Strategic Management“Final Project”

PEST ANALYSIS OF ENGLAND

Submitted to Mr. Faiez Seyyal

Submitted by

Saeeda Jabeen FA09-MBA-131

Naeem Riaz Bajwa FA09-MBA-110

M. Urfan Shahid FA09-MBA-103

SyedUsman Shah FA09-MBA-149

Rabbani Jakhar FA09-MBA-119

PEST ANALYSIS OF ENGLAND

Political analysis of England

Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament

As part of the United Kingdom, the basic political system in England is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system.

There has not been a Government of England since 1707, when the Acts of Union 1707, putting into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union, joined England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Before the union England was ruled by monarch and the Parliament of England. Today England is governed directly by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, although other countries have devolved governments.

In the 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.

In the United Kingdom general election, 2010 the Conservative Party had won an absolute majority in England's 532 contested seats with 61 seats more than all other parties combined (the Speaker of the House not being counted as a Conservative).

In order to achieve a majority the Conservative party, headed by David Cameron, entered into a coalition agreement with the third largest party, the Liberal Democrats, led by Nick Clegg. Subsequently Gordon Brown announced he was stepping down as prime minister and leader of the Labour party, now led by Ed Miliband.

The 2009 European Parliament election saw the regions of England elect the following MEPs: twenty-three Conservatives, ten Labour, nine UK Independence Party (UKIP), nine Liberal Democrats, two Greens and two British (BNP).

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 in a referendum, this has not been carried out.

One major issue is the West Lothian question, in which MPs from Scotland and Wales are able to vote on legislation affecting only England, while English MPs have no equivalent right to legislate on devolved matters.

This when placed in the context of England being the only country of the United Kingdom not to have free cancer treatment, prescriptions, residential care for the elderly and free, has led to a steady rise in English nationalism. Some have suggested the creation of a devolved English parliament, while others have proposed simply limiting voting on legislation which only affects England to English MPs.

Law

The Royal Courts of Justice

The English law legal system, developed over the centuries, is the foundation of many legal systems throughout the Anglosphere. 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 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.

The court system is headed by the Supreme Court of Judicature, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice for civil cases, and the Crown Court for criminal cases.

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.

A decision of the Supreme Court is binding on every other court in the hierarchy, which must follow its directions.

Crime increased between 1981 and 1995, but fell by 42% in the period 1995–2006. The prison population doubled over the same period, giving it the highest incarceration rate in Western Europe at 147 per 100,000. Her Majesty's Prison

Service, reporting to the Ministry of Justice, manages most prisons, housing over 80,000 convicts.

Local governanceThe Local Government Act of 1888 was the first systematic attempt to impose a standardised system of local government in England. The counties of England at the time (today known as the historic counties, since the major boundary changes of 1974) were used as the basis of the system. A second Act in 1894 (Local Government Act 1894) also created a second tier of local government. Henceforth, all administrative counties and county boroughs would be divided into either rural or urban districts, allowing more localised administration.

By 1888, it was clear that the piecemeal system that had developed over the previous century in response to the vastly increased need for local administration could no longer cope. The sanitary districts and parish councils had legal status, but were not part of the mechanism of government. They were run by volunteers; often there was no-one who could be held responsible for the failure to undertake the required duties. Furthermore, the increased "county business" could not be handled by the Quarter Sessions, nor was it appropriate to do so. Finally, there was a desire to see local administration performed by elected officials, as in the reformed municipal boroughs. The Act was therefore the first systematic attempt to impose a standardised system of local government in England

The counties of England at the time (now known as the historic counties, since the major boundary changes of 1974) were used as the basis of the system. The counties themselves had undergone some boundary changes in the preceding 50 years, mainly to remove enclaves and exclaves. The act called for the creation of statutory counties, based on the ancient/historic counties, but completely corrected for enclaves and exclaves, and adjusted so that all settlements were completely within a single county. These statutory counties were to be used for non-administrative functions: "sheriff, lieutenant, custos rotulorum, justices, militia, coroner, or other". With the advent of elected councils, the offices of lord lieutenant and sheriff became largely ceremonial.

