For many people, Great Britain and England are consonant concepts, synonyms that are used to name one and the same state. But in reality, everything is not so simple, and there are serious differences between them, which we will discuss later in the article.
What is UK
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the full name of an independent island nation located in northwestern Europe and occupying the largest territory in it.
Great Britain was founded in 1801. It includes such territorial units (the so-called "historical provinces"), such as northern Scotland, the Principality of Wales and Northern Ireland, which have sufficient autonomy and their own parliaments.
England is also one of the "provinces" of Great Britain (by the way, the largest in the country). Around it, in fact, initially the formation of a modern state took place. But, unlike other parts of the kingdom, it does not have its own legislative and executive powers, and their role is played by the national parliament of Great Britain.
In addition to these territories, the United Kingdom owns three more Crown Lands - the islands of Jersey, Maine and Guernsey, as well as fourteen overseas territories, which include, for example, Gibraltar, Bermuda, the Falkland and Cayman Islands, etc.
England: Country Information
Despite the large number of dependent lands, England, again, is the historical core of the United Kingdom, and its population is 84% of all residents of the UK.
English was "born" here, and the formation of a powerful state began from here. The beginning was laid by the Germanic tribes of the Angles and Saxons, who at the beginning of the ninth century conquered this territory, displacing the Britons inhabiting it. In 825, King Egbert of Wessex united most of the small kingdoms into one, giving him the name England (this translates as “Land of the Angles”).
But when in 1707 Scotland became a part of the state, and the United Kingdom was formed, it was decided to call it Great Britain, so as not to infringe anyone's vanity. After all, the name, for example, Great England (Great England) would be absolutely unacceptable to the Scots.
Some features of the UK government
Despite the fact that the meaning of the word “England” in our minds is closely intertwined with the meaning of the word “Great Britain”, and even some explanatory dictionaries cite these names as synonymous, a cultural person should nevertheless understand what their internal difference is.
Of course, the role of England for the whole state is difficult to overestimate. After all, this is her legal, legal and constitutional innovations adopted by many states of the world. And it was this part of the United Kingdom that became the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, making Great Britain the first industrialized country in the world.
In fact, the United Kingdom has a rather complicated state system, which, however, does not prevent it from being an example in maintaining democratic relations within the country.
Interestingly, in the UK there is no single constitution. To some extent, it is replaced by a combination of acts of a different nature, common law norms, which include many judicial precedents, and some constitutional customs. The most important of these include the Magna Carta (signed back in 1215), as well as the Bill of Rights and the Act of Succession.
Why England has no parliament
Due to the fact that England is the only component of Great Britain that does not have its own parliament and government, a movement has formed in the country in support of its creation. Indeed, if decisions concerning Scotland alone can be taken by Scottish legislatures, then decisions regarding England are made by Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Irish deputies who are members of the national parliament.
But in response to this, representatives of the Labor Party argue that if the largest part of the UK receives independent authorities, this will lead to the fact that the remaining small territories will lose their importance dramatically, and this, in turn, may lead to the collapse of the Kingdom.
