 1822, Sir Robert Peel entered the cabinet as home secretary and in 1826 introduced a number of reforms to the English criminal law , to modernise, consolidate and repeal provisions from a large number of earlier statutes . These acts, known as Peel's Acts , included: In 1828, Henry Brougham MP made

992-529: A draft bill digesting criminal law and procedure. However, the ambition for such a comprehensive legal was dissipating. Lord Brougham introduced a bill embodying the digest, but it was withdrawn on an undertaking by Brougham's opponent, Lord Lyndhurst , that a second Commission would be appointed to revise it. The Royal Commission on Revising and Consolidating the Criminal Law was established in 1845 and issued its final report in 1849. In autumn of 1852,

1116-507: A famous six-hour speech in the House of Commons , considered to be the longest in the history of Parliament , which paid tribute to Bentham and set in motion reform of the British legal system. Following the fall of Wellington 's administration, Brougham became Lord Chancellor and made codification a matter of official policy. The Royal Commission on the Criminal Law was established in 1833 and issued its final report in 1845, proposing

1240-816: A land border with the Republic of Ireland ; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , the North Sea , the English Channel , the Celtic Sea , and the Irish Sea . The United Kingdom had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom is London , whose wider metropolitan area is

1364-399: A leading role in the movement to abolish slavery worldwide through the blockade of Africa and pressing other nations to end their trade with a series of treaties. In 1800 the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland each passed an Act of Union, uniting the two kingdoms and creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801. After the defeat of France at the end of

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1488-546: A manuscript collection of the statutes kept by Michael Heneage , Keeper of the Tower Records , which have since been lost. Speaking in Parliament in 1609, King James I , proposing reform to the statutes, speaking from the throne of: "divers cross and cuffing statutes, and some so penned that they may be taken in divers, yea, contrary senses... therefore would I wish both these statutes and reports, as well in

1612-405: A parallel. A life of labour scarcely suffices to the professional lawyer to master, even imperfectly, this vast amount of legal learning; while to the body of the people, whose rights and duties are to be determined, and whose conduct is to be regulated by the law, that law is practically a sealed book. The time is at length come for remedying, at least in part, this mighty grievance. Although it

1736-853: A policy of splendid isolation in Europe, and attempted to contain Russian influence in Afghanistan and Persia , in what came to be known as the Great Game . During this time, Canada , Australia and New Zealand were granted self-governing dominion status. At the turn of the century, Britain's industrial dominance became challenged by the German Empire and the United States . The Edwardian era saw social reform and home rule for Ireland become important domestic issues, while

1860-410: A proposal "touching the compiling and amendment of the laws of England". Bacon recommended a reform of all the statute law (and penal laws in particular), proposing that "the work to be done consisteth of two parts, the digest or recompiling of the common laws, and that of the statutes". For the common law, Bacon proposed three steps: For the statute law, Bacon proposed four steps: The work to reduce

1984-822: A quorum of five and the power to send for "papers, persons and records". Records of both committee, including proceedings and reports, were lost. After the Stuart Restoration , a committee was appointed in 1666 to "confer with such of the Lords, the Judges, and other Persons of the Long Robe, who have already Taken Pains and made progress in perusing the Statute Laws; and to consider of repealing such former Statute Laws as they had to be repealed; and of Expedients for reducing all Statute Laws of one Nature under such

2108-507: A result of a shortage of workers in the 1950s, the government encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries . In the following decades, the UK became a more multi-ethnic society. Despite rising living standards in the late 1950s and 1960s, the UK's economic performance was less successful than many of its main competitors such as France, West Germany and Japan. The UK was the first democratic nation to lower its voting age to 18 in 1969. In

2232-811: A series of connected wars (including the English Civil War ) which led to the temporary overthrow of the monarchy, with the execution of King Charles I , and the establishment of the short-lived unitary republic of the Commonwealth of England , Scotland and Ireland. Although the monarchy was restored , the Interregnum along with the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the subsequent Bill of Rights 1689 in England and Claim of Right Act 1689 in Scotland ensured that, unlike much of

2356-774: A worthy worke, and well deserves a Parliament to be set of purpose for it" In 1610, the House of Commons , with permission of the House of Lords on 23 July 1610, petitioned the crown to appoint a commission to "make a diligent Survey of all the Penal Statutes of this Realm, to the End that such as are obsolete or unprofitable may be repealed; and that, for the better Ease and Certainty of the Subject, all such as are profitable, concerning One Matter, may be reduced into One Statute, to be passed in Parliament." In 1616, Sir Francis Bacon , then Attorney General , submitted to King James I

2480-425: Is of itself a circumstance that affords an irresistible argument for the necessity of doing something, but independently of their enormous quantity, there are other reasons which suggest themselves. They are in a most repulsive form: there is no classification, but they are huddled together in the most complex fashion." Lord Cranworth went further, proposing steps towards a Code Victoria : "The mere enumeration of