The statutory counties formed the basis for the so-called 'administrative counties'. However, it was felt that large cities and primarily rural areas in the same county could not be well administered by the same body. Thus 59 "counties in themselves", or 'county boroughs', were created to administer the urban centres of England. These were part of the statutory counties, but not part of the administrative counties.

A second Act in 1894 (Local Government Act 1894) also created a second tier of local government. Henceforth, all administrative counties and county boroughs would be divided into either rural or urban districts, allowing more localised administration. The municipal boroughs reformed after 1835 were brought into this system as special cases of urban districts. The urban and rural districts were based upon, and incorporated the sanitary districts which had been created in 1875 (with adjustments, so that districts did not overlap two counties).

The Act also provided for the establishment of civil parishes. The 1894 Act formed an official system of civil parishes, separated from the ecclesiastical parishes, to carry on some of these responsibilities (others being transferred to the district/county councils). However, the civil parishes were not a complete third-tier of local government. Instead, they were 'community councils' for smaller, rural settlements, which did not have a local government district to themselves. Where urban parish councils had previously existed, they were absorbed into the new urban districts.

20th and 21st centuries

Political issues

Following years of political and military agitation for 'Home Rule' for Ireland, the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 established the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland) as a separate state, leaving Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom. The official name of the UK thus became "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

England, as part of the UK, joined the European Economic Community in 1973, which became the European Union in 1993.

There is a movement in England to create a devolved English Parliament. This would give England a local Parliament like those already functioning for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. This issue is referred to as the West Lothian question.

General history and local government

A Local Government Commission was wound up in 1966, and replaced with a Royal Commission (known as the Redcliff-Maud commission). In 1969 it recommended a system of single-tier unitary authorities for the whole of England, apart from three metropolitan areas of Merseyside, Selnec (Greater Manchester) and West Midlands(Birmingham and the Black Country), which were to have both a

metropolitan council and district councils. This report was accepted by the Labour Party government of the time despite considerable opposition, but the Conservative Party won the June 1970 general election, and on a manifesto that committed them to a two-tier structure.

The reforms arising from the Local Government Act of 1972 resulted in the most uniform and simplified system of local government which has been used in England. They effectively wiped away everything that had gone before, and built an administrative system from scratch. All previous administrative districts - statutory counties, administrative counties, county boroughs, municipal boroughs, counties corporate, civil parishes - were abolished.

The aim of the act was to establish a uniform two tier system across the country. Onto the blank canvas, new counties were created to cover the entire country; many of these were obviously based on the historic counties, but there were some major changes, especially in the north.

This uniform two-tier system lasted only 12 years. In 1986, the metropolitan county councils and Greater London were abolished. This restored autonomy (in effect the old county borough status) to the metropolitan and London boroughs. The Local Government Act (1992) established a commission (Local Government Commission for England) to examine the issues, and make recommendations on where unitary authorities should be established. It was considered too expensive to make the system entirely unitary, and also there would doubtlessly be cases where the two-tier system functioned well. The commission recommended that many counties be moved to completely unitary systems; that some cities become unitary authorities, but that the remainder of their parent counties remain two-tier; and that in some counties the status quo should remain.

The rate-capping rebellion was a campaign within English local councils in 1985 which aimed to force the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher to withdraw powers to restrict the spending of councils. The affected councils were almost all run by left-wing Labour Party leaderships. The campaign's tactic was that councils whose budgets were restricted would refuse to set any budget at all for the financial year 1985-86, requiring the Government to intervene directly in providing local services, or to concede. However, all 15 councils which initially refused to set a rate eventually did so, and the campaign failed to change Government policy. Powers to restrict council budgets have remained in place ever since.

In 1997, the Lieutenancies Act was passed. This firmly separated all local authority areas (whether unitary or two-tier), from the geographical concept of a county as high level spatial unit. The lieutenancies it established became known as ceremonial counties, since they were no longer administrative divisions. The counties represent a compromise between the historic counties and the counties established in 1974.

