England

==Governance==

===Politics===
{{Main|Politics of England}}
[[File:Palace of Westminster, London - Feb 2007.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|alt=Photograph of rectangular floodlight building, reflected in water. The building has multiple towers including one at each end. The tower on the right includes an illuminated clock face.|right|The [[Palace of Westminster]], the seat of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]]]

England is part of the United Kingdom, a [[constitutional monarchy]] with a [[parliamentary system]].<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-kingdom/ "United Kingdom"] CIA ''The World Factbook'']. Retrieved 13 April 2021</ref> There has not been a [[government of England]] since 1707, when the [[Acts of Union 1707]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Act of Union between England and Scotland |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Act-of-Union/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=Historic UK |language=en-GB}}</ref> putting into effect the terms of the [[Treaty of Union]], joined England and Scotland to form the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]].<ref name="Union with Scotland">{{Cite web |title=The first Parliament of Great Britain |url=http://www.parliament.uk/actofunion/08_02_great.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621165514/http://www.parliament.uk/actofunion/08_02_great.html |archive-date=21 June 2008 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=Parliament}}</ref> Before the union England was ruled by [[List of English monarchs|its monarch]] and the [[Parliament of England]]. Today England is governed directly by the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]], although other [[countries of the United Kingdom]] have [[Devolution|devolved]] governments.<ref name="Devolution">{{Cite web |last=Cabinet Office |author-link=Cabinet Office |date=26 March 2009 |title=Devolution in the United Kingdom |url=http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/devolution.aspx |access-date=16 August 2009 |publisher=cabinetoffice.gov.uk}}</ref>

In the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] which is the [[lower house]] of the British Parliament based at the [[Palace of Westminster]], there are 532 members of parliament (MPs) for constituencies in England, out of the 650 total.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lists of MPs |url=http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/ |access-date=21 May 2009 |publisher=Parliament.uk}}</ref> England is represented by 345 MPs from the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], 179 from the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], seven from the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], one from the [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]], and the [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker of the House]].

Since devolution, in which other countries of the United Kingdom – Scotland, Wales and [[Northern Ireland]] – each have their own devolved parliament or assemblies for local issues, there has been debate about how to counterbalance this in England. Originally it was planned that various [[regions of England]] would be devolved, but following the proposal's rejection by the [[North East England|North East]] in a [[2004 North East England devolution referendum|2004 referendum]], this has not been carried out.<ref name="The Times 2004-11-05" />

===Law===
{{Main|English law}}
[[File:Royal Courts of Justice (6201094569).jpg|thumb|The [[Royal Courts of Justice]]|left]]

The [[English law]] legal system, developed over the centuries, is the basis of [[common law]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Common Law |url=http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=248 |access-date=5 October 2013 |website=The People's Law Dictionary |publisher=ALM Media Properties}}</ref> legal systems used in most [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 October 2000 |title=The Common Law in the British Empire |url=http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~law/ASLH/conferences/2000conference/101900345b.htm |access-date=20 August 2011 |publisher=H-net.msu.edu}}</ref> and the United States (except [[Louisiana]]). Despite now being part of the United Kingdom, the legal system of the [[Courts of England and Wales]] continued, under the [[Treaty of Union]], as a separate legal system from [[Scots law|the one used in Scotland]]. The general essence of English law is that it is made by judges sitting in courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of [[legal precedent]] – ''stare decisis'' – to the facts before them.<ref>{{harvnb|Fafinski|2007|p=60}}.</ref>

The court system is headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the [[Court of Appeal of England and Wales|Court of Appeal]], the [[High Court of Justice]] for civil cases, and the [[Crown Court]] for criminal cases.<ref>{{harvnb|Fafinski|2007|p=127}}.</ref> The [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom]] is the highest court for criminal and civil cases in [[England and Wales]]. It was created in 2009 after constitutional changes, taking over the [[judicial functions of the House of Lords]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Constitutional reform: A Supreme Court for the United Kingdom |url=http://www.dca.gov.uk/consult/supremecourt/supreme.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090117132005/http://www.dca.gov.uk/consult/supremecourt/supreme.pdf |archive-date=17 January 2009 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=DCA.gov.uk}}</ref> A decision of the Supreme Court is binding on every other court in the hierarchy, which must follow its directions.<ref>{{harvnb|Fafinski|2007|p=67}}.</ref>