2604-481: Is only the one specific nominal term 'Great Britain' which invariably excludes Northern Ireland". The BBC historically preferred to use "Britain" as shorthand only for Great Britain, though the present style guide does not take a position except that "Great Britain" excludes Northern Ireland. The adjective "British" is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United Kingdom and is used in law to refer to United Kingdom citizenship and nationality . People of

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2728-538: Is ranked 2nd out of 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index . A law has been passed that UK greenhouse gas emissions will be net zero by 2050. England accounts for 53 per cent of the UK, covering 50,350 square miles (130,395 km ). Most of the country consists of lowland terrain, with upland and mountainous terrain northwest of the Tees–Exe line which roughly divides

2852-599: Is sometimes used as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom as a whole. The word England is occasionally used incorrectly to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole, a mistake principally made by people from outside the UK. The term "Britain" is used as a synonym for Great Britain , but also sometimes for the United Kingdom. Usage is mixed: the UK Government prefers to use the term "UK" rather than "Britain" or "British" on its website (except when referring to embassies), while acknowledging that both terms refer to

2976-581: Is still deemed too difficult a task to attempt to embody, in the more tangible form of writing, the floating rules of the unwritten law, we are called upon by the high authority of the Crown to devise means for reducing into shape and order the heterogeneous mass of written laws which now swell and encumber our Statute Book." The Attorney General criticised the course of action proposed by the Commission, which recommended selecting particular sets or bundles of

3100-579: Is the Isle of Wight . Scotland accounts for 32 per cent of the UK, covering 30,410 square miles (78,772 km ). This includes nearly 800 islands , notably the Hebrides , Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. Scotland is the most mountainous constituent country of the UK, the Highlands to the north and west are the more rugged region containing the majority of Scotland's mountainous land, including

3224-705: Is the highest peak in Wales. Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,704 kilometres) of coastline including the Pembrokeshire Coast . Several islands lie off the Welsh mainland, the largest of which is Anglesey ( Ynys Môn ). Penal law (British) In English history , the penal laws were a series of laws that sought to enforce the State-decreed religious monopoly of the Church of England and, following

3348-562: The 1688 revolution , of Presbyterianism in Scotland , against the continued existence of illegal and underground communities of Catholics , nonjuring Anglicans , and Protestant nonconformists . The Penal laws also imposed various forfeitures , civil penalties , and civil disabilities upon recusants from mandatory attendance at weekly Sunday services of the Established Church . The penal laws in general were repealed in

3472-588: The 1884 Reform Act championed by William Gladstone granting suffrage to a majority of males for the first time. The British population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation , causing significant social and economic stresses. By the late 19th century, the Conservatives under Benjamin Disraeli and Lord Salisbury initiated a period of imperial expansion in Africa , maintained

3596-534: The Atlantic slave trade , mainly between 1662 and 1807 when British or British-colonial slave ships transported nearly 3.3 million slaves from Africa. The slaves were taken to work on plantations , principally in the Caribbean but also North America . However, with pressure from the abolitionism movement , Parliament banned the trade in 1807, banned slavery in the British Empire in 1833, and Britain took

3720-650: The Battle of Culloden in 1746, after which the Scottish Highlanders were forcibly assimilated into Scotland by revoking the feudal independence of clan chiefs . The British colonies in North America that broke away in the American War of Independence became the United States . British imperial ambition turned towards Asia, particularly to India . British merchants played a leading part in

3844-710: The British Empire until King George III ascended to the throne and allowed the Tories back into the Government in 1763. Even then, the Whig party remained a political monolith and only fragmented in response to the American and French Revolutions . The Penal Laws were introduced into Ireland in the year 1695, disenfranchising nonconformists in favour of the minority established Church of Ireland , aligned with

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3968-663: The Cairngorms , Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and Ben Nevis which at 1,345 metres (4,413 ft) is the highest point in the British Isles. Wales accounts for less than 9 per cent of the UK, covering 8,020 square miles (20,779 km ). Wales is mostly mountainous, though South Wales is less mountainous than North and mid Wales . The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia and include Snowdon ( Welsh : Yr Wyddfa ) which, at 1,085 metres (3,560 ft),

4092-523: The Commonwealth of Nations . The UK was the third country to develop a nuclear weapons arsenal (with its first atomic bomb test, Operation Hurricane , in 1952), but the post-war limits of Britain's international role were illustrated by the Suez Crisis of 1956. The international spread of the English language ensured the continuing international influence of its literature and culture . As

4216-610: The Disarming Act of 1716. The Papists Act 1732 ( 6 Geo. 2 . c. 5) was an Act of Parliament passed by the Parliament of Great Britain during the reign of George II . Its long title was "An Act for allowing further time for the Inrolment of Deeds and Wills made by Papists, and for Relief of Protestant Purchasers and Lessees". The Whig single party state would continue to dominate the political and religious life of

4340-767: The European Convention on Human Rights . The UK remained a great power with global diplomatic and military influence and a leading role in the United Nations and NATO . The UK broadly supported the United States' approach to the " war on terror " in the early 21st century. British troops fought in the War in Afghanistan , but controversy surrounded Britain's military deployment in Iraq , which saw

