A NEW GOVERNMENT

After an election held on  6th May 2010 Britain formed a new government. The Conservative party emerged  as the winner with most of the votes(36%). The leader is a 43 year old David Cameron who is also the Prime Minister.  Conservatives needed support from another party to form the government. After an intense negotiations, on 11th May 2010 a coalition was formed between Liberal Democrats and Conservatives. It was the first time since 1974 that there was a hung parliament.The coalition replaced the Labour party which had been in power since 1997 with Tony Blair and the Gordon Brown as Prime Ministers.A contrast between Conservative and Labour was that Labour expressed commitment to greater social and economic equality and favoured larger role for government and public spending whereas Conservatives favoured free market,privatisation and low taxation.

Britain do not have proportional representation in other words, the seats a party has in the parliament is equal to the share of the national votes. In the British system there are 650 constituencies each with a representative in parliament.In an election either  Conservatives or Labour get most votes Lib Dem's comes second.
The Lib Dem argued that the electoral system is unfair. During the negotiations they demanded a change to much proportional system as condition to collaborate.Conservatives agreed that there would be  more proportional than the present system.(Insideout.net,2010)


Reference.
Insideout.net(2010) 'New Government', inside out.[Online] Available at: http://www.insideout.net/ (Accessed: 4 October 2012).

MERITS AND DEMERITS OF EU MEMBERS.

European union  is  an international organisation of European   countries formed after world war 2 to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among it`s members. It consists of 27 countries.

The countries include,Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.

Being a member of the EU has its merits and demerits.One of   the advantage  is the establishment of a common market this leads to the cancellation of the border control hence there is free flow of goods and people and public contracts are open to bidders from any member and there is no tariffs or duties charged for buying a product from a company owned by a fellow member of EU.(Amadeo,2012). There is a list of advantages and disadvantages below of EU membership.



ADVANTAGES.

1. Political stability.
2. Increased Trade.
3. Increased competition.
4. Increased inward investment.
5. Social policy`s and subsidies.
6. Economic developments.
7. Progress toward greater harmonisation has been established.

DISADVANTAGES.

1. Cost; The EU costs the UK £6.4bn. (see UK government spending).
2. Inefficient policies;  Most spending goes on the common agriculture policy.
3. Problem of Euro; The EU is placing great emphasis on the single currency.
4. Net migration;Free movement of labour has caused overcrowding in UK cities.
5. More bureaucracy less democracy. (Pettinger,2012)

All in all, countries growth and unity is built up by most unions that's why there more than five unions worldwide that bring countries together and establish harmony.

References.
Amadeo, K.(2012)What is the European Union?Available at:
http://useconomy.about.com/od/worldeconomy/p/european_union.htm (Accessed:23 October 2012).
Pettinger,T.(2012)Economics Help. Available at: http://www.economicshelp.org/europe/disadvantages-eu.html (Accessed: 24 October 2012).
Pettinger,T.(2012)Economic Help. Available at: http://www.economicshelp.org/europe/benefits-eu.html
  (Accessed: 24 October 2012).

EDUCATION IN KENYA AND IN UNITED KINGDOM

Education is the process of impacting knowledge and skills. Education systems vary in different countries, but in other countries they are similar. For the past two centuries education has advanced due to the invention of technology. In Kenya we have some similarities with the United Kingdom`s education system. Like in our country, we have state funded schools and private schools as well as in Britain.


Age is one factor that differs in most countries. For instance, I started my primary school at the age of six. "Primary school in Kenya starts at six years of age and runs for eight years" (UNICEF, 2009).

COMPULSORY SCHOOL AGE Five years old: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands Six years old: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark (6-7), France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden (6-7) Seven years old: Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania (Coughlan, 2008)

Let's look at the table below and see in different countries what age children start primary education.  
 As we have seen from the research done there is a difference in the age children start their primary school in different countries. In Britain they start at the age of five.

Gender in secondary school varies in  the two countries. In Kenya most of the secondary schools are of single sex meaning there are separate boys and girls secondary. In Britain they have mixed sexes in their secondary schools. 
 
In Kenya the education system used is 8-4-4  whereas in Britain the education system used is 6-3-3-1-3.
These are some of the differences of the education system between Kenya and Britain.

References.
Coughlan, S.(2008)Is five too soon to start school?Available at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7234578.stm
(Accessed:14 October 2012).
UNICEF(2009) Primaryschoolyears.Available at: http://www.unicef.org/kenya/children_3795.html (Accessed:15 October 2012).

THE PEOPLE OF BRITAIN

UK is made up of four nations. Their official language  is English.I did not know that each  nation has his own government and even  their own flags here are some pictures of their flags. The Wales speak Welsh language. People in England  their official language is English. The Northern Ireland people speak Irish and the Scotland people speak Scottish. I know the Scotland people because of their famously known tartan a type of cloth like a skirt that men wear.In Kenya we call them "wazungu" which in English is white people.







Wales' flag (yaymicro.com 2012)

 

North Ireland`s flag (yaymicro.com 2012)



Scotland`s flag (media.photobucket.com 2012)

England`s flag (flag-wallpapers.com 2012)

Who are the Britain people? What is their origin and from where did they originate these are the questions I normally ask myself. According to ( James, 2011),

"Before Roman times 'Britain' was just a geographical entity, and had no political meaning, and no single cultural identity. Arguably this remained generally true until the 17th century, when James I of England and VI of Scotland sought to establish a pan-British monarchy.
Throughout recorded history the island has consisted of multiple cultural groups and identities."

but later after the interaction between the tribes they formed the English people( James,2011)

"In contrast to Gaul, where the Franks merged with an intact Gallo-Roman society to create Latin-based French culture, the new Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in Britain, although melded from indigenous and immigrant populations, represented no such cultural continuity; they drew their cultural inspiration, and their dominant language, almost entirely from across the North Sea. Mixed natives and immigrants became the English.
Contrary to the traditional idea that Britain originally possessed a 'Celtic' uniformity, which first Roman, then Saxon and other invaders disrupted, in reality Britain has always been home to multiple peoples. While its population has shown strong biological continuity over millennial, the identities the islanders have chosen to adopt have undergone some remarkable changes. Many of these have been due to contacts and conflicts across the seas, not least as the result of episodic, but often very modest, arrivals of newcomers." That quote has explained the history and origin of the  Britain people.

References.
Flag-wallpapers.com.(2012)England`sflag. Available at: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=England+Flag&view=detail&id=DC9931EF0F02AB900058FE15CED06A50C21A055E&qpvt=England+Flag&FORM=IDFRIRA
(Accessed:30 September 2012).
James,S(2011)BBCHistory-AncientHistoryindepth:peopleofBritain. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/british_prehistory/peoples_01.shtml(Accessed:11 october 2012).
Photobucket.com(2012)Scotland`sflag. Available at: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=scotland%27s+flag&view=detail&id=313BEB24F7EF5410B41B8930F55A5B1DD9426C25&first=31&FORM=IDFRIR
 (Accessed: 30 September 2012).
 Yaymicro.com(2012)NorthernIreland`sflag. Available at: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Northern+Ireland+Flag+%28yaymicro%29&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=northern+ireland+flag+%28yaymicro%29&sc=0-23&sp=-1&sk= (Accessed:30 September 2012).
Yaymicro.com(2012)Wales`flag. Available at: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=wales%60+flag+&view=detail&id=20A07BA3B0633C732BD0625546E70B2F68821695&first=31&FORM=IDFRIR
(Accessed:30 September 2012).