The Labour government (1997–2010) had planned to introduce eight regional assemblies around England, to devolve power to the regions. This would have sat alongside the devolved Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish Assemblies. In the event, only a London Assembly (and directly elected Mayor) was established. Rejection in a referendum of a proposed North-East Assembly in 2004 effectively scrapped those plans. A pre-condition of having a regional assembly was for the whole area to move to unitary authority status. Since the 2005 general election the government has floated the idea of voluntary mergers of local councils, avoiding a costly reorganisation but achieving desired reform. For instance, the guiding principles of the government's "New Localism" demand levels of efficiency not present in the current over-duplicated two-tier structure.

In 2009, new changes to local government were made whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in areas which previously had a 'two-tier' system of counties and districts. In five shire counties the functions of the county and district councils were combined into a single authority; and in two counties the powers of the county council were absorbed into a significantly reduced number of districts.

Economic Analysis of England

Economic growth

The Economy of England is the largest economy of the four countries of the United Kingdom.

England is a highly industrialized country. It is an important producer of textiles and chemical products. Although automobiles, locomotives, and aircraft are among England's other important industrial products, a significant proportion of the country's income comes from the City.

Since the 1990s, the financial services sector has played an increasingly significant role in the English economy and the City of London is one of the world's largest financial centers. Banks, insurance companies, commodity and futures exchanges are heavily concentrated in the City.

The service sector of the economy as a whole is now the largest in England, with manufacturing and primary industries in decline. The only major secondary industry

that is growing is the construction industry, fuelled by economic growth provided mainly by the growing services, administrative and financial sector.

The British pound sterling is the official currency of England and the central bank of the United Kingdom, the Bank of England, is located in London

Sectors

Agriculture and fishing

Finance

Manufacturing

Tourism

Regional variation

The strength of the English economy varies from region to region. GDP, and GDP per capita is highest in London. The following table shows the GDP (2004) per capita of England as a whole and each of the nine regions.

Rank Place GDP per capitain Euros

England 26 904

1.London 44 401

2.South East 31 300

3.East of England 27 778

4.South West 27 348

5.East Midlands 26 683

6.West Midlands 25 931

7.North West 25 396

8.Yorkshire and the Humber 25 300

9.North East 22 886

Two of the 10 economically strongest areas in the European Union are in England. Inner London is number 1 with a €71 338 GDP per capita (303% above EU average); Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire is number 7 with a €40 937 GDP per capita (174% above EU average

Interest rates

Britain has suffered its sharpest fall in growth since the collapse of Lehman Brothers amid mounting evidence that the recovery is stalling in the face of tough fiscal austerity The Bank of England left rates on hold at their historic low of 0.5pc for the 27th consecutive month on Thursday, as key data on the UK's dominant services sector came in weaker than expected. The Markit/CIPS headline services PMI index fell to 54.3 in April from 57.1 in March. While still indicating growth, it was below forecasts of 55.7.

Together with weak PMIs on manufacturing and construction earlier this week, the services sector survey indicated "the largest loss of growth momentum seen since just after the collapse of Lehmans" in September 2008, said Chris Williamson, Markit's chief economist. He added that the PMI data signalled that GDP was expanding at a quarterly rate of just 0.4pc.

The weak PMI data has forced economists to push back their expectations of a rate rise to the end of the year. Many are now expecting them to be left unchanged until early next year, and the market is factoring in just one rate rise in 2011 - in December. Just two months ago, the markets believed there was a nine-in-10 chance that rates would have been lifted on Thursday.

Even Goldman Sachs, which remains relatively optimistic on growth, has revised its forecasts. Until recently predicting a rise this month, chief economist Kevin Daly said: "We have penciled in the fourth quarter, but the first hike could be as late as the start of 2012."

The level of inflation

InflationCPI 4.5%, RPI 5.2%

Annual inflation rates - 12 month percentage change

CPI annual inflation – the Government’s target measure – was 4.5 per cent in April, up from 4.0 per cent in March. The last time CPI annual inflation was higher was September 2008 when it stood at 5.2 per cent (the record high for CPI).

The timing of Easter in 2011 had a significant impact on certain travel costs included

in the CPI due to the collection periods for air transport, sea transport and international rail travel including the Easter holidays. Easter in 2010 was much earlier and did not affect the April 2010 CPI.

