Climate
Main article: Climate in Europe
Geography
Population
Main article: UK population
History
Main article: History of the UK
Regions and cities
Dependent Territories
British Overseas Territories for 2022:
- Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
- Turks and Caicos
- Bermuda,
- British Antarctic Territory,
- British Indian Ocean Territory,
- Cayman Islands,
- Falkland Islands,
- Montserrat,
- Pitcairn Islands,
- Saint Helena,
- Ascension and Tristan da Cunha,
- South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands,
- Akrotiri and Dekelia.
Parliament
2022: Proportion of women in Parliament - 34.6%
2021: How pharmaceutical companies pay for the work of deputies of the British Parliament
At the end of June 2021, researchers from the University of Bath said that pharmaceutical companies provide hundreds of thousands of pounds a year to MPs in the British Parliament. The pharmaceutical industry has created a "hidden network of political influence" over dozens of All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs), sending them hundreds of "opaque" payments as part of lobbying, the researchers said. Read more here.
2019: Conservative victory led by B.Djonson
In the elections to the UK Parliament in December 2019, the conservatives won, or rather, Boris Johnson. The assessments of political scientists are more or less unambiguous. The Tories campaigned around one issue: "let us complete Brexit." Not only has it made campaigning easier, it has given them votes in poor areas where Labour is usually voted on.
In turn, Labour, which tried to give detailed and thorough answers to difficult questions, lost. They missed their chance to lead the Brexit movement even when their leader, Jeremy Corbyn, despite being an opponent of the European Union, took an ambiguous position under pressure from the right wing of the party, trying to avoid a split. And yes, he avoided a split in the party, but at the cost of losing "key" voters.
Labour's leftward pivot to Mr Corbyn's leadership has sparked a furious campaign of opposition from the ruling class and the media, who have been pouring mud on the opposition leader just 24 hours a day, resorting to techniques entirely unaccustomed to respectable Britain. And yet it will be wrong to attribute Corbyn's failure to his allegedly unpopularity caused by constant attacks and constant smear in the press. Or with his radicalism. Rather, the problem is precisely political inconsistency. If the hatred of the elites went beyond any political decency anyway, one should not be afraid to turn to the lower classes, relying on the elements of protest and plebeian anger, to conduct a populist campaign. In contrast, Labour stressed its constructiveness. And they were actually far more constructive than the Tories. Populism won, however.
Government
Foreign policy
- UK Department for International Development (FCDO)
- Commonwealth of Nations
2023: Sanctions against Russia's gold miners
In November 2023, Britain introduced a new package of sanctions against Russia.
The island state imposed sanctions against two Russian mining companies (Nord Gold Plc and Highland Gold Mining Ltd) and a gold mining trader who participated in the transfer of funds to Moscow.
Also, sanctions were imposed against more than two dozen other individuals and legal entities. In addition, a network based in the UAE fell under the sanctions, through which gold worth $300 million was sold to Russia. Among those sanctioned were Dubai-based gold trader Paloma Precious DMCC and Zimbabwean businessman Howard John Baker.
2022
Allocation of $7 billion as military assistance to Ukraine
Since the start of the special military operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, Britain has been at the forefront of anti-Russian activities. The country's government and public figures advocated a constant increase in sanctions pressure on Moscow and the expansion of military assistance to the Kyiv regime.
Immediately after the start [1] of the conflict, Prime Minister Boris Johnson held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The head of government then appealed to the British people and said that "the war concerns the right of a free, sovereign, independent European people to choose their future, and the UK will always protect this right."
Foreign Minister Liz Truss actually called on the British to participate in the war on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and said that she would support the British struggle for "democracy" in Ukraine. That is why the British courts do not sentence mercenaries to prison, who, in turn, are not afraid to return to their homeland.
By December 2022, Britain had provided about $7 billion in military assistance to Ukraine: the United Kingdom is the leader in this indicator after the United States. The British organized the training of Ukrainian servicemen in the kingdom, and also created a special program for Ukrainian refugees Homes for Ukraine.
Despite the unequivocal position of the British leadership, over time, the amount of comprehensive assistance to Kyiv decreased. In 2023, London intends to provide Ukraine with weapons totaling $2.8 billion. In addition, the Ministry of Finance recently froze the budget for the provision of military assistance to foreign countries at the level of 0.5 percent of GDP.