4464-583: The European Union (EU) in 1992, the UK was one of the 12 founding member states. From the late 1960s, Northern Ireland suffered communal and paramilitary violence (sometimes affecting other parts of the UK) conventionally known as the Troubles . It is usually considered to have ended with the 1998 Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement . Following a period of widespread economic slowdown and industrial strife in

4588-494: The Falkland Islands , leading to the 10-week Falklands War in which Argentine forces were defeated. The inhabitants of the islands are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and strongly favour British sovereignty, expressed in a 2013 referendum . From 1984, the UK economy was helped by the inflow of substantial North Sea oil revenues. Another British overseas territory, Gibraltar , ceded to Great Britain in

4712-606: The First Statute of Repeal ( 1 Mar. Sess. 2 . c. 2). Restoring England, Wales and Ireland to the Roman Catholic Church. An English inquisition was established to identify, exile, convert, or prosecute non-conforming Catholics, with over 300 Protestant dissenters branded heretics, and killed, and many more exiled in her five-year reign. A list of Protestant martyrs of the English Reformation

4836-482: The French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815), the United Kingdom emerged as the principal naval and imperial power (with London the largest city in the world from about 1830). Unchallenged at sea , British dominance was later described as Pax Britannica ("British Peace"), a period of relative peace among the great powers (1815–1914) during which the British Empire became

4960-662: The Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united under the Treaty of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain . The Acts of Union 1800 incorporated the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922 as the Irish Free State , and the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present United Kingdom. The UK became

5084-463: The Labour Party emerged from an alliance of trade unions and small socialist groups in 1900, and suffragettes campaigned for women's right to vote. Britain was one of the principal Allies that defeated the Central Powers in the First World War (1914–1918). Alongside their French, Russian and (after 1917) American counterparts, British armed forces were engaged across much of the British Empire and in several regions of Europe, particularly on

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5208-443: The Lord Chancellor , Edward Sugden, 1st Baron St Leonards , directed James John Lonsdale and Charles Greaves to prepare Bills for the codification of criminal law based on the reports of the Criminal Law Commissioners. Two major Bills based on the work of the Commission covering offences against the person and larceny were introduced in 1853 and continued under Lord Cranworth . The bills made no progress, principally because of

5332-916: The Lord Chief Baron , Richard Lane , Sir Walter Ralegh , Colonel Henry Bennet , Walter Strickland , Augustine Garland , John Dove , Sir John Corbet , Sir Henry Heyman , Robert Dormer, 1st Earl of Carnarvon , William Bond, Sir Gilbert Pickering , Colonel Philip Jones , Sir Henry Mildmay , Colonel John Feilder , Colonel Nathaniel Rich , Sir Arthure Hesibrig , Colonel Richard Norton and John Cook . On 17 January 1651, Colonel Thomas Blunt , Sir Henry Blunt , Josias Berners , Major General John Desboroe , Samuel Moyer , Colonel Matthew Tomlinson , John Fountaine , Alderman John Fowke , Hugh Peters , Major William Packer , Sir William Roberts , William Methold , John Mansell, John Rushworth , John Sparrow , Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper , Sir Matthew Hale , William Steele , Recorder of London , Charles George Cock , Thomas Manby, John Sadler and John Berners were added to

5456-405: The Representation of the People Act 1918 . After the war, Britain became a permanent member of the Executive Council of the League of Nations and received a mandate over a number of former German and Ottoman colonies. Under the leadership of David Lloyd George , the British Empire reached its greatest extent, covering a fifth of the world's land surface and a quarter of its population. By

5580-425: The Royal Commission for Consolidating the Statute Law to consolidate existing statutes and enactments of English law . The Commission made four reports dated 10 July 1855, 5 March 1856, 11 June 1857 and 21 June 1859. Following the Commission's second report, which recommended the appointment of an officer or board to revise and improve current legislation, the House of Commons resolved on 25 April 1856, requesting

5704-463: The Soviet Union formed in 1941, leading the Allies against the Axis powers . There were eventual hard-fought victories in the Battle of the Atlantic , the North Africa campaign and the Italian campaign . British forces played important roles in the Normandy landings of 1944 and the liberation of Europe . The British Army led the Burma campaign against Japan, and the British Pacific Fleet fought Japan at sea. British scientists contributed to

5828-452: The United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a country in Northwestern Europe , off the coast of the continental mainland . It comprises England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland . The UK includes the island of Great Britain , the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland , and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles , making up a total area of 94,354 square miles (244,376 km ). Northern Ireland shares

5952-426: The United Kingdom . The committee reported on 5 December 1796, making recommendations for the increased printing and distribution of public acts and for the improved drafting of temporary law . The work of both committees drew attention to the unsatisfactory state of the statute book . Following a resolution of the House of Commons on 20 March 1797 that " His Majesty's Printer should also be authorized to class

6076-449: The Western Front . The high fatalities of trench warfare caused the loss of much of a generation of men, with lasting social effects in the nation and a great disruption in the social order. Britain had suffered 2.5 million casualties and finished the war with a huge national debt. The consequences of the war persuaded the government to expand the right to vote in national and local elections to all adult men and most adult women with

