Overview Of The Lessons

Question 1

Q1: What makes the UK a highly integrated and developed country?

Answer 1

A1: It is a high-income country (HIC), the 6th largest global economy, responsible for 3.3% of global GDP and 3.5% of global trade.

Question 2

Q2: What is the UK’s global city and what role does it play?

Answer 2

A2: London, which serves as a global financial hub, attracting FDI and connecting to global markets due to its time zone and deregulated service sector.

Question 3

Q3: Which sectors dominate the UK’s economy?

Answer 3

A3: The service sector, especially finance, legal, education, tourism, and culture.

Question 4

Q4: What economic strategy did the UK adopt in the 1980s?

Answer 4

A4: Neoliberalism: financial deregulation (Big Bang), privatisation, and tax incentives to attract foreign capital.

Question 5

Q5: What role do British Overseas Territories play in the UK’s economic strategy?

Answer 5

A5: They serve as tax havens linked to London, attracting capital from firms and wealthy individuals to avoid taxation.

Question 6

Q6: How has the UK tried to maintain global links after Brexit?

Answer 6

A6: By signing trade deals with countries like Japan, Australia, and Singapore, although most replicate EU agreements and offer limited new benefits.

Question 7

Q7: What international organisations is the UK a member of?

Answer 7

A7: G7, G20, WTO, IMF, and World Bank.

Question 8

Q8: What has the UK historically promoted within global governance

Answer 8

A8: Free trade, global capitalism, and neoliberal economic policies.

Question 9

Q9: What legacy has the UK left in the Global South as a former empire?

Answer 9

A9: Colonialism and neo-colonialism contributed to lasting poverty, inequality, and instability in parts of Africa and Asia.

Question 10

Q10: What domestic policies have contributed to UK regional inequality?

Answer 10

A10: Deindustrialisation, austerity after 2008, and over-centralised governance.

Question 11

Q11: What regions have been most negatively affected since the 1980s?

Answer 11

A11: Scotland, the Midlands, and the North of England.

Question 12

Q12: What types of jobs replaced well-paid industrial work in many UK regions?

Answer 12

A12: Low-paid and low-skilled service sector jobs.

Question 13

Q13: Which regions concentrate wealth, innovation, and productivity?

Answer 13

A13: The Greater South East: London, Oxford, and Cambridge.

Question 14

Q14: What makes the UK Europe’s most regionally unequal country?

Answer 14

A14: The stark contrasts in income, life expectancy, infrastructure, and public services between London/South-East and the rest of the country.

Question 15

Q15: How does the UK’s political system worsen regional inequality?

Answer 15

A15: Through excessive centralisation, limiting regional autonomy and investment in poorer regions.

Question 16

Q16: What flows make the UK a global hub?

Answer 16

A16: Capital flows, FDI, tourism, international students, migrants, and cultural exports.

Question 17

Q17: What are examples of the UK’s soft power?

Answer 17

A17: The Premier League, British universities, global film and music industries (e.g., Harry Potter, GOT), and the English language.

Question 18

Q18: What limits the UK’s post-Brexit global influence?

Answer 18

A18: Weak trade deals, limited Commonwealth cooperation, and declining political influence

Question 19

Q19: Why is the idea of replacing the EU with the Commonwealth unrealistic?

Answer 19

A19: The Commonwealth lacks strong economic ties, and many of its members prioritise regional agreements over links with the UK.