7Gb. Urban and rural population. The conurbations.
Population density: in England — 363 people to the square km. In Wales-142, in Scotland - 65, in Northern Ireland - 125. The Highlands of Scotland, the northern Pennines and mountainous Wales - are very sparsely populated. The most highly populated regions are the industrial districts: South- East England with Greater London, the Midlands, Lancashire, West Yorkshire, South Hales, , Clydeside in Scotland and North-East England. The population of England is and has been for centuries, greater than that of all other parts of Britain. The distribution of the British population: England population-49,997p, area 130,439, density - 383p per km2; Wales - 2,946p, area 20,76, density - 142, Scotland - 5,1p, area 78,772, density - 65, NI - l,698p, area 14,121, density - 125; UK -59,756, area 244,100, density -246.
As regards the proportion of urban population Britain probably holds the first place in the world. Over 90% of its population live in towns. In Britain there are 91 towns with the population of over 100 thousand people. About one third of the country's population is concentrated in the town districts, which comprise numerous merged towns and are called conurbations. The seven major metropolitan areas which have been denoted as 'conurbations' are: Greater London, Central Clydeside, Merseyside, south-East Lancashire, Tyneside, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire
These regions are famous for their poor and worn out residential districts and high population density and narrow streets of old towns and cities. They create very serious problems, including traffic congestion. The proportion of residents in Greater London and most of the metropolitan areas of England has recently been falling. People have tended to leave city centres and conurbations because of their unhealthy environment, although such migration may not necessarily mean a change of job but rather an increase in the distance of travel to and from work. In other cases it has been a consequence of falling employment in city centres. More than 1.5 million people left major British cities during the 10 years between the censuses of 1971 and 1981 Greater London's population fell by 756,000 to under 7 million for the first time since 1901. In some districts of London, such as Kensington and Chelsea the population fell by almost 30 per cent. Among the many reasons are the unhealthy environment, transport congestion, noise pollution, poor municipal services, the growing crime rate. Soaring rents and high unemployment are also important factors which drive the people out of the big cities.
In general about half the population lives in a belt across South Lancashire and west Yorkshire at one end, and the London area at the other, having the industrialized Midlands at its centre. Other areas with large populations are: the central lowlands of Scotland; north-east England from north of the river Tyne down to the river Tees; south-west Wales; the Bristol area, and the English Channel coast from Poole, in Dorset, eastwards. Less densely populated areas are the eastern fringes of England. Rural settlements of Great Britain differ from the traditional villages situated in other countries. They are located not far from towns and resemble their suburbs. They are inhabited by farm workers, clergymen, teachers, shopkeepers, old-age people. Lately there has been a strong influx of townsmen to villages, where houses are cheaper. Farmers do not live in such places. The farmers live in isolated farms scattered ail over the farm land.
22GB. Americans seem strangely oblivious to historic developments in Europe these days that could mean a profound change in this country’s relations with Europe as a whole, and with Britain in particular. The process of European integration is reaching a new stage, with not only Economic and Monetary Union but also the beginning of a common security and defense policy. No one seriously questions the wisdom and enlightened statesmanship of the U.S. policy that has supported European integration over many decades. But the contemporary phase of that process is bringing us into uncharted territory. It raises major questions about the future cohesion of the Atlantic Alliance and about the future of the "special relationship" that the United States has long enjoyed with Britain.The Anglo-American tradition embodies a very special conception of political and economic liberty, as well as a certain seriousness about international security and, indeed, about the moral unity of the West. These Anglo-American values as thoroughly vindicated by history and, therefore, worthy of the most vigorous defense.
Since the Eisenhower era, the United States has been urging Britain into Europe, initially to strengthen the resolve of the Europeans as Cold Warriors and more recently out of habit and to be a force for good government in Europe. Today, all polls in Britain show that about 70% of people in the U.K. do not want to go farther into the EU, although about half believe that the country may ultimately do so anyway. EUROPE helped bring down two of Britain’s recent prime ministers, Margaret Thatcher and John Major. But at least they were casualties of weighty conflicts over their country’s future in the European Union (EU). On June 4th Gordon Brown may be mortally wounded by nothing grander than election results for the European Parliament.
The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly parts of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values and goals, as outlined in the Singapore Declaration. These include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace. The Commonwealth is not a political union, but an intergovernmental organisation through which countries with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status. Its activities are carried out through the permanent Commonwealth Secretariat, headed by the Secretary-General; biennial Meetings between Commonwealth Heads of Government; and the Commonwealth Foundation, which facilitates activities of non-governmental organisations in the so-called 'Commonwealth Family'. The symbol of this free association is the Head of the Commonwealth, which is a ceremonial position currently held by Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth II is also the monarch, separately, of sixteen members of the Commonwealth, informally called the Commonwealth realms. As each realm is an independent kingdom, the Queen, as monarch, holds a distinct title for each, though, by a Prime Ministers' Conference in 1952, all include the style Head of the Commonwealth at the end; for example: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Australia and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. Beyond the realms, the majority of the members of the Commonwealth have separate heads of state: thirty-two members are republics, and five members have distinct monarchs: the Sultan of Brunei; the King of Lesotho; the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (or King) of Malaysia; the King of Swaziland; and the King of Tonga.
Working with Belarus
The UK is a leading member of the European Union. The 27 current member states of the EU have agreed to work together on issues of common interest, where collective and co-ordinated initiatives can be more effective than individual state action. UK relations with Belarus are conducted within the framework of the EU Common Position towards Belarus.
The UK also enjoys bilateral co-operation with Belarus in a range of areas. Following an intense period of negotiations, the two countries concluded an Agreement on conditions for the recuperation of Belarusian minors in the UK. The Agreement, which came into force on May 22, now makes it possible for British charitable organizations to resume their valuable work.
British Ambassador Nigel Gould-Davies said: “I am delighted that we have reached this important agreement. This will directly benefit thousands of Belarusian children. The Belarusian authorities have indicated their readiness to discuss additional issues, in particular the age limit for respite visits that has been introduced. The present agreement will help facilitate further dialogue”.
The British Embassy will be also deploying its unique mobile biometric project to collect biometric fingerprints from children in the regions, saving them a long journey to Minsk. Cordon Braun:
I believe that our ties with America founded on values we share constitute our most important bilateral relationship,And it is good for Britain, for EU,that the relationships with USA became stronger.Part of the ED try to isolate Belarus after condemning elections in March.the EU has already imposed a visa ban on 30 officials, recently Western governments pay much attention to the ? of Belarus, practically in each high level meeting of EU it is discussed.