6200-408: The coastline paradox . It is connected to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel , which at 31 miles (50 km) (24 miles (38 km) underwater) is the longest underwater tunnel in the world. The UK contains four terrestrial ecoregions: Celtic broadleaf forests , English Lowlands beech forests , North Atlantic moist mixed forests , and Caledonian conifer forests . The area of woodland in

6324-436: The largest protest in British history in opposition to the government led by Tony Blair . The Great Recession severely affected the UK economy. The Cameron–Clegg coalition government of 2010 introduced austerity measures intended to tackle the substantial public deficits. Studies have suggested that policy led to significant social disruption and suffering. A referendum on Scottish independence in 2014 resulted in

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6448-512: The 16th century and established the Church of England . Moreover, it defined a national identity for England and slowly, but profoundly, changed people's religious beliefs. Wales was fully incorporated into the Kingdom of England , and Ireland was constituted as a kingdom in personal union with the English crown. In what was to become Northern Ireland, the lands of the independent Catholic Gaelic nobility were confiscated and given to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland. In 1603,

6572-401: The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, is a key military base . A referendum in 2002 on shared sovereignty with Spain was rejected by 98.97% of voters in the territory. Around the end of the 20th century, there were major changes to the governance of the UK with the establishment of devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The statutory incorporation followed acceptance of

6696-406: The 1970s, the Conservative government of the 1980s led by Margaret Thatcher initiated a radical policy of monetarism , deregulation, particularly of the financial sector (for example, the Big Bang in 1986) and labour markets, the sale of state-owned companies (privatisation), and the withdrawal of subsidies to others. In 1982, Argentina invaded the British territories of South Georgia and

6820-476: The 5th century) united with the Picts to create the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century. In 1066, the Normans invaded England from northern France. After conquering England , they seized large parts of Wales , conquered much of Ireland and were invited to settle in Scotland, bringing to each country feudalism on the Northern French model and Norman-French culture. The Anglo-Norman ruling class greatly influenced, but eventually assimilated with,

6944-464: The Brittonic area mainly to what was to become Wales , Cornwall and, until the latter stages of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, the Hen Ogledd (northern England and parts of southern Scotland). Most of the region settled by the Anglo-Saxons became unified as the Kingdom of England in the 10th century. Meanwhile, Gaelic speakers in north-west Britain (with connections to the north-east of Ireland and traditionally supposed to have migrated from there in

7068-403: The Consolidation of the Statutes, it is, in the first place, necessary to have a clear view of what is the true nature and extent of the work which the Commission is called upon to execute. It will then be seen how far what has hitherto been proposed is adequate to the magnitude and importance of the work to be accomplished. To me, I must acknowledge, it appears that the view which has been taken of

7192-411: The Laws of England , published in the late 18th-century , raised questions about the system and structure of the common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book . On 12 April 1796, the Select Committee on Temporary Laws, Expired or Expiring was appointed to inspect and consider temporary laws , expired or expiring. The committee reported on 12 May 1796, resolving that it

7316-452: The Manhattan Project whose task was to build an atomic weapon. Once built, it was decided, with British consent, to use the weapon against Japan. The UK was one of the Big Three powers (along with the US and the Soviet Union) who met to plan the post-war world ; it drafted the Declaration by United Nations with the United States and became one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council . It worked closely with

7440-425: The Name of Great Britain". The term "United Kingdom" has occasionally been used as a description for the former Kingdom of Great Britain , although its official name from 1707 to 1800 was simply "Great Britain". The Acts of Union 1800 formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Following the partition of Ireland and the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as

7564-411: The Normans conquered England . With the end of the Wars of the Roses the English state stabilised and began to grow in power, resulting by the 16th century in the annexation of Wales , the domination of Scotland , and the establishment of the British Empire . Over the course of the 17th century, the role of the British monarchy was reduced, particularly as a result of the English Civil War . In 1707,

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7688-487: The Parliament as common law, to be once maturely reviewed and reconciled ; and that not only all contrarieties should be scraped out of our bookes, but even that such penal statutes as were made but for the use of the time (from breach whereof not man can be free) which dos not now agree with the condition of this our time, might likewise be left out of our bookes, which under a tyrannous or avaricious king could not be endured. And this reformation might (me thinkes) bee made

7812-439: The Protestant Church of England . The laws' principal victims were members of the Catholic Church , numbering over three quarters of the population in the south, and adherents of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland , a majority of the population in Ulster . These laws included: The laws were eventually repealed, beginning in the 1770s by the 1774 Quebec Act and the Papists Act 1778 . The British Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791

7936-451: The Reformation of Abuses, King Edward VI , then aged 14, wrote: "I have showed my opinion heretofore of the statutes I think most necessary to be enacted this Session. Nevertheless, I would wish that besides them and hereafter, when time shall serve, the superfluous and tedious statutes were brought into one sum together, and made more plain and short, to the intent that men might better understand them; which thing shall much help to advance

8060-495: The Scottish electorate voting by 55.3 to 44.7% to remain part of the United Kingdom. In 2016, 51.9 per cent of voters in the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union . The UK left the EU in 2020. On 1 May 2021, the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force. The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the UK's economy , caused major disruptions to education and had far-reaching impacts on society and politics in 2020 and 2021. The United Kingdom