The program of assistance to Ukrainian refugees has stalled. Apparently, London does not intend to increase the validity of the initiative, wrote the Rybar channel. Instead transport , Minister Mark Harper announced an extension of free rail, transport metro or bus travel for Ukrainians within 48 hours of entering the country.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrived in Kyiv on November 19, 2022 and announced the continuation of support for Ukraine, but some channels wrote that the head of the British government was trying to convince Volodymyr Zelensky to resume the negotiation process. Along with this, the leader of Britain on December 17 ordered an audit of British military assistance.
A possible reason for some weakening of British support is the difficult domestic political situation, which is aggravated by anti-Russian sanctions and a decrease in living standards. According to a social survey by YouGov, support for sanctions pressure on Russia in British society in October 2022 decreased by 24 percent compared to March.
Blocking $21 billion of Russian assets after the start of a special operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine
Britain froze Russian assets for $21 billion after the start of the Russian Military District in Ukraine, the Sanctions Implementation Department reported in November 2022.
2000
Armed forces and aggression against most countries of the world
Main article: British Armed Forces
Citizenship and residence permit
Corruption in the UK
Main article: Corruption in the UK
Economy
Main article: UK economy
Information Technology
IT market
Digitalization of the public sector
Internet regulation
Education
2024: English schools have a phone ban. They are confiscated from students
On February 19, 2024, the Ministry formations Britain announced guidance providing, among other things, a complete ban on the use smartphones of mobile phones in English schools. It is assumed that this measure will improve the behavior of students and increase the effectiveness of the educational process. More. here
2017: Education costs
1991
Safety
Information security
- National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
- UK National Information Security Programme
- Cyber war of Russia and Great Britain
- Ransomware viruses (ransomware) in the UK
2022: Data from 40 million Britons hit the internet. China blamed for cyber attack
On March 25, 2024, the British National Cyber Security Center accused Chinese hackers of a number of cyber attacks. It is alleged that attackers associated with the PRC stole the personal data of approximately 40 million British voters. Read more here.
2019
Britain steals data from Schengen system and detains tourists due to outdated stolen copy
At the end of July 2019, one of the EU officials told reporters that the UK authorities did make unauthorized copies of data stored in the EU database to track illegal migrants, missing people, stolen cars or suspected criminals. Read more here.
Bailiffs ordered to wear breast cameras in Britain
In mid-July 2019, the UK government ruled that bailiffs were required to wear breast cameras. The Department of Justice said the move, which so far only affects England and Wales, should help protect debtors from the "intimidation and aggression" sometimes resorted to by bailiffs. Read more here.
Health care
Main article: Health care in the UK
Culture
Language
Music
Literature
Painting
Religion
2022
41.7% of the population believes in life after death
20% of the population attends divine services at least once a month
2021:10% of the population say religion is important in their lives
Courts
Main article: Courts in Britain
Crime
2023: 5x increase in shoplifting to 5.6m
In 2023, the number of thefts in small British stores reached approximately 5.6 million, a new record. This is more than five times higher than the previous year, when approximately 1.1 million incidents were recorded. The corresponding figures are provided in a report by the British Association of Convenience Stores, which was published on March 4, 2024.
Retailers are investing heavily in systems to prevent and detect crime, the study said. In 2023, a total of about £339 million ($435.89 million at the exchange rate as of March 9, 2024) was spent in such areas as video surveillance, expansion of security units, security alarms and intercom systems. At the same time, on average, thefts cost store owners £4946 (approximately $6360) per year (in 2023).
In addition, it is noted that in 2023, approximately 76 thousand cases of violence in stores were recorded against 41 thousand cases in 2022. About 87% of employees in UK convenience stores have experienced verbal abuse. Two-thirds of local retailers (67%) believe that the cost of living crisis has led to an increase in theft. And more than three-quarters of respondents (76%) said organized crime had become more prevalent in 2023.
In most cases, theft and violence in small British shops is committed by persons with alcohol or drug addiction. The problem of rising crime rates, as they say, not only affects the already difficult financial situation of the retailers' business, but also poses a threat to the safety of employees and customers.
 | Retailers face an onslaught of crimes against their businesses on a daily basis, with some losing tens of thousands of pounds a year to theft alone, says James Lowman, chief executive of the British Walking Distance Shops Association[1] |  |
2022
In Malaga, police smashed a British gang sending drugs to their homeland and EU countries
The gang specialized in making false bottoms for shipping containers. The leader of the group is wanted by courts in the United Kingdom and has extensive experience in policing.
