United Kingdom

=== Postwar 20th century ===
{{Main|Postwar Britain (1945–1979)|Social history of Postwar Britain (1945–1979)}}
[[File:British Empire 1921.png|thumb|upright=1.5|left|The [[British Empire]] at its territorial peak in 1921]]

The UK was one of the [[Big Three (World War II)|Big Three]] powers (along with the US and the Soviet Union) who met to plan the post-war world;<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Doenecke |first1=Justus D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xdMF9rX6mX8C&pg=PA62 |title=Debating Franklin D. Roosevelt's foreign policies, 1933–1945 |last2=Stoler |first2=Mark A. |year=2005 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8476-9416-7 |access-date=19 March 2016 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328141231/https://books.google.com/books?id=xdMF9rX6mX8C&pg=PA62#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}; {{Cite book |last=Kelly |first=Brian |url=https://www.iup.edu/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=37681 |title=The Four Policemen and Postwar Planning, 1943–1945: The Collision of Realist and Idealist Perspectives |publisher=Indiana University of Pennsylvania |access-date=25 August 2015 |archive-date=22 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022125442/https://www.iup.edu/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=37681 |url-status=live }}</ref> it was an original signatory to the [[Declaration by United Nations]] and became one of the five permanent members of the [[United Nations Security Council]]. It worked closely with the United States to establish the [[IMF]], [[World Bank]] and [[NATO]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 July 2010 |title=The "Special Relationship" between Great Britain and the United States Began with FDR |url=http://rooseveltinstitute.org/special-relationship-between-great-britain-and-united-states-began-fdr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125021103/http://rooseveltinstitute.org/special-relationship-between-great-britain-and-united-states-began-fdr |archive-date=25 January 2018 |access-date=24 January 2018 |publisher=Roosevelt Institute |quote=and the joint efforts of both powers to create a new post-war strategic and economic order through the drafting of the Atlantic Charter; the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; and the creation of the United Nations. }}; {{Cite press release |title=Remarks by the President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron in Joint Press Conference |date=22 April 2016 |publisher=The White House |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/22/remarks-president-obama-and-prime-minister-cameron-joint-press |quote=That's what we built after World War II. The United States and the UK designed a set of institutions – whether it was the United Nations, or the Bretton Woods structure, IMF, World Bank, NATO, across the board. |access-date=24 January 2018 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608110653/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/22/remarks-president-obama-and-prime-minister-cameron-joint-press |url-status=live }}</ref> The war left the UK severely weakened and financially dependent on the [[Marshall Plan]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 December 2006 |title=Britain to make its final payment on World War II loan from U.S. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/business/worldbusiness/28iht-nazi.4042453.html |access-date=25 August 2011 |archive-date=20 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820022220/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/business/worldbusiness/28iht-nazi.4042453.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but it was spared the total war that devastated eastern Europe.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Reynolds |first=David |date=17 April 2011 |title=Britain's War Machine by David Edgerton – review |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/apr/17/britains-war-machine-david-edgerton-review |access-date=10 May 2020 |archive-date=12 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612130213/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/apr/17/britains-war-machine-david-edgerton-review |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the immediate post-war years, the [[Labour Government 1945–1951|Labour government]] under [[Clement Attlee]] initiated a radical programme of reforms, which significantly impacted British society [[Post-war consensus|in the following decades]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Francis |first=Martin |title=Ideas and policies under Labour, 1945–1951: Building a new Britain |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-7190-4833-3 |pages=225–233}}</ref> Major industries and public utilities were [[Nationalization|nationalised]], a [[welfare state]] was established, and a comprehensive, publicly funded healthcare system, the [[National Health Service]], was created.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Stephen J. |url=https://archive.org/details/aspectsbritishpo00lees |title=Aspects of British political history, 1914–1995 |publisher=Routledge |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-415-13103-2 |location=London; New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/aspectsbritishpo00lees/page/n183 173]–199 |url-access=limited}}</ref> The rise of nationalism in the colonies coincided with Britain's much-diminished economic position, so that a policy of [[decolonisation]] was unavoidable. Independence was granted to India and Pakistan in 1947.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Larres |first=Klaus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7D66_9YOof4C&pg=PA118 |title=A companion to Europe since 1945 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4051-0612-2 |location=Chichester |page=118 |access-date=29 September 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328141350/https://books.google.com/books?id=7D66_9YOof4C&pg=PA118 |url-status=live }}</ref> Over the next three decades, most colonies of the British Empire gained their independence, and many became members of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 March 2009 |title=Country List |url=http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/System/YearbookHomePage.asp?NodeID=152099&load=countrylist |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506071236/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/System/YearbookHomePage.asp?NodeID=152099&load=countrylist |archive-date=6 May 2013 |access-date=8 March 2015 |publisher=[[Commonwealth Secretariat]]}}</ref>

[[File:British Airways Concorde G-BOAC 03.jpg|thumb|[[Concorde]] was a [[Supersonic speed|supersonic]] airliner that reduced transatlantic flight time from 8 hours to 3.5 hours.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/about-ba/history-and-heritage/celebrating-concorde|access-date=30 March 2023|title=Celebrating Concorde|archive-date=17 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317103939/https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/about-ba/history-and-heritage/celebrating-concorde}}</ref>]]
The UK was the third country to develop [[Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom|a nuclear weapons arsenal]] (with its first atomic bomb test, [[Operation Hurricane]], in 1952), but the post-war limits of Britain's international role were illustrated by the [[Suez Crisis]] of 1956. The [[English-speaking world|international spread of the English language]] ensured the continuing international influence of its [[British literature|literature]] and [[Culture of the United Kingdom|culture]].<ref name="culture" /><ref name="sheridan" /> As a result of a shortage of workers in the 1950s, the government encouraged immigration from [[Commonwealth countries]]. In the following decades, the UK became a more multi-ethnic society.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Julios |first=Christina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3RQ4dsFEkoC&pg=PA84 |title=Contemporary British identity: English language, migrants, and public discourse |publisher=Ashgate |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7546-7158-9 |series=Studies in migration and diaspora |location=Aldershot |page=84 |access-date=29 September 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328141350/https://books.google.com/books?id=s3RQ4dsFEkoC&pg=PA84 |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite rising living standards in the late 1950s and 1960s, the UK's economic performance was less successful than many of its main competitors such as France, [[West Germany]] and Japan.