8184-489: The Second World War damaged Britain's economic power and a global wave of decolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy . The UK has three distinct jurisdictions: England and Wales , Scotland , and Northern Ireland . Since 1999, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own governments and parliaments which control various devolved matters. A developed country ,

8308-430: The UK has the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP). It is a nuclear state , and is ranked fifth globally in military expenditure . The UK has been a permanent member of the UN Security Council since its first session in 1946. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , Council of Europe , G7 , OECD , NATO , Five Eyes , AUKUS and CPTPP . British influence can be observed in

8432-484: The UK in 2023 is estimated to be 3.25 million hectares, which represents 13% of the total land area in the UK. Most of the United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with generally cool temperatures and plentiful rainfall all year round. The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below 0  °C (32  °F ) or rising above 30 °C (86 °F). Some parts, away from the coast, of upland England, Wales, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland, experience

8556-433: The UK into lowland and upland areas. Lowland areas include Cornwall , the New Forest , the South Downs and the Norfolk Broads . Upland areas include the Lake District , the Pennines , the Yorkshire Dales , Exmoor , and Dartmoor . The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames , Severn , and the Humber . England's highest mountain is Scafell Pike , at 978 metres (3,209 ft) in the Lake District; its largest island

8680-414: The United Kingdom , formed in 1800, following the Acts of Union 1800 devoted much attention to the consolidation of public records. On 18 February 1800, the Select Committee on the State of Public Records was appointed to inquire into the state of public records in England , Scotland and Ireland . Following the report of the committee and humble address to the Sovereign from the House of Commons ,

8804-402: The United Kingdom and that elsewhere "British government" is used at least as frequently as "United Kingdom government". The UK Permanent Committee on Geographical Names recognises "United Kingdom", "UK" and "U.K." as shortened and abbreviated geopolitical terms for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in its toponymic guidelines; it does not list "Britain" but notes that "it

8928-411: The United Kingdom is 1339.7 hours, which is just under 30% of the maximum possible. The hours of sunshine vary from 1200 to about 1580 hours per year, and since 1996 the UK has been and still is receiving above the 1981 to 2010 average hours of sunshine. Climate change has a serious impact on the country. A third of food price rise in 2023 is attributed to climate change. As of 2022, the United Kingdom

9052-436: The United Kingdom use several different terms to describe their national identity and may identify themselves as being British , English , Scottish , Welsh , Northern Irish , or Irish ; or as having a combination of different national identities. Settlement by Cro-Magnons of what was to become the United Kingdom occurred in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago. The island has been continuously inhabited only since

9176-685: The United Kingdom. The 1928 Equal Franchise Act gave women electoral equality with men in national elections. Strikes in the mid-1920s culminated in the General Strike of 1926 . Britain had still not recovered from the effects of the First World War when the Great Depression (1929–1932) led to considerable unemployment and hardship in the old industrial areas, as well as political and social unrest with rising membership in communist and socialist parties. A coalition government

9300-640: The United States to establish the IMF , World Bank and NATO . The war left the UK severely weakened and financially dependent on the Marshall Plan , but it was spared the total war that devastated eastern Europe. In the immediate post-war years, the Labour government under Clement Attlee initiated a radical programme of reforms, which significantly impacted British society in the following decades . Major industries and public utilities were nationalised ,

9424-630: The Universities of Cambridge and Oxford . In the late 17th and 18th centuries, many non-conformist Protestants successfully evaded the political disabilities imposed by the Test Act by taking communion in the Church of England as required, while otherwise attending non-conformist meetings. High churchmen and Tories , empowered late in Queen Anne 's reign, sought to close this loophole with

9548-576: The acquisition and settlement of overseas colonies , particularly in North America and the Caribbean. Though previous attempts at uniting the two kingdoms within Great Britain in 1606, 1667, and 1689 had proved unsuccessful, the attempt initiated in 1705 led to the Treaty of Union of 1706 being agreed and ratified by both parliaments. On 1 May 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed,

9672-676: The appointment of commissioners to examine and establish ecclesiastical laws , named by both houses of parliament, to prepare bills for the purpose of consolidation. The commission most likely published a list based on this work by Sir Francis Bacon , held in the British Museum , of the statutes from 3 Edw. 1 to 2 Jas. 1 , describing repealed or expired statutes, as well as suggestions for further repeals, changes, and consolidation bills to replace them, with detailed reasons for each included in table form. Lord Bacon's fall from grace in 1621, as well as other more immediate priorities on

9796-568: The committee. They reported a revised system of the law to the House of Commons that year. The committee reported on 20–21 January 1652. On 19 December 1653, a second committee was appointed to consider a new model or body of the law, consisting of Colonel Edmund West , Praise-God Barebone , Sir Charles Wolseley, 2nd Baronet , William Spence, Nathaniel Taylor , Arthur Squib , Samuel Highland , William Kenrick , Colonel Thomas Blunt , Sir Gilbert Pickering, 3rd Baronet , Augustine Wingfield , Samuel Moyer and Major General Thomas Harrison , with