The largest upward pressures to the change in CPI inflation came from:

Transport: by far the largest upward effect came from air transport where the timing of Easter contributed to fares rising by 29.0 per cent between March and April 2011; between the same two months in 2010, fares fell by 1.0 per cent. There was also a large upward effect from sea transport where again Easter was a factor; fares rose by 22.3 per cent between March and April 2011 compared to an increase of 3.1 per cent a year ago

Partially offsetting these upward effects within transport was downward pressure from petrol and diesel where prices rose by less than a year ago. This was partly due to the fact there was a decrease in excise duty that influenced fuel prices in April 2011 whereas in April 2010 there was an increase in excise duty

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco: prices, overall, rose by a record 5.3 per cent between March and April 2011 compared with a rise of 2.1 per cent a year ago. The increase in excise duties on alcohol and tobacco this year had a more significant impact than the increases a year ago

Housing and household services: the largest upward effect came from gas where average bills were unchanged between March and April 2011 but fell by 2.9 per cent a year ago. The next largest upward effects came from sewerage collection where charges rose this year but fell a year ago and rental costs for housing, which rose by more than a year ago

The largest downward pressures to the change in CPI inflation came from:

miscellaneous goods and services: the largest downward effects came from appliances and products for personal care and transport insurance

Clothing and footwear: prices, overall, rose by 1.3 per cent between March and April this year compared with a 2.2 per cent increase a year ago. Although there is a smaller price rise this year, the increase of 1.3 per cent is still the second largest rise for a March to April period

In the year to April, RPI annual inflation was 5.2 per cent, down from 5.3 per cent in

March.

RPIX annual inflation – the all items RPI excluding mortgage interest payments – was 5.3 per cent in April, down from 5.4 per cent in March.

As an internationally comparable measure of inflation, the CPI shows that the UK inflation rate in March was above the provisional figure for the European Union. The UK rate was 4.0 per cent whereas the EU’s as a whole was 3.1 per cent.

Employment level per capita

The economy of the United Kingdom is the sixth-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal GDP and seventh-largest measured by purchasing power parity (PPP), and the third-largest in Europe measured by nominal GDP (after Germany and France) and second-largest measured by PPP (after Germany). The UK's GDP per capita is the 20th highest in the world in nominal terms and the 17th highest measured by PPP. The British economy comprises (in descending order of size) the economies of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the European Union, the G7, the G8, the G20, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.

In the 18th century the UK was the first country in the world to industrialize, and for much of the 19th century possessed a dominant role in the global economy.[10] However, by the late 19th century, the Second Industrial Revolution in the United States and the German Empire presented an increasing challenge to Britain's role as the leader of the global economy. Despite victory, the costs of fighting both the First World War and the Second World War further weakened the relative economic position of the UK, and by 1945 Britain had been superseded by the United States as the chief player in the global economy. However, the UK still maintains a significant role in the world economy.

The UK is one of the world's most globalize countries. London is the world's largest financial centre alongside New York and has the largest city GDP in Europe. As of December 2010 the UK had the third-largest stock of both inward and outward foreign direct investment (in each case after the United States and France). The aerospace industry of the UK is the second- or third-largest national aerospace industry, depending upon the method of measurement. The pharmaceutical industry plays an important role in the UK economy and the country has the third-highest share of global pharmaceutical R&D expenditures (after the United States and Japan). The British economy is boosted by North Sea oil and gas reserves, valued at an estimated £250 billion in 2007.

The UK entered a recession in Q2 of 2008, according to the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) and exited it in Q4 of 2009. The revised ONS figures of November 2009 showed that the UK had suffered six consecutive quarters of negative growth. As of the end of November 2009, the economy had shrunk by 4.9%, making the 2008-2009 recession the longest since records began. In December 2009, the Office of National Statistics revised figures for the third quarter of 2009 showed that the economy shrank by 0.2%, compared to a 0.6% fall the previous quarter.

