Country Profile: United Kingdom
Prepared by: Nampa High School Model United Nations
Political Profile
The United Kingdom is a Unitary state with a constitutional monarchy, meaning that the country is ruled under a monarchy that is required to comply with the country’s constitution. Currently, the head of the monarch is King Charles III after Queen Elizabeth II’s recent passing, however since the role of head of government is separate from the monarch, and currently filled by prime minister Liz Truss, most of the King’s
roles are exclusively ceremonial. The United Kingdom Parliament is, like the U.S. Parliament, split into two sections; The House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons acts similarly to the House of Representatives, with around
650 members being elected by the public who are called MPs (Member of Parliament). MPs are tasked with lawmaking propositions and talking to ministers about current events as well as government policy. The House of Lords is the upper chamber of parliament where bills are examined and government action as well as public policy are criticized. Unlike MPs, members of the House of Lords have different titles based on who they were appointed by or why. For example, while most current members were appointed by the queen as advised by the prime minister, Bishops of any kind are members appointed by the Church of England, and any Duke, Earl, Baron, Count, or other variation of inheritable title were elected in by other members based on eligibility (members elected in based on family title are known as hereditary peers).
The UK is not actually a country, but instead a fully independent sovereign state with 4 nations that make it up; England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Although all countries that make up the United Kingdom are under English law, each have their own governments and do not have to recognize the monarchy. As a collective, however, there are still major government affairs that apply to the entirety of the UK, which is why there are political parties. Currently the main political parties of the UK are the Conservatives (Right Wing) who believe business should not be regulated, being led by Boris Johnson, the Labour Party (Left Wing) led by Jeremy Corbyn who believe the state should help those who cannot support themselves and redistributing
wealth, the Liberal Democrats who are a mix of the two prior parties, and the Scottish National Party which is left wing and more liberal than England as a whole.
Current Main Government Officials of The United Kingdom Are:
The UK government has faced recent turmoil with resignation of two prime ministers one of their terms only lasting 45 days. The current Prime minister is Rishi Sunak. With the quick change in prime ministers many citizens in Britain are rallying for a general election. The Prime minster of the Untitled Kingdom is Rishi Sunak. He became Prime minster on October 25th, 2022.He was formally appointed the Chancelor of the Exchequer. He was elected the conservative MP of Richmond. served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy, and
Industrial Strategy from June 2017 until his ministerial appointment. He is still part of the conservative party of the UK. The prime minster is the youngest prime minster of modern times at 42 years old. The deputy Prime minister is the second highest ranking executive officer in the UK government. The person currently holding this position Is Dominic Raab he was appointed on the 25th of October of 2022. The Deputy Prime minster is currently also held by the conservative party. He has been an Mp since 2010.
The Prime Minister (who are officially appointed by the monarch after the general election) leads the government with support of the cabinet. The leader of (His/Her) Majesty’s Government is the Prime Minister, who is ultimately responsible for all policy decisions. Jobs that the Prime Minister would oversee includes overseeing operations of the Civil Service and government agencies, appointing members of the government, and is the main (principal) government figure in the House of Commons. Another key part of the United Kingdom’s government is The Cabinet, who is comprised of senior members of government. Every week (during parliament), the members of the Cabinet, (who are secretaries of State from all departments + other ministers) meet to discuss the most important issues for the government. There are also Ministers, who are chosen by the Prime Minister, who are from the members of the House of Commons and House of Lords. This section of government is responsible for all actions, successes and failures of their departments. Each government department
and agency are responsible for putting government policy into practice. Non ministerial departments are usually headed by Senior Civil Servants rather than ministers. This group is normally in charge of a regulatory or inspection function. An example of this would be the Charity Commission. Some other functions in government would be Executive agencies, they provide government services instead of
deciding on policies. Currently there are 23 Ministerial departments, 20 non ministerial departments, and over 300 agencies and other public bodies. The role of the Monarchy in the UK is a constitutional Monarchy, meaning that while they are head of state, the ability to pass legislation remains with an elected Parliament. This means that the Sovereign has no political or executive role (anymore).
Major Roles:
– Prime Minister à Rishi Sunak
– Deputy Prime Minister à Dominic Raab
– Secretary of State (Health/Social care) Ã Steve Barclay
– Chancellor of the Exchequer à Jeremy Hunt
– Secretary of State for Defense à Mr. Ben Wallace
Economy
The United Kingdom is dominated by industries like retail, hospitality, professional services, business administration, and finance. In 2021, service industries contributed 1.7 trillion pounds in Gross Valley Added (GVA) to the UK economy, which is 80% of total UK GVA. A comparative advantage is the ability of a group or individual to carry out a particular economic activity (such as making a specific product) more efficiently
than another activity. The UK has a strong comparative advantage in financial services, incurrence and other business services. One of the biggest competitors in the UK is
The United Kingdom’s economy is overpowered by service industries which includes retail, hospitality, professional services, business administration and finance. Service industries had contributed £1.7 trillion in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK’s economy. That’s around 80% of the total UK GVA. GVA is a measurement of economic output that’s similar to GDP. The value of products and services produced is measured, minus the costs during production. £203 billion in GVA, which is 10% of the UK’s total, was contributed by manufacturing industries. £129 billion, which
makes up 6% of GVA, was from construction sectors. In July of 2022, the United Kingdom’s top exports consisted of gold, cars, gas turbines, packaged medicaments, and refined petroleum. The majority of these exports goes to (1) the United States, (2) Germany, (3) Ireland, (4) the Netherlands, (5) and France. The top imports include gold, cars, broadcasting equipment, packaged medicaments, and crude petroleum. Main exports comes from (1) Germany, (2) China, (3) United States, (4) Netherlands, (5) and France. The United Kingdom ranks number five economy in the world, within
terms of GDP. They’re number two in total exports, fourth in total imports, and the 13th in the world for most complex economy.
National Security
The British armed forces have a total of 153,290 UK regulars, 37,420 volunteers reserve and 8,170 other personnel. The British are parented with the US in Nato along with 29 other members. The UK Is also a part of the European union. The UK parity dislikes Russia and north Korea they also really don’t like Israel. The UK has invaded 171 of 193 countries recognized by the UN. The Persian Gulf crisis is the UK’s most recent action of conflict.
Role in the United Nations
Like all other members of the UN, the United Kingdom works to maintain international peace and security within the United Nations, however their history in the organization goes further than that. The UK is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations security council, due to it being one of the great powers following World War II, meaning it has the power to veto anything other members propose. Because of its permanent seat on the security council, the UK is an influential member of the UN and usually takes a leadership role during drafting or other council activities. Due to their permanent membership of the UN security council, the UK has a pretty influential role. The UK is currently holding significant influence, along with being a penholder in several high-profile international crises. This means that the UK leads the drafting and council activities for these conflicts and situations. People do
question their power/influence, but there is no real threat to their position. This is because any change to security council membership would be subject to the UK’s veto, and therefore the UK’s consent. Most commentators recognize the strength and skills that thee UK diplomats have in the UN. However, recent votes at the Assembly against the UK’s position on the Chagos Archipelago, along with the recent loss of the UK’s
judge on the International Court of Justice, may be an indicator of an emerging pattern of coting within the Assembly that may not be favorable towards the UK. The UK is the fifth top contributor for the UN’s regular budget. They contribute about 5.19% of the budget, which is about £82 m. Not only is the UK the fifth-largest contributor for the UN’s regular budget, they are also the fifth-largest contributor to the UN’s peacekeeping budget, which is about 6.68%, or £7bn/year.