United Kingdom: Economic and Political Overview

United Kingdom flag United Kingdom: Economic and Political Overview

Economic and Political Overview

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
King: Charles III (since 8 September 2022). Predecessor: Queen Elizabeth II.
Prime Minister: Sir Keir Starmer (since 5 July 2024), The Labour Party.
Next Election Dates
General elections (House of Commons): July 2029
Current Political Context
The July 2024 general elections saw the first victory for Labour since 2005 and ended the Conservatives' 14-year tenure as the primary governing party. Labour achieved a 174-seat simple majority and a total of 411 seats. Labour won 211 more seats than the previous general election in 2019, but half a million fewer total votes. The Conservative Party was reduced to 121 seats on a vote share of 23.7%, the worst result in its history, losing 251 seats in total. Smaller parties took a record 42.6% of the vote in the election. Of these, the Liberal Democrats made the most significant gains, securing 72 seats.
 The five main goals of Keir Starmer's government agenda are to boost economic growth, achieve net-zero electricity by 2030, revitalize the NHS, enhance public safety, and increase opportunities for everyone. Plans call for investing in AI innovation, accelerating infrastructure projects, and constructing 1.5 million houses close to transportation hubs. Furthermore, the Labour government is expected to take a closer stance with the European Union (EU) than the previous government, even if Kier Starmer has made it clear “about not rejoining the EU, the single market or the customs union or a return to freedom of movement”.
Main Political Parties
Historically, the three dominant parties are:
- Labour Party: left-wing socialist and social democratic, grew out of trade union movement in the 19th century;
- Conservative Party: centre-right; believes in free-market economy, strong military and traditional cultural values;
- Liberal Democrats: centrist, moderate pro-European;

Other parties represented in the parliament include:
- Scottish National Party (SNP): centre-left;
- Democratic Unionist Party: right-wing;
- Reform UK (Brexit Party): right-wing, Eurosceptic;
- Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW - Greens): environmentalist;
- Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales: centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalism;
- Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP): advocates Irish reunification;
- Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI): liberal, centrist.
Executive Power
The King is the head of state. But above all he plays a symbolic and representational role. He continues to exercise three essential rights: the right to be consulted, to advise and to warn. Following legislative elections to the lower house of parliament, the leader of the majority party or coalition is usually appointed Prime Minister by the King and remains in office as long as he/she retains the confidence of the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is the head of government and has all executive powers, which include law enforcement and the conduct of the day-to-day affairs of the country. The Prime Minister selects members of the Cabinet and other ministers, who are then formally appointed by the monarch.
Legislative Power
The United Kingdom has a bicameral legislative system. The parliament consists of the House of Lords (the upper house) and the House of Commons (the lower house). The House of Lords includes life peers, who are appointed by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister and the House of Lords Appointments Commission, 92 hereditary peers, and 26 members of the clergy (Lords Spiritual). The House of Commons has 650 seats, and its members are elected by universal suffrage, generally for a 5-year term. The government is directly responsible to and dependent on parliament.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
33/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: February 2025

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