Police Spain officers in December 2022 arrested six people who were experts in concealing huge numbers drugs to be sent to other countries, Europe particularly Britain.
They even had a scanner similar to those used by airport security to check if drugs they had hidden in fake shipping container bases would be found somewhere on the way.
Gang members are accused of creating a criminal gang, drug trafficking, forgery and identity theft. One of them had more than €150,000 in cash and fake documents when he was caught.
The group was based in an area in Alaurín de la Torre, where they reportedly modified containers that are used for ship transport to create a false bottom in which drugs could be hidden.
They then took the drug containers to a warehouse in the Guadalorce industrial estate and loaded them into a truck. These containers were then transported by sea to Britain.
During a search of the premises, materials and equipment for making a double bottom in containers were found. There, the criminals kept the scanner.
In total, the Civil Guard seized 900 kg of hashish, more than 40 kg of marijuana buds and 13 vehicles, and closed an indoor marijuana plantation that grew more than 1,700 plants.
The gang's ringleader is reportedly wanted by courts in Britain and has long been tried by police for similar offences.
Arrest of 100 people for phone number substitution services for scammers
Main article: Telephone fraud
Investigators in Britain have discovered a site that offered customers phone number substitution services. Through this site, thousands of scammers from different countries were engaged in calling their victims, paying for the services of spoofing numbers with crypt.
Potential victims were contacted, posing as employees of well-known banks or government agencies. In Britain alone, more than 200,000 people suffered from such calls, and the damage is estimated at least $3.9 million.
Police officers hacked into the site's database and obtained information about 59,000 users. In November 2022, 100 people have already been arrested.
2021
British officials transferred £21bn to fraudsters in 2 years due to inaccessibility of the necessary data
In the first two years of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, that is, in 2020-2021, British officials have listed approximately £21 billion ($26.51 billion at the exchange rate as of February 13, 2024) for fraudsters requesting funds for various fictitious support programs. The reason lies primarily in the inaccessibility of the information necessary to check incoming cases. This is stated in a report by the National Audit Office of Britain (NAO), published on February 8, 2024.
It is noted that two years before the height of COVID-19, the amount of fraud recorded in financial documents checked by supervisory authorities was approximately £5.5 billion ($6.94 billion). Thus, at the peak of the spread of coronavirus, this figure almost quadrupled. The main problem is the lack of coordinated data exchange between various government structures. Government organizations use different approaches to data management, and the information itself is scattered across central and local authorities. In this case, different software and hardware may be used, as a result of which the same information has a different representation, which leads to incompatibility.
The Public Sector Fraud Office (PSFA) estimates that Britain's total public spending fraud could have reached £58.8 billion ($74.22 billion) during the 2020-2021 financial year, matching the height of the COVID-19 outbreak. Out-of-date systems and out-of-date data "pose complex practical challenges when sharing information," it says.
The NAO recommends that the Central Office for Digital Technology and Data at the Cabinet Office work with government and PSFA departments to find out which existing sets of information can help verify the legality of payments and tackle fraud. In addition, verify that these databases are compatible.[2]
Low number of premeditated murders
and
2019: Firearms trade on the dark web
1903
Prisons
2019: Minimum age for children to be jailed
Sport
2023: Poaching chess players from Russia and Ukraine
After the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, the British, using the international chess community, transported the talented chess player Kamila Grishchenko from Ukrainian Kramatorsk. Now the athlete performs under the English flag.
In November 2023, Russian Nikita Vityugov will make his debut for England at the European Team Championship in Montenegro. By the way, he is the leader of the national team and plays on the first board (the strongest players compete in chess on it). After the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine, the chess player changed St. Petersburg to East Anglia.
A similar decision was made by many other Russian grandmasters, since at the beginning of 2023 the International Chess Federation allowed Russian players to change sports citizenship under an accelerated program after the transition of the Russian Chess Federation to the Asian Chess Federation.
2022: The most popular sport is football
Recycling of garbage
Calendar
Notes
| The site content is translated by machine translation software powered by PROMT. The machine-translated articles are not always perfect and may contain errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. Read original article If you find inaccuracies or errors in the results of machine translation, please write to editor@tadviser.ru. We will make every effort to correct them as soon as possible. |