John Oakland British Civilisation Third Edition Contents List of plates List of figures List of tables Preface and acknowledgements Introduction 1 The country Physical features Climate Agriculture, fisheries and forestry Energy resources Transport Communications Attitudes to the environment Exercises CONTENTS Early settlement to AD 1066 42 Growth and immigration to the twentieth century 45 Immigration in the twentieth century 50 Population movements in the twentieth century 55 Attitudes to Britishness and national identity 58 Exercises 63 3 Political institutions English political history The constitutional framework The monarchy The Privy Council Parliament The parliamentary electoral system (general elections) The party-political system Parliamentary procedure and legislation The government Parliamentary control of government Attitudes to politics and politicians Exercises 4 Local government English local government history The functions of local government Attitudes to local government I Exercises CONTENTS 127 128 133 135 140 145 5 International relations Foreign policy and defence The Commonwealth The European Union (EU) Eire and Northern Ireland Exercises IX 6 The legal system 147 English legal history 149 Sources of contemporary English law 150 The court system in England and Wales 152 Civil and criminal procedure in England and Wales 161 Punishment and law enforcement 168 The legal profession in England and Wales 173 Attitudes to the legal system 176 Exercises 177 7 Economic and industrial institutions 179 The modern economy: policies, structure and performance 182 Economic policy and performance since 1979 189 Social class, the workforce and employment 190 Financial institutions 197 Industrial and commercial institutions 202 Consumer protection 208 Attitudes to the economy and economic structure 209 Exercises 211 CONTENTS 8 Social security, health and housing Welfare history Changing family and demographic structures Social security The National Health Service (NHS) The personal social services Housing Attitudes to social security, health and housing Exercises 9 Education English school history The present state school system The independent (or private fee-paying) school sector School organization and examinations Higher education Further and adult education Attitudes to education Exercises 10 The media The print media The broadcasting media Media ownership and freedom of expression Attitudes to the media Exercises CONTENTS 293 294 299 308 311 31Z 313 314 316 11 Religion Religious history The Christian tradition The non-Christian tradition Cooperation among the churches Religion in schools Religious membership and observance Attitudes to religion and morality Exercises 12 Leisure, sports and the arts 317 Leisure activities 318 Sports 322 The arts 328 Attitudes to leisure, sports and the arts 332 Exercises 333 335 337 343 Bibliography Suggested further reading Index XI The Bank of England Coal miners' demonstration, 1992 Hospital nurse Woman with walking frame in local authority home for the elderly Homeless men Pupils of Harrow public school preparing for cricket A science class in a state comprehensive school Children in an inner city comprehensive school Daily Mirror newspaper building, Central London Guardian newspaper building. Docklands, London Press photography and coverage: Althorp wedding, 1989 Newspaper rack Anglican village church, Northamptonshire At prayer: Catholic mass Regent's Park mosque, London Working men's club Crowd of people at football match Football match: Derby County vs. Queen's Park Rangers Cricket in the city, Kennington estate, London Cricket in the country, Kent 1.1 The British Isles 1.2 Highland and lowland Britain 1.3 The British regions 3.1 Ballot paper 3.2 The House of Commons 3.3 From bill to Act of Parliament 4.1 The British counties and regions 5.1 The European Union (1994) 6.1 Civil and criminal courts 6.2 A typical magistrates' court in action 6.3 A typical crown court in action 6.4 Criminal procedure 7.1 Inflation rate, 1980-94 7.2 Unemployment rate, 1977-94 9.1 The 1944 organization of state schools 9.2 The current state school system 9.3 The independent school sector 10.1 The structure of British broadcasting ^IS^'^^^B j 11.1 Contemporary religious groups Kly I 2.1 Early settlement to AD 1066 44 2.2 Populations of major British cities (1991) 58 3.1 British governments and Prime Ministers since 1945 90 3.2 General elections results, 1992 93 5.1 European Union Parliament: election results (Britain), 1994 139 10.1 The main national newspapers (average daily sales), 1994 . 269 Preface and acknowledgements This book mainly examines institutional features of British civilization, although introductory chapters on the country and the people provide a wider background. It gives information on recent developments in Britain, and combines factual, descriptive and analytical approaches within a historical context. Contrasting crit- ical views and the people's attitudes on institutions are presented, which should allow students to develop their own responses to British life. A book of this type is necessarily indebted to many sources for its facts and statistics, to which acknowledgement is gratefully made (see Bibliography and Suggested further reading). Particular thanks are due to Britain: An Official Handbook, (the current edition of which contains the latest information); British Social Attitudes, and Market and Opinion Research International (MORI). Introduction MOST OF THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS examine the historical development and contemporary roles of central British institutions. Institutions are organizations which have been gradually constructed over varying periods of time and reflect established values and practices. They take many different forms and sizes, operate on both state and local levels, and may be public or private in character. The major elements, like Parliament, monarchy, law and government, are concerned with state business. They have been conditioned by the military power, economic strength and imperial status of Britain's past. But there are other institutional structures, such as sports, religious groups, families, local government, neighbourhoods and the theatre, which take more localized and individualistic forms. The 'British way of life' is largely determined by how people function within and react to institutions, whether negatively or positively. Institutions INTRODUCTION are not remote abstractions, but affect individuals directly in their daily lives. The large number and variety of such organizations mean that there are many different 'ways of life', and all contribute to the diversity of contemporary British society. Institutions are adaptable, provide frameworks for new situations, and their present roles may be very different from their original functions. The larger state institutions, like those concerned with political, legal and economic matters, have evolved slowly and pragmatically over the past thousand years, and within a unified Britain from 1707. Similar processes have formed British society generally, and change has mainly occurred through compromise within the law, rather than by radical upheaval. These evolutionary characteristics have often been attributed to the allegedly insular and conservative mentalities of the island peoples who comprise the British Isles, with their supposed preference for traditional habits and structures. Although some influences have come from abroad, the absence of any successful foreign military invasion of Britain since the Norman Conquest of AD 1066 has allowed institutions to develop internally in distinc- tive ways. The resulting institutional principles, like religious beliefs and parliamentary democracy, have frequently either been imitated by other countries, or exported abroad through the creation of a colonial empire and a commercial need to establish worldwide markets for domestic products. The gradual development of the British state and its empire was aided by an increasing military and economic strength. By the nineteenth century Britain had become a dominant world power and a united kingdom consisting of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. But the country has undergone considerable changes since the earlier imperial period and from the mid- twentieth century. Today it is a complex society in which diversity has produced problems as well as advantages. Britain gives a surface impression of homogeneous behaviour, which largely corresponds to an English norm centred on the widespread influence of London. But there is also considerable heterogeneity, such as the cultural distinctiveness and separate identities of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; demands for INTRODUCTION greater local autonomy in the English regions; disparities between affluent and economically depressed areas of the country, includin...
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