On 23 January 2009, Government figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that the UK was officially in recession for the first time since 1991. It entered a recession in the final quarter of 2008, accompanied by rising unemployment which increased from 5.2% in May 2008 to 7.6% in May 2009. The unemployment rate among 18 to 24-year-olds has risen from 11.9% to 17.3%.Though initially Britain lagged behind other major economies including Germany, France, Japan, and the US which all returned to growth in the second quarter of 2009, the country eventually returned to growth in the last quarter of 2009. On January 26, 2010, it was confirmed that the U.K. had left its recession, the last major economy in the world to do so In the 3 months to February 2010 the U.K. economy grew yet again by 0.4% In Q2 of 2010 the economy grew by 1.2% the fastest rate of growth in 9 years, in Q3 of 2010 figures released showed the UK economy grew by 0.8%; this was the fastest Q3 growth in 10 years

Social Cultural Analysis of England

The culture of England refers to the idiosyncratic cultural norms of England and the English people. Because of England's dominant position within the United Kingdom in terms of population, English culture is often difficult to differentiate from the culture of the United Kingdom as a whole. However, there are some cultural practices that are associated specifically with England.

The English flag is a red cross on a white background, commonly called the Cross of Saint George. It was adopted after the Crusades. Saint George, later famed as a dragon-slayer, is also the patron saint of England. The three golden lions on a red background were the banner of the kings of England derived from their status as Duke of Normandy and is now used to represent the English national football team and the English, though in blue rather than gold. The English oak and the Tudor rose are also English symbols, the latter of which is (although more modernized) used by the England national rugby union team.

England has no official anthem; however, the United Kingdom's "God Save the Queen" is

Currently used. Other songs are sometimes used, including "Land of Hope and Glory" (used as England's anthem in the Commonwealth), "Jerusalem", "Rule Britannia", and "I Vow to Thee, My Country". Moves by certain groups are encouraging adoption of an official English anthem following similar occurrences in Scotland and Wales

The name of the country and the term "English" derive from the Old English word for one of the three Germanic peoples that invaded the British Isles in the fifth century C. E ., the Angles. "Britain" and "British" derive from a Roman term for the inhabitants' language of the British Isles, called "Brythonic" or p-Celtic.

Englishness is highly regionalized. The most important regional divide is between the south and the north. The south, chiefly represented by the regions of the southeast, southwest, East Anglia, and the Midlands, now contains the economically most dynamic sectors of the country, including the City (the chief financial centre of the United Kingdom) and the seat of the national government, both in London. The north, the cradle of industrialization and the site of traditional smokestack industries, includes Yorkshire, Lancashire, Northumberland, Cumbria, Durham, Merseyside, and Cheshire. Especially in the last decades of the twentieth century, the north has experienced deindustrialization, severe economic hardship, and cultural balkanization. England is also a culture of many smaller regionalisms, still centred on the old governmental unit of the county and the local villages and towns. Local products, such as ale, and regional rituals and art forms, such as Morris dancing and folk music, many of which date back to the preindustrial era, allow people to shape their attachments to their communities and the nation. Merged with the north–south divide and regionalism are notions of working class, middle class, and upper class as well as rich versus poor.

England's role as a destination for migration also has influenced conceptions of Englishness. Historically, the most prominent immigrant group has been the Irish,

who came in two major waves in the modern era: 1847 and 1848 after the potato famine, and during and after World War II. Scots were present in England by the 1700s and settled in England in large numbers during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, often for economic reasons. Welsh in-migration came to prominence when deindustrialization began in Wales in the 1920s.

This immigration has brought the so-called Celtic fringe into English culture in a host of ways. There has also been the impact of Jewish, Flemish, Dutch, French Huguenot, German, Italian, Polish, Turkish, Cypriot, and Chinese cultures since the twelfth century. The loss of Britain's colonies has brought Afro-Caribbean’s, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Indians, and migrants from north-western and eastern Africa in significant numbers. Judgments of whether England's newcomers feel themselves to be "English" vary by group and even by individual.

Architecture and gardens

The Neolithic peoples of what would become England

Constructed many impressive stone circles and earthworks; of these, the largest and most famous is Stonehenge, believed by many English people and foreigners alike to hold an iconic place in the landscape of England.

Specifically English architecture begins with the architecture of the Anglo-Saxons;

At least fifty surviving English churches are of Anglo-Saxon origin, although in some cases the Anglo-Saxon part is small and much-altered. All except one timber church are built of stone or brick, and in some cases show evidence of reused Roman work. The architectural character of Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastical buildings ranges from Coptic-influenced architecture in the early period; Early Christian basilica influenced

Architecture; to, in the later Anglo-Saxon period, an architecture characterized by pilaster-strips, blank arcading, baluster shafts and triangular-headed openings. Almost no secular work remains above ground.

