Development of the United Kingdom

England is a constituent part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), the political union between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The UK is a sovereign state. Key dates in its development are:

• 1535 and 1542 – Under the Laws in Wales Acts, Wales is incorporated within the English legal system.
• 1603 – England and Scotland become two kingdoms with a shared monarch, with the Union of the Crowns.
• 1707 – England and Scotland become a single all-island Kingdom of Great Britain, with the Act of Union.
• 1801 – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland comes into being.
• 1922 – Following the partition of Ireland, 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland become an independent state, while the 6 northern counties remain part of what becomes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Development of the UK constitution

The UK does not have a single codified constitution; instead, the constitution is formed from several sources, including statute, common or case law, and international treaties.

British monarchs were executive monarchs until the end of the seventeenth century, meaning that they had the right to make and pass legislation. Even then, they had to act in accordance with the law and take into account the will of the people. For example, with the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215, the leading noblemen of England succeeded in forcing King John to accept that they and other freemen had rights against the Crown.

In the seventeenth century, the Stuart kings propagated the theory of the divine right of kings, claiming that the sovereign was subject only to God and not to the law. Widespread unrest against their rule led to civil war in the second half of the seventeenth century. In 1688-9, Parliamentarians drew up a Bill of Rights, which established basic tenets such as the supremacy of Parliament.

The constitutional monarchy in existence today developed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as day-to-day power came to be exercised by Ministers in Cabinet, and by Parliaments elected by a steadily-widening electorate.

The Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928 made the voting age for both men and women 21 years of age, leading to an equal and universal adult franchise. The voting age was lowered to 18 by the Representation of the People Act 1969 (subsequently consolidated into the Representation of the People Act 1983).

Devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were granted devolved powers in 1998. The first elections for the devolved authorities took place in 1999. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland now have powers to administer their domestic affairs, although they retain representation in the UK Parliament. The UK Parliament retains the power to legislate for the UK as a whole, to amend devolution acts, and to legislate on anything that has been devolved. However, it will not normally do so without the agreement of the devolved governments.

The Scottish independence referendum, conducted in September 2014, asked whether Scotland should be an independent country. The result was that 55.3% of the electorate voted against independence and Scotland remains part of the UK.

Unlike Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, England has no separate devolved government.

EU membership

At the time of writing (January 2019), the United Kingdom (UK), rather than its constituent parts (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), is a member state of the European Union (EU).

The UK did not join the European Communities when first established in the 1950s. It was thought that membership might weaken Britain's strong trade links with other countries in the Commonwealth, which gave access to cheaper food, and its strong political links with the United States of America. The international trading tradition created a feeling that the UK was separate from mainland Europe, and there was opposition from many people who thought that conceding power to any outside body meant loss of national sovereignty.

As a consequence, the UK was initially more interested in creating a European free trade area which would involve no sacrifice of national sovereignty. This led to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) being created in 1959 by Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. However, it was not long before the UK realised that it risked economic and political isolation if it remained outside the European Community, although it took more than ten years and several negotiations before the UK achieved membership in 1973. A referendum affirmed this membership in 1975.

The UK is not a member of the Eurozone and retains its own currency – pound sterling (GBP).

Brexit

On 23 June 2016, a referendum on European Union membership was held. The people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU and in March 2017 the Government invoked Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union, which started the formal exit process.

Negotiations between the EU and the UK culminated in a Withdrawal Agreement, which set out the terms on which the UK would leave the EU. The United Kingdom then left the European Union on 31 January 2020.

Under terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK entered a transition period during which time EU law generally continues to apply. The transition period will end on 31 December 2020.

Article last reviewed December 2020.