The Conservative government called a referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union. This was held on 23 June 2016. The UK voted by a margin of 51.9% to 48.1% to leave the European Union.

For most local authorities, local elections for councillors are held in May every year. Many candidates stand for council election as members of a political party.

Winston Churchill was the son of a politician and, before becoming a Conservative MP in 1900, was a soldier and journalist.

The most famous cricket competition is the Ashes, which is a series of Test matches played between England and Australia.

Sports of all kinds play an important part in many people’s lives. There are several sports that are particularly popular in the UK. Many sporting events take place at major stadiums such as Wembley Stadium in London and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Comedians were a popular feature of British music hall, a form of variety theatre which was very common until television became the leading form of entertainment in the UK.

The English government encouraged Scottish and English Protestants to settle in Ulster, the northern province of Ireland, taking over the land from Catholic landholders. These settlements were known as plantations. King James I later organised similar plantations in several other parts of Ireland.

Members of the House of Lords, known as peers, are not elected by the people and do not represent a constituency. The role and membership of the House of Lords has changed over the last 50 years.

The first farmers arrived in Britain about 6,000 years ago. The ancestors of these first farmers probably came from south-east Europe. These people built houses, tombs and monuments on the land.

While slavery was illegal within Britain itself, by the 18th century it was a fully established overseas industry, dominated by Britain and the American colonies. Slaves came primarily from West Africa.

In 1284 King Edward I of England introduced the Statute of Rhuddlan, which annexed Wales to the Crown of England.

The Scots had not agreed to the execution of Charles I and declared his son Charles II to be king. He was crowned king of Scotland and led a Scottish army into England.

Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99), a British inventor, invented the hovercraft in the 1950s.

People 16 years old can drink wine or beer with a meal in a hotel or restaurant (including eating areas in pubs) as long as they are with someone over 18.

In common with the rest of Europe, women in 19th century Britain had fewer rights than men. Until 1870, when a woman got married, her earnings, property and money automatically belonged to her husband.

The 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Services (known as the Beveridge Report) report was commissioned by the wartime government in .1941. It recommended that the government should find ways of fighting the five ‘Giant Evils’ of Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness and provided the basis of the modern welfare state.

Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as cutting or female circumcision, is illegal in the UK. Practising FGM or taking a girl or woman abroad for FGM is a criminal offence.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, serious offences are tried in front of a judge and a jury in a Crown Court. In Scotland, serious cases are heard in a Sheriff Court with either a sheriff or a sheriff with a jury.

In Northern Ireland elected members, known as MLAs (members of the Legislative Assembly), meet in the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, in Belfast.

A good way to support your local community is to shop for products locally where you can. This will help businesses and farmers in your area and in Britain.

Vaisakhi (also spelled Baisakhi) is a Sikh festival which celebrates the founding of the Sikh community known as the Khalsa. It is celebrated on 14 April each year with parades, dancing and singing.

Charles Dickens (1812-70) wrote a number of very famous novels, including Oliver Twist and Great Expectations.

The Brit Awards is an annual popular music awards event that gives awards in a range of categories, such as best British group and best British solo artist.

There are several islands which are closely linked with the UK but are not part of it: the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. These have their own governments and are called ‘Crown dependencies’. There are also several British overseas territories in other parts of the world, such as St Helena and the Falkland Islands. They are also linked to the UK but are not a part of it.