Te United Kingdom leaves the European Union on 1 January. The opportunity to remember the peculiarities of this country which brings together four nations.
Tonight, at midnight French time, the British are leaving the European Union for good. An important revolution which upsets many balances within the country, in particular in Scotland. Because the United Kingdom is a country and four “constituent nations”: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Over the centuries, England has extended its influence over its direct neighbors, on the island of Great Britain. First Wales, then Scotland. Acts of union unite these three Nations in 1707, forming the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1800 the Union was extended to the island of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Since independence from the Republic of Ireland in 1922, the name adopted four years later is United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The UK has transferred powers to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Each has its own government, parliament and legal system. England has no specific institutions, being its very strong influence on the other three entities. These four nations therefore have a single head of state, Queen Elisabeth II, a supranational government (headed by Boris Johnson), but Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have a national prime minister. and each its capital (Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast).
More anecdotally, these nations each have sports teams. This is why in football or rugby, you can attend a Scotland-England match.