In the decades-long process of [[European integration]], the UK was a founding member of the [[Western European Union]], established with the [[London and Paris Conferences]] in 1954. In 1960 the UK was one of the seven founding members of the [[European Free Trade Association]] (EFTA), but in 1973 it left to join the [[European Communities]] (EC). In a [[1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum|1975 referendum]] 67% voted to stay in it.<ref>{{Cite news |title=1975: UK embraces Europe in referendum |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/6/newsid_2499000/2499297.stm |access-date=8 March 2015 |archive-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620044520/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/6/newsid_2499000/2499297.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> When the EC became the [[European Union]] (EU) in 1992, the UK was one of the 12 founding member states.

From the late 1960s, Northern Ireland suffered communal and paramilitary violence (sometimes affecting other parts of the UK) conventionally known as [[the Troubles]]. It is usually considered to have ended with the 1998 [[Belfast Agreement|Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aughey |first=Arthur |url=https://archive.org/details/politicsnorthern00augh |title=The Politics of Northern Ireland: Beyond the Belfast Agreement |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-415-32788-6 |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/politicsnorthern00augh/page/n15 7] |url-access=limited}}; "The troubles were over, but the killing continued. Some of the heirs to Ireland's violent traditions refused to give up their inheritance." {{Cite book |last=Holland |first=Jack |url=https://archive.org/details/hopeagainsthisto00holl/page/221 |title=Hope against History: The Course of Conflict in Northern Ireland |publisher=Henry Holt |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8050-6087-4 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/hopeagainsthisto00holl/page/221 221]}}; Elliot, Marianne (2007). ''The Long Road to Peace in Northern Ireland: Peace Lectures from the Institute of Irish Studies at Liverpool University.'' University of Liverpool Institute of Irish Studies, Liverpool University Press. p. 2. {{ISBN|978-1-84631-065-2}}.</ref>
[[File:Greenwich and Canary Wharf (1) - 2022-04-24.jpg|thumb|[[Canary Wharf]], a symbol of [[Big Bang (financial markets)|the financial reforms]] initiated by [[Margaret Thatcher]] in the 1980s]]
Following a period of widespread economic slowdown and industrial strife in the 1970s, the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] government of the 1980s led by [[Margaret Thatcher]] initiated a radical policy of [[monetarism]], deregulation, particularly of the financial sector (for example, the [[Big Bang (financial markets)|Big Bang]] in 1986) and labour markets, the sale of state-owned companies (privatisation), and the withdrawal of subsidies to others.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dorey |first=Peter |title=British politics since 1945 |publisher=Blackwell |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-631-19075-2 |series=Making contemporary Britain |location=Oxford |pages=164–223}}</ref>

In 1982, [[Argentina]] invaded the British territories of [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands|South Georgia]] and the [[Falkland Islands]], leading to the 10-week [[Falklands War]] in which Argentine forces were defeated. The inhabitants of the islands are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and strongly favour British sovereignty, expressed in a [[2013 Falkland Islands sovereignty referendum|2013 referendum]]. From 1984, the UK economy was helped by the inflow of substantial [[North Sea oil]] revenues.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Griffiths, Alan |url=http://vig.pearsoned.co.uk/catalog/uploads/Griffiths_C01.pdf |title=Applied Economics |last2=Wall, Stuart |publisher=Financial Times Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-273-70822-3 |edition=11th |location=Harlow |page=6 |access-date=26 December 2010 |archive-date=23 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090823124048/http://vig.pearsoned.co.uk/catalog/uploads/Griffiths_C01.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Gibraltar]] has also been a subject of contention regarding it's sovereignty, it was given to the UK from Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht 'for ever'.<ref>{{cite wikisource|title=Peace and Friendship Treaty of Utrecht between Spain and Great Britain}}</ref> It has been a [[Port of Gibraltar|key military base]] for the UK and a [[2002 Gibraltar sovereignty referendum|referendum in 2002]] for shared sovereignty with Spain was lost by 98.97%.

Around the end of the 20th century, there were major changes to the governance of the UK with the establishment of [[devolution|devolved]] administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keating |first=Michael |date=1 January 1998 |title=Reforging the Union: Devolution and Constitutional Change in the United Kingdom |journal=Publius: The Journal of Federalism |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=217–234 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a029948}}</ref> The [[Human Rights Act 1998|statutory incorporation]] followed acceptance of the [[European Convention on Human Rights]]. The UK remained a [[List of modern great powers#United Kingdom|great power]] with global diplomatic and military influence and a leading role in the United Nations and [[NATO]].<ref name="David M. McCourt">{{Cite book |last=McCourt |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lwpOnwEACAAJ&q=Britain+and+World+Power+Since+1945:+Constructing+a+Nation%27s+Role+in+International+Politics |title=Britain and World Power Since 1945: Constructing a Nation's Role in International Politics |publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-472-07221-7 |access-date=21 October 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328141741/https://books.google.com/books?id=lwpOnwEACAAJ&q=Britain+and+World+Power+Since+1945:+Constructing+a+Nation%27s+Role+in+International+Politics |url-status=live }}</ref>