9920-736: The decades-long process of European integration , the UK was a founding member of the Western European Union , established with the London and Paris Conferences in 1954. In 1960 the UK was one of the seven founding members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), but in 1973 it left to join the European Communities (EC). In a 1975 referendum 67% voted to stay in it. When the EC became

10044-433: The early 19th-century due to the successful activism of Daniel O'Connell for Catholic Emancipation . Penal actions are civil in nature and were not English common law . In 1553, following the death of her half-brother, Edward VI , and deposing his choice of successor, Lady Jane Grey , Mary I of England seized the throne, and soon after repealed the religious legislation of her brother and father, Henry VIII , through

10168-483: The eastern parts are the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream , bring mild winters, especially in the west where winters are wet and even more so over high ground. Summers are warmest in the southeast of England and coolest in the north. Heavy snowfall can occur in winter and early spring on high ground, and occasionally settles to great depth away from the hills. The average total annual sunshine in

10292-485: The first Consolidation Acts , gave reasons for the expediency of consolidation. "Althoughe there remayne and stande in force pntly a greate nomber of Actes and Statutes concerning the reteyning departing wages and orders of Apprentices Servantes and Labourers, as well in Husbandrye as in divers other Artes Misteries and occupacons, yet ptly for thimperfeccon and contrarietie that ys founde and doo appeare in sundrye of

10416-662: The first Record Commission was established on 19 July 1800. Successive commissions were issued in 1806, 1817, 1821, 1825, 1831 and 1837. In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book. From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts. In 1816, both Houses of Parliament, passed resolutions that an eminent lawyer with 20 clerks be commissioned to make

10540-404: 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 British 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

10664-594: The first year, Britain and its Empire continued the war against Germany. Churchill engaged industry, scientists and engineers to support the government and the military in the prosecution of the war effort. In 1940, the Royal Air Force defeated the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain . Urban areas suffered heavy bombing during the Blitz . The Grand Alliance of Britain, the United States and

10788-587: The formal control it exerted over its own colonies, British dominance of much of world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of regions such as East Asia and Latin America . Throughout the Victorian era , political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies. Beginning with the Great Reform Act in 1832, Parliament gradually widened the voting franchise , with

10912-536: The general and the special statutes (viz. the public , local , and private acts ) of each session in separate volumes, and to number the chapters of each volume, together with a general table of all the acts passed in that session", the King's Printer adopted the classification for acts passed from the next session ( 38 Geo. 3 ) onwards. This led to the distinction now recognised between public general acts , local and personal acts and private acts . The Parliament of

11036-762: The global hegemon and adopted the role of global policeman. From 1853 to 1856, Britain took part in the Crimean War , allied with the Ottoman Empire against Tsarist Russia , participating in the naval battles of the Baltic Sea known as the Åland War in the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland , among others. Following the Indian Rebellion in 1857 , the British government led by Lord Palmerston assumed direct rule over India . Alongside

11160-403: The kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in a personal union when James VI, King of Scots , inherited the crowns of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London; each country nevertheless remained a separate political entity and retained its separate political, legal, and religious institutions. In the mid-17th century, all three kingdoms were involved in

11284-581: The largest in Western Europe , with a population of 14.9 million. The cities of Edinburgh , Cardiff , and Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, respectively. The lands of the UK have been inhabited continuously since the Neolithic . In AD 43 the Roman conquest of Britain began; the Roman departure was followed by Anglo-Saxon settlement . In 1066,

11408-408: The last retreat of the ice around 11,500 years ago. By the end of the region's prehistoric period , the population is thought to have belonged largely to a culture termed Insular Celtic , comprising Brittonic Britain and Gaelic Ireland . The Roman conquest , beginning in 43 AD, and the 400-year rule of southern Britain , was followed by an invasion by Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers, reducing

11532-409: The legal and political systems of many of its former colonies , and British culture remains globally influential, particularly in language , literature , music and sport . English is the world's most widely spoken language and the third-most spoken native language . The Acts of Union 1707 declared that the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland were "United into One Kingdom by

11656-530: The local cultures. Subsequent medieval English kings completed the conquest of Wales and tried unsuccessfully to annex Scotland . Asserting its independence in the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath , Scotland maintained its independence thereafter, albeit in near-constant conflict with England . In 1215 the Magna Carta was the first document to state that no government was above the law, that citizens have rights protecting them and that they were entitled to

11780-680: The major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the southeast coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel . The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London

11904-674: The mid-1920s, most of the British population could listen to BBC radio programmes. Experimental television broadcasts began in 1929 and the first scheduled BBC Television Service commenced in 1936. The rise of Irish nationalism , and disputes within Ireland over the terms of Irish Home Rule , led eventually to the partition of the island in 1921. A period of conflict in what is now Northern Ireland occurred from June 1920 until June 1922. The Irish Free State became independent, initially with Dominion status in 1922, and unambiguously independent in 1931 . Northern Ireland remained part of