The [[Secretary of State for Justice]] is the minister responsible to Parliament for the [[Judiciaries of the United Kingdom|judiciary]], the court system and prisons and probation in England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/secretary-of-state-for-justice |website=GOV.UK}}</ref> Crime increased between 1981 and 1995 but fell by 42% in the period 1995–2006.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Crime over the last 25 years |url=http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/crime0607summ.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090324214809/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/crime0607summ.pdf |archive-date=24 March 2009 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=HomeOffice.gov.uk}}</ref> The prison population doubled over the same period, giving it one of the [[List of countries by incarceration rate|highest incarceration rates]] in Western Europe at 147 per 100,000.<ref name="Crime BBC">{{Cite news |date=8 February 2008 |title=New record high prison population |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7235438.stm |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> [[His Majesty's Prison Service]], reporting to the [[Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Justice]], manages most prisons, housing 81,309 prisoners in England and Wales {{As of|2022|September|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Offender management statistics quarterly: April to June 2022 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2022/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2022 |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref>

===Subdivisions===
{{Main|Subdivisions of England}}
{{See also|Regions of England|Combined authority|Counties of England|Districts of England}}
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The [[subdivisions of England]] consist of up to four levels of [[administrative division|subnational division]], controlled through a variety of types of administrative entities created for the purposes of [[local government in England|local government]].

Outside the London region, England's highest tier is the 48 [[Ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial counties]].<ref name="britannicagov">{{harvnb|Encyclopædia Britannica|2002|p=100}}</ref> These are used primarily as a geographical frame of reference. Of these, 38 developed gradually since the [[Middle Ages]]; these were reformed to 51 in 1974 and to their current number in 1996.<ref name="maud">{{harvnb|Redcliffe-Maud|Wood|1974}}.</ref> Each has a [[Lord Lieutenant]] and [[High Sheriff]]; these posts are used to represent the [[British monarch]] locally.<ref name="britannicagov" /> Some counties, such as [[Herefordshire]], are only divided further into civil parishes. The royal county of Berkshire and the metropolitan counties have different types of status to other ceremonial counties.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.abcounties.com |date=2013-06-26 |title=The problem of "county confusion" – and how to resolve it |url=https://abcounties.com/counties/county-confusion/ |access-date=2023-09-17 |website=Association of British Counties}}</ref>

The second tier is made up of [[combined authorities]] and the 27 [[County Council|county-tier]] [[shire counties]]. In 1974, all ceremonial counties were two-tier; and with the metropolitan county tier phased out, the 1996 reform separated the ceremonial county and the administrative county tier.

England is also divided into local government districts.<ref name="localgov">{{harvnb|Singh|2009|p=53}}.</ref> The district can align to a ceremonial county, or be a district tier within a [[shire counties|shire county]], be a [[royal borough|royal]] or [[metropolitan borough]], have [[Borough status in the United Kingdom|borough]] or [[city status in the United Kingdom|city status]], or be a [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]].

At the community level, much of England is divided into [[civil parishes in England|civil parishes]] with their own [[Parish councils in England|councils]]; in Greater London only one such parish, [[Queen's Park, London|Queen's Park]], exists {{as of|2014|lc=y}} after they were [[London Government Act 1963|abolished in 1965]] until legislation [[Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007|allowed their recreation]] in 2007.

====London====
From 1994 until the early 2010s England was divided for a few purposes into regions; a [[1998 Greater London Authority referendum|1998 referendum]] for the London Region created the [[London Assembly]] two years later.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cooper |first=Hilary |date=29 March 2011 |title=Tiers shed as regional government offices disappear |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/mar/29/regional-government-disappears-1500-jobs-lost |access-date=16 June 2011}}</ref> A failed [[2004 North East England devolution referendum]] cancelled further [[Regional Assemblies in England|regional assembly]] devolution<ref name="The Times 2004-11-05">{{Cite news |last1=Sherman |first1=Jill |last2=Andrew Norfolk |date=5 November 2004 |title=Prescott's dream in tatters as North East rejects assembly |work=The Times |location=London |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article503255.ece |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525121618/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article503255.ece |archive-date=25 May 2010}}</ref> with the regional structure outside London abolished.

Ceremonially and administratively, the region is divided between the [[City of London]] and [[Greater London]]; these are further divided into the 32 [[London Boroughs]] and the 25 [[Wards of the City of London]].<ref>{{harvnb|Axford|2002|p=315}}.</ref>