Other buildings such as cathedrals and parish churches are associated with a sense of traditional Englishness, as is often the palatial 'stately home'. Many people are interested in the English country house and the rural lifestyle, as evidenced by visits to properties managed by English Heritage and the National Trust.

Landscape gardening as developed by Capability Brown set an international trend for the English garden. Gardening, and visiting gardens, is regarded as typically English pursuits.

Art

English art was dominated by imported artists throughout much of the Renaissance, but in the 18th century a native tradition became much admired. It is often considered to be typified by landscape painting, such as the work of J.M.W. Turner and John Constable. Portraitists like Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds and William Hogarth are also significant. Hogarth also developed a distinctive style of satirical painting.

Cuisine

Since the early modern era, the food of England has historically been characterized by its simplicity of approach, honesty of flavour, and a reliance on the high quality of natural produce. This has resulted in a traditional cuisine which tended to veer from strong flavours, such as garlic, and an avoidance of complex sauces which were commonly associated with Catholic Continental political affiliations. Traditional meals have ancient origins, such as bread and cheese, roasted and stewed meats, meat and game pies, and freshwater and saltwater fish. The 14th century English cookbook, the Forme of Curry, contains recipes for these, and dates from the royal court of Richard II.

Modern English cuisine is difficult to differentiate from British cuisine as a whole. However, there are some forms of cuisine considered distinctively English. The full English breakfast is a variant of the traditional British fried breakfast. The normal ingredients of a traditional full English breakfast are bacon, eggs, fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, fried bread or toast, and sausages, usually served with a mug of tea. Black pudding is added in some regions as well as fried leftover mashed potatoes called Potato cakes.

Tea and beer are typical and rather iconic drinks in England, particularly the former. Cider is produced in the West Country, and the south of England has seen the reintroduction of vineyards producing high quality white wine on a comparatively small scale.

Roast beef is a food traditionally associated with the English; the link was made famous by Henry's patriotic ballad "The Roast Beef of Old England", and William Hogarth'spainting of the same name. Indeed, since the 1700s the phrase "les rosbifs" has been a popular French nickname for the English.

England produces hundreds of regional cheeses, including:

Cheddar cheese Stilton cheese Wensleydale cheese Lancashire cheese Dorset Blue Vinney cheese Cheshire cheese Double Gloucester cheese Red Leicester Blue cheese

More dishes invented in or distinctive to England include:

The English crumpet is a form of crumpet; it is distinguished from its Scottish equivalent by its greater thickness

Muffins , known as 'English muffins' in North America, are a form of rounded, yeast-leavened bread

Lancashire hotpot Cornish pasty Mushy peas Worcester sauce Clotted cream  from Devon and Cornwall Yorkshire pudding Sausage and mash Eccles cake Cumberland sausage Lincolnshire sausage Apple pie

Folklore

English folklore is the folk tradition that has evolved in England over the centuries. England abounds with folklore, in all forms, from such obvious manifestations as semi-historical Robin Hood tales, to contemporary urban myths and facets of crypto zoology such as the Beast of Bodmin Moor. The famous Arthurian legends may not have originated in England, but variants of these tales are associated with locations in England, such as Glastonbury and Tintagel.

Examples of surviving English folk traditions include the Morris dance and related practices such as the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance and the Mummers Plays. In many, usually rural places, people still gather for May Day festivals on the first of May to celebrate the beginning of summer. This traditionally involves local children skipping around a maypole - a large pole erected on the village green (historically a tree would have been specially cut down) - each carrying a colored ribbon, resulting in a multi-colored plaited pattern. The festival traditionally features Morris dancing and various festivities, culminating in the crowning of a 'May Queen'. Many regional variations of the festivals exist; the oldest still practiced today is the "'Obby 'Oss festival of Padstow, which dates back to the 14th century.

The utopian vision of a traditional England is sometimes referred to as Merry England.

