England: Union, History, and Political Structure

1. POLITICAL DIVISION OF ENGLAND Oksana Olšová, MCR (2007)

2. Union Jack • British national flag is called "Union Jack". • It symbolises the Union of England, Scotland and Ireland and dates back from 1801. • The flag is made up of the crosses of the patron saints of: • England (St George's red cross on a white field) • Ireland (St Patrick's red diagonals on a white field) • Scotland (St Andrew's white diagonals on a blue field) • Wales is not represented because when the flag first appeared it was already united with England.

4. ENGLAND • Is the largest and most populousconstituent country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. • 85% of the total population of the United Kingdom live there. • Population:  2006 - est.: 50,690,000   (2001 – census: 49,138,831) • Area: 130,395 km²  Constituent – základní, volební; Census – sčítání lidu;

5. ENGLAND 2 • England became a unified state during the 10th century and takes its name from the Angles — one of a Germanic tribes who settled in the territory during the 5th and 6th centuries. • The capital city of England is London, which is the largest city in the British Isles and largest city in the European Union. • It was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and was the first country in the world to become industrialised.

6. ENGLAND 3 • England is home to the Royal Society, which laid the foundations of modern experimental science. • England was the world's first parliamentary democracy. • The Kingdom of England was a separate state until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union resulted in a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.

8. The national floral emblem of England • Tudor Rose was adopted as a national emblem of England around the time of the Wars of the Roses. • The rose is used in a variety of contexts in its use for England's representation. Tudor Rose the Royal Coat of Arms the British Twenty Pence coin

9. Structure of administrative divisions of England Counties – hrabství; Unitary authorities – správní jednotky; Parish (GB) – obec; Boroughs – městský okres, obvod;

10. 9 regions in England North East North West Yorkshire and the Humber East Midlands West Midlands (region) East of England Greater London South East South West

11. Greater London • The administrative area was created in 1965 and covers the City of London and 32 London boroughs. • In 2005 there was population of 7,517,700 people. • It covers 1579 km²

12. North-East England • The principal city is Newcastle. • Population: 2,515,479 (2001) • Consists of the combined area of Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear and a small part of North Yorkshire.

13. Yorkshire and the Humber • The principal cities are Leeds, • Sheffield • The population in 2005 was 5,854,357. • It covers most of the historic county of Yorkshire: South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, part of North Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, and part of Lincolnshire.

14. North West England • The principal cities are Liverpool, Manchester • The north of the region (that is, north Lancashire and Cumbria) is largely rural. • It has a population of 6,729,764. • Consists of the combined area of: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside. Rural – venkovský, selský;

15. The West Midlands • The principal city is Birmingham. • Population: 5,267,337 (2001) • It covers the predominantly rural shire counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands,and Worcestershire. Predominantly – převážně; Shire – oblast, hrabsví;

16. The East Midlands • The principal city is Nottingham • Population: 4,172,179 (2001) • It consists of the combined area of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and most of Lincolnshire.

17. The East of England • The principal city is Cambridge. • Its population as of the 2001 census was 5,388,140. • It includes Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Norfolk and Suffolk.

18. South East England • The principal city is Guildford. • Its population as of the 2001 census was 8,000,550 - the most populous English region. • It includes Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex.

19. South West England • It is the largest region in terms of area. • The principal cities are Bristol, Plymouth • Population: 4,928,458 people. • It includes Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall. In terms of – pokud jde o;

21. The Constitution • unwritten, based on traditions and common law • it´s easy to change it (by an Act of Parliament or by general agreement) • divides power between 3 independent branches: 1. legislative 2. executive 3. judicial

22. 1. The LEGISLATIVE power: THE PARLIAMENT • makes laws, votes taxes and public expenses • checks the work of the Government(the Sovereign, the House of Commons, the House of Lords)

23. The Houses of Parliament

24. The Government • THE SOVEREIGN • at present Queen Elizabeth II. • mainly symbolical function (she takes part at ceremonials,traditional celebrations,..) • she appoints ministers, judges and governors • she is the head of the Armed Forces and of the Church of England • THE HOUSE OF LORDS • has over 1000 members • the head is the Lord Chancellor • made up of the Lords of Temporal (about 900), the Lords Spiritual  (2 Archbishops of Canterbury and York+ 24 bishops of the Church of England) • they sign the bills to consider it as a law,they can refuse bills got from The House ofCommons • THE HOUSE OF COMMONS • consists of 651 Members of Parliament (MPs) – each representsa particular part of the country • they pass the bills • the Speaker (elected by MPs) = the chief officer - he presides over the house • elections – every 5 years • minimum voting age – 18 years • candidates must be over 21

25. Benches in the House of Commons Chamber are coloured green. • In contrast, the House of Lords is decorated in red.

26. 2. The EXECUTIVE power: • THE GOVERNMENT • the head is Prime Minister (the leader of the party, which has the majority in The Houseof Commons) • Present PM is TonyBlair – the representative of the Labour Party(lives at 11 Downing Street)         • he chooses his government ministers (about 20) = the Cabinet (formally appointedby the Queen) • the second strongest party forms an Opposition (Shadow-Cabinet) • the Prime Minister with the Cabinet have real political power

27. 3. The JUDICIAL power: • THE SUPREME COURT • consists of the Court of Appealand the High Court of Justice Appeal – odvolávat se;

28. Political parties in the UK today: • The Labour Party-left wing, their program includes many social reforms and active social politics • The Conservative Party – right wing, they put more emphasis in private enterprise • The Liberals • Social and Liberal Democrats- left of centre • Scottish National Party (SNP) • Sinn Féin- the oldest political movement in Ireland Emphasis – důraz; Enterprise – podnikání;

29. Sources: • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England • http://www.bbc.co.uk/ • http://www.google.com/ • http://www.schrapnel.cz/skotsko/mapaanglie.htm • http://www.kralovstvimap.cz/katalog/velka-britanie-londyn/7 Link label – odkaz na html stránce

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31. Thank you for attention! • Have a nice day!