The most prominent cities and conurbations of the UK.

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. It is the most populous British city outside London, with a population of over one million, and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation. Today Birmingham is a major international commercial centre and an important transport, retail, events and conference hub.

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands. A person from Glasgow is known as a Glaswegian.

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 483,800, Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas The inhabitants of Manchester are called Mancunians. Manchester was the site of the world's first railway station, and is where scientists first split the atom and developed the first programmable computer

Liverpool /'lIvqpHl/) is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880. Liverpool is the fourth largest city in the United Kingdom (third largest in England) with a population of 435,500.

Leeds (/'li:dz/) is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city had a population of 770,800. Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial heart of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. Leeds is the UK's largest centre for business, legal, and financial services outside London..

Sheffield (/'SefJld/) is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. The population of the City of Sheffield is 534,500.

Edinburgh (/'edInbrq/) is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea.Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Parliament.

Bristol (/'brIstəl/) is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 it is the most populous city in South West England. The city is built around the River Avon, and it also has a short coastline on the Severn Estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel.

Leicester (/'lestq/) is a city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands area of England. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest. In 2006, the population of the Leicester unitary authority was estimated at 289,700, the largest in the East Midlands.

6) The population of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is over 57 million people.The population lives mostly in towns and cities and their respective suburbs. The distribution of the population is quite uneven.Over 46 million people live in England, over 3 million in Wales, a little over 5 million in Scotland and about 1.5 million in Northern Ireland. The most densely populated areas are Greater London, the South and the Southwest. Only London's population is over 7 million.Most of the mountainous parts of the United Kingdom, including much of Scotland, Wales and the Pennine Chain in Northern England are very sparsely populated.The United Kingdom is inhabited by the English, the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish who constitute the British nation. The British are the descendants of different peoples who settled in the British Isles at different times.The earliest known people of Britain were of Iberian origin.Then followed a long succession of invaders, including the Celts, the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Danes and at last in 1066, the Normans.It was the last time Britain was invaded.Nowadays one can see people of many colours and races in the United Kingdom.They are mostly inhabitants from the former British colonies.The official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is English.Besides standard literary English there are several regional and social dialects.

7) England has been called "the mother of parliaments" and its democratic institutions have set the standards for many democracies throughout the world. The form of government in the UK is constitutional monarchy, although there is no single document called constitution (by constitution they mean statutes (laws made by Parliament), important court cases, and established practices). The Parliament consists of two Houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Their work is similar: making laws, checking the work of the government and debating current issues. The House of Commons is also responsible for granting money to the government through approving Bills that raise taxes. Generally, the decisions made in one House have to be approved by the other. In this way the two-chamber system acts as a check and balance for both Houses.

The House of Lords is the upper house, but the Second chamber, of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It makes laws, holds the Government to account and investigates policy issues. Its membership includes experts in many fields and it complements the work of the House of Commons. Members of the House of Lords are mostly appointed by the Queen, a fixed number are elected internally and a limited number (26) of Church of England archbishops and bishops sit in the House.Members of the House of Lords are called Peers.

The Commons is publicly elected. The party with the largest number of members in the Commons forms the government. Members of the Commons (MPs) debate the big political issues of the day and proposals for new laws. The Commons alone is responsible for making decisions on financial Bills, such as proposed new taxes. The Lords can consider these Bills but cannot block or amend them.

The executive power is exercised by a government headed by the Prime Minister and their Cabinet.

'Her Majesty's Government' governs in the name of the Queen, but in reality it is answerable and accountable only to the House of Commons. Its hub, Downing Street, lies in Whitehall, a short walk from Parliament. The official residence of the Prime Minister is Downing Street 10. Most governments consist of about 100 ministers, but the essential core is the Cabinet, the 20 or so most senior ministers invited by the Prime Minister to belong to it. Cabinet government demands collective responsibility and confidentiality. Within the Cabinet the Prime Minister is meant to be first among equals. Government depends upon a permanent body of officials, the Civil Service, to administer the decisions of ministers, and to keep the wheels of government turning. The Civil Service employs almost 500,000 people. The heart of the Civil Service is the Cabinet Office.

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