12028-639: The most desirable, though hereto I have feared to be unattainable, a Code Victoria." In March 1853, Lord Cranworth appointment of the Board for the Revision of the Statute Law to repeal expired statutes and continue consolidation, with a wider remit that included civil law. The Board issued three reports dated 18 August 1853, 31 January 1854 and 2 June 1854, recommending the creation of a permanent body for statute law reform. In 1854, Lord Cranworth appointed

12152-483: The object has been too limited and narrow, and that the mode of proceeding has, in consequence, been far from commensurate to the magnitude of the undertaking. It can scarcely be denied that the state of the law of this country is discreditable to us as a great and enlightened people. Partly written, partly unwritten, that part of our law which is unwritten, is to be gathered from the decision sand dicta of judges, dispersed over many hundreds of volumes of reports, or from

12276-463: The only part of the island of Ireland within the United Kingdom, the name was changed in 1927 to the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also widely referred to as countries . The UK Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom. Some statistical summaries, such as those for

12400-481: The opinions of text writers, of various degrees of authority, contained in innumerable works; while the written law is scattered over thousands of statutes, strung together without any attempt at order or arrangement, and forming no less than forty ponderous volumes; the whole body of the law thus consisting a chaotic mass, to which the 'many camel-loads' of jurisprudence, of which the Roman jurists complained, hardly afford

12524-416: The parliamentary agenda, meant that his attempts at the revision of the statute law were not pursued. During the Commonwealth , in 1650 a committee was appointed, "to revise all former statutes and ordinances now in force and consider, as well, which are fit to be continued, altered or repealed, as how the same may be reduced into a compendious way and exact method for the more base and clear understanding of

12648-721: The passing of the Occasional Conformity Bill in 1711, however the Act was repealed after the Hanoverian Succession with the return to power of the Whig political party , who were generally allied with non-conforming Protestants. This led, as well, to a systematic political purge of both real and suspected Tories. In the wake of the Jacobite Rising of 1715 , the British parliament also passed

12772-873: The people." The membership of the committee included the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , Bulstrode Whitelock . The committee was empowered "to advise with the Judges, and to send for and to employ and call to their Assistance therein any other Persons whom they should think fit, for the better effecting thereof, and to prepare the same for the further Consideration of the House, and to make Report thereof". On 26 December 1651, Lord General Fairfax , John Carew , Lieutenant General Charles Fleetwood , Major General Thomas Harrison , Thomas Westrow , Alderman Francis Allein , Colonel Algernon Sidney , Lord Commissioner Bulstrode Whitelocke , Lord Commissioner John Lisle ,

12896-454: The persons hereunder written, if it shall so please Her Majestic and her Counsell, and daye wolde be given to the committees until the first daie of Michlemass Terme next coming for the doing of this, and then they are to declare their doings, to be considered by such persons as it shall please Her Majestie to appoint." Bacon named twenty committees, each consisting of four members (one judge and three counsel) with an assigned title or division of

13020-588: The profit of the Commonwealth." These efforts, culminating in a proposal for bringing common law into the statute law , were observed by Bishop Burnet as "too great a design to be set on foot or finished under an infant king". Revision of the statutes was regarded by the Parliament of England as desirable as early as 1563. For example, the Statute of Labourers 1562 / Statute of Artificers 1562 ( 5 Eliz. 1 . c. 4), considered by Courtenay Ilbert as one of

13144-689: The reign of Charles II , especially the laws known as the Clarendon Code and the Test Act . The four penal laws collectively known as Clarendon Code are named after Charles II's chief minister Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon , though Clarendon was neither their author nor fully in favour of them. These included: Combined with the Test Act 1673 , the Corporation Act 1661 excluded all nonconformists from holding civil or military office, and prevented them from being awarded degrees by

13268-504: The rest of Europe, royal absolutism would not prevail, and a professed Catholic could never accede to the throne. The British constitution would develop on the basis of constitutional monarchy and the parliamentary system . With the founding of the Royal Society in 1660, science was greatly encouraged. During this period, particularly in England, the development of naval power and the interest in voyages of discovery led to

13392-587: The result of the Acts of Union 1707 between the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland . In the 18th century, cabinet government developed under Robert Walpole , in practice the first prime minister (1721–1742). A series of Jacobite uprisings sought to remove the Protestant House of Hanover from the throne and restore the Catholic House of Stuart . The Jacobites were finally defeated at

13516-489: The same Lawe, beyng duly executed, should banishe Idlenes advance Husbandrye and yeelde unto the hired pson bothe in the tyme of scarsitee and in the tyme of plentye a convenient proporcon of Wages." Revision of the statutes was demanded by a petition of the Commons in 1610. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , Sir Nicholas Bacon , the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal , drew up a scheme for reducing, ordering, and printing

13640-611: The sayd severall Actes and Statutes were at the time of the making of them thought to be very good and beneficiall for the Comon wealthe of this Realms as dyvers of them yet are, So yf the substance of as many of the said Lawes as are meet to bee continued shalbe digested and reduced into one sole Lawe and Statute, & in the same an uniforme Order prescrybed and lymitted concerning the Wages and other Orders for Apprentises Servauntes and Laborers, there ys good hope that yt will come to passe that