Law

English law is the legal system of England and Wales. Due to the British Empire, it has been exported across the world: it is the basis of common law jurisprudence of most Commonwealth countries, and English law prior to the American revolution is still part of the law of the United States, except in Louisiana, and provides the basis for many American legal traditions and policies, though it has no superseding jurisdiction.

Literature

English literature begins with Anglo-Saxon literature, which was written in Old English. For many years, Latin and French were the preferred literary languages of England, but in the medieval period there was a flourishing of literature in Middle English; Geoffrey Chaucer is the most famous writer of this period. The Elizabethan era is sometimes described as the golden age of English literature, as numerous great poets were writing in English, and the Elizabethan theatre produced William Shakespeare, often considered the English national poet.

Due to the expansion of English into a world language during the British Empire, literature is now written in English across the world. Writers often associated with England or for expressing Englishness include Shakespeare (who produced two tetralogies of plays about the English kings), Jane Austen, Arnold Bennett, and Rupert Brooke (whose poem "Grant Chester" is often considered quintessentially English). Other writers are associated with specific regions of England; these include Charles Dickens (London), Thomas Hardy(Wessex), A. E. Houseman (Shropshire), and the Lake Poets (the Lake District). In the lighter vein, Agatha Christie's mystery novels are outsold only by Shakespeare and The Bible.

Music

England has a long and rich musical history. The United Kingdom has, like most European countries, undergone a roots revival in the last half of the 20th century. English music has been an instrumental and leading part of this phenomenon, which peaked at the end of the 1960s and into the 1970s.

The achievements of the Anglican choral tradition following on from 16th century composers such as Thomas Tallis, John Taverner andWilliam Byrd have tended to overshadow instrumental composition. The semi-operatic innovations of Henry Purcell did not lead to a native operatic tradition, but George Frederick Handel found important royal patrons and enthusiastic public support in England. The rapturous receptions afforded by audiences to visiting musical celebrities such as Haydn often contrasted with the lack of recognition for home-grown talent. However, the emergence of figures such as Edward Elgar and Arthur Sullivan in the 19th century showed a new vitality in English music. In the 20th century, Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett emerged as internationally-recognized opera composers, and Ralph Vaughan Williams and others collected English folk tunes and adapted them to the concert hall. Cecil Sharp was a leading figure in the English folk revival.

Finally, a new trend emerged out of Liverpool in 1962. The Beatles became the most popular musicians of their time, and in the composing duo of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, popularized the concept of the self-contained music act. Before the Beatles, very few popular singers composed the tunes they performed. The "Fab Four" opened the doors for other English acts such as The Rolling Stones, Cream, The Hollies, The Kinks, The Who, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd to the globe.

Some of England's leading contemporary artists include Eric Clapton, Elton John, George Michael, Blur, The Spice Girls, Party, Arctic, Robbie Williams, Oasis, The Smiths, Radio head, David Bowie, Coldplay and Muse.

Religion

In the 2001 Census, a little over 37 million people in England and Wales professed themselves to be Christian. Since the English Reformation of the 16th century, when England became independent from Rome, English Christians have predominantly been members of the Church of England (a branch of the Anglican Communion), a form of Christianity that is both reformed and Catholic. The Book of Common Prayer is the

foundational prayer book of the Church of England, replacing the various Latin rites of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Church of England functions as the established church in England. Both the Church of England and the Catholic Church in England and Wales trace their formal history from the 597 Augustinian mission to the English. Today, most English people practicing organized religion are, at least nominally, affiliated to the Church of England. Other significant Christian denominations are Roman Catholicism and Methodism (itself originally a movement within the Anglican Church). Churches that originated in England include the Methodist church, the Quakers and the Salvation Army.

Jewish immigration since the 17th century means that there is an integrated Jewish English population, mainly in urban areas. 252,000 Jews were recorded in England & Wales in the 2001 Census; however this represents a decline of about 50% over the previous 50 years, caused by emigration and intermarriage.[citation needed] Immigration to Britain from India and Pakistan since the 1950s means that a large number of people living in England practice Islam (818,000), Hinduism (467,000), or Sikhism (301,000); however, the census shows that adherents to these religions are more likely to regard themselves as British rather than English. The 2001 census also revealed that about seven million people, or 15% of English people, claim no religion.