13764-468: The sayde Lawes, and for the varyetie and nomber of them, and chiefly for that the wages and allouances lymytted and rated in many of the sayd Statutes, are in dyvers places to small and not answerable to this tyme, respecting thadvancement of Pryses of all things belonging to the sayd Servantes and Labourers, the said Lawes cannot conveniently without the greate greefe and burden of the poore Labourer and hired man, bee put in good and due execution : And as

13888-594: The statute law. This was considered for penal laws in 1584 ( 27 Eliz. 1 ), by Sir Edward Coke and Sir Francis Bacon in 1593 ( 35 Eliz. 1 ) and 1597 ( 39 & 40 Eliz. 1 ), and 1601 ( 43 Eliz. 1 ). A letter from Lord Bacon, dated 27 February 1608, held amongst the papers of William Petyt , Keeper of the Records in the Tower of London and Treasurer of the Inner Temple , proposed a plan for consolidation using

14012-602: The statutes for consolidation, for not wholly digesting the statute book and for not expurgating the statute book of obsolete, spent, unnecessary or superseded enactments. The Attorney General proposed alternative aims to the Commission: To do so, the Attorney General proposed a plan of proceeding, which he suggested would be able to be done in 12-months: United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as

14136-740: The statutes into one clear and uniform law had been progress by himself, the Lord Chief Justice Sir Henry Hobart, 1st Baronet , Serjeant Henry Finch , William Noy , and others, by the King’s Command, was described by Bacon as making considerable progress. Bacon described this as "An excellent Undertaking, of Honour to His Majesty's Times, and of good to all Times", and, as done in the Ecclesiastical Canons Act 1535 ( 27 Hen. 8 . c. 15), and Canon Law Act 1549 ( 3 & 4 Edw. 6 . c.11), recommended

14260-603: The statutes of the realm: "First, where many lawes be made for one thing, the same are to be reduced and established into one lawe, and the former to be abrogated. Item, where there is but one lawe for one thing, that these are to remain in case as they be. Item, that all the Acts be digested into titles and printed according to the abridgment of the statutes. Item, where part of one Acte standeth in force and another part abrogated, there shall be no more printed, but that that standeth in force. The doeing of these hings maie be committed to

14384-434: The statutes that have been repealed would be something; the consolidation of some of the statutes more easy to be dealt with would be something. To simplify our statutes and improve their style would be something,—would be a great deal. But I look further: I conceive there is no reason why this proposed step should not at some future time, some years hence, constitute the formation of that which I have always looked forward to as

14508-436: The twelve NUTS 1 regions , refer to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as "regions". Northern Ireland is also referred to as a "province". With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences". The term "Great Britain" conventionally refers to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination. It

14632-494: The unanimously unfavourable judicial reaction to the prospect of the common law being embodied in statutory form. At the start of the parliamentary session in 1853, the Lord Chancellor , Lord Cranworth announced his intention to the improvement of the statute law, remarking that: "I think it may be safely said that it is not creditable to any country that its statutes should be in such a condition. ... The great number

14756-527: Was "highly expedient for the honour of the nation and the benefit of all His Majesty's subjects that a complete and authoritative edition of all the statutes should be published", and publishing a Register of Expiring Laws and a Register of Expired Laws. On 2 November 1796, the Select Committee on the Promulgation of the Statutes was appointed to consider the promulgation of the statutes of

14880-623: Was chosen as the defining point of the Prime Meridian at the International Meridian Conference in 1884. The United Kingdom lies between latitudes 49° and 61° N , and longitudes 9° W and 2° E . Northern Ireland shares a 224-mile (360 km) land boundary with the Republic of Ireland. The coastline of Great Britain is 11,073 miles (17,820 km) long, though measurements can vary greatly due to

15004-485: Was followed in Ireland in 1793. Finally in 1829 Catholic emancipation was enacted, largely due to Irish political agitation organised under Daniel O'Connell in the 1820s. Sectarianism between Catholics and Protestants persisted through the 20th century, and its effects can still be seen, particularly in Northern Ireland , today. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in

15128-470: Was formed in 1931. Nonetheless, "Britain was a very wealthy country, formidable in arms, ruthless in pursuit of its interests and sitting at the heart of a global production system." After Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Britain entered the Second World War . Winston Churchill became prime minister and head of a coalition government in 1940. Despite the defeat of its European allies in

15252-654: Was published soon after her death. In 1570 Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I, citing as his reasons heresy , Caesaropapism , and the religious persecution by the State of the illegal and underground Catholic Church in England and Wales , and in Ireland , by releasing the Papal bull Regnans in Excelsis . In response: While some of the Penal Laws were much older, they took their most drastic shape during

15376-432: Was the first country in the world to use an approved COVID-19 vaccine , developing its own vaccine through a collaboration between Oxford University and AstraZeneca , which allowed the UK's vaccine rollout to be among the fastest in the world. The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 94,354 square miles (244,376 km ), with a land area of 93,723 square miles (242,741 km ). The country occupies

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