Language

English people traditionally speak the English language, a member of the West Germanic language family. The modern English language evolved from Old English, with lexical influence from Norman-French, Latin, and Old Norse. Cornish, a Celtic language originating in Cornwall, are currently spoken by about 3,500 people. Historically, another Brythonic Celtic language, Cumbric, was spoken in Cumbria in North West England, but it died out in the 11th century although traces of it can still be found in the Cumbrian dialect. Because of the 19th century geopolitical dominance of the British Empire and the post-World War II hegemony of the United States, English has become the international language of business, science, communications, aviation, and diplomacy.

Sport and leisure

There are many sports which have been codified by the English, and then spread worldwide including badminton, cricket, croquet football, field hockey, lawn tennis, rugby league, rugby union, table tennis and thoroughbred horse racing. In the late 18th century, the English game of rounder was transported to the American Colonies, where it evolved into baseball. Association football, cricket, rugby union and rugby league are considered to be the national sports of England.

England, and the other countries of the United Kingdom, competes as a separate nation in some international sporting events, especially in football, cricket and rugby union. The England cricket team actually represents England and Wales. However, in the Olympic Games, England competes as part of the Great Britain team. Supporters are nowadays more likely to carry the Cross of Saint George flag whereas twenty years ago the British Union Flag would have been the more prominent. In an article in the Daily Mirror on 17 September 2005, Billy Bragg said "Watching the crowd in Trafalgar Square celebrating The Ashes win, I couldn't help but be amazed at how quickly the flag of St. George has replaced the Union Flag in the affections of England fans. A generation ago, England games looked a lot like Last Night of the Proms, with the red, white and blue firmly to the fore. Now, it seems, the English have begun to remember who they are.

Football maintains a consistent popularity across the country and is often indicative of trends across wider culture in England, such as in clothing and music. The increase in hooliganism amongst football fans in the 1970s and 1980s can in part be attributed to a parallel rise in unemployment. As England, and the United Kingdom as a whole, returned to a more affluent and stable financial position in the late 1990s, violent football culture was transformed into a culture where families were welcome, and nationalism lost its aggressive edge.

Different sports directly represent the different social classes within England. Rugby league, for instance, was traditionally associated with the old mill towns of north-west England, whereas cricket and rugby union have their origins in the private schools of the 18th and 19th centuries respectively.

However, since the English Rugby World Cup victory in 2003, the sport has seen a revival in widespread popularity across the class system. Likewise, after the Ashes victory of 2005, cricket has regained much of the popularity it had lost throughout the 1990s.

Tennis is also one of England's major sports. One of the most prestigious tournaments in tennis, Wimbledon, is held in England.

Technology

English inventions and discoveries

Prominent English figures from the field of science and mathematics include Sir Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, Joseph Priestley, J. J. Thomson, Charles Babbage, Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking, Christopher Wren, Alan Turing, Francis Crick,Joseph Lister, Tim Berners-Lee, Andrew Wiles and Richard Dawkins. Some experts claim that the earliest concept of a metric system was invented by John Wilkins, first secretary of the Royal Society in 1668.

As birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, England was home to many significant inventors during the late 18th and early 19th century. Famous English engineers include Isambard Kingdom Brunel, best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, and numerous important bridges, hence revolutionising public transport and modern-day engineering.

Thomas Newcomen's steam engine helped spawn the Industrial Revolution.

Inventions and discoveries of the English include; the jet engine, the first industrial spinning machine, the first computer and the first modern computer, the World Wide Web along with HTTP and HTML, the first successful human blood transfusion, the motorised vacuum cleaner.

The lawn mower, the seat belt, the hovercraft, the electric motor, steam engines, and theories such as the Darwinian theory of evolution and atomic theory.

Newton developed the ideas of universal gravitation, Newtonian mechanics, and infinitesimal calculus, and Robert his eponymously named law of elasticity. Other inventions include the iron plate railway, the thermo siphon, tarmac, the rubber band, the mousetrap, "cat's eye" road safety device, joint development of the light bulb, steam locomotives, the modern seed drill and many modern techniques and technologies used in precision engineering