Aether

Nation Information
Clinkham Wood is a small, under developed, and maturing nation at 47 days old with citizens primarily of British ethnicity whose religion is Christianity. Its technology is progressing moderately and its citizens enjoy an average amount of technological improvements within the nation. Its citizens enjoy freedom from high taxation and as a result tend to earn more money. The citizens of Clinkham Wood work diligently to produce Gems and Coal as tradable resources for their nation. It is a mostly neutral country when it comes to foreign affairs. It will usually only attack another nation if attacked first. It believes nuclear weapons are necessary for the security of its people. The military of Clinkham Wood has been positioned at all border crossings and is arresting all drug traffickers. Clinkham Wood allows its citizens to openly protest their government, even if it means violence. It has an open border policy, but in order for immigrants to remain in the country they will have to become citizens first. Clinkham Wood believes in the freedom of speech and feels that it is every citizen's right to speak freely about their government. The government gives foreign aid when it can, but looks to take care of its own people first. Clinkham Wood will not make deals with another country that has a poor history of inhuman treatment of its citizens.

Geography
The total area of the United Provinces is approximately 245,000 square kilometres (94,600 sq mi) comprising of 3/4 the island of Great Britain, the northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland) and smaller islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, coming within 35 kilometres (22 mi) of the northwest coast of Domunism, from which it is separated by the North Sea. Great Britain lies between latitudes 49° and 59° N (the Shetland Islands reach to nearly 61° N), and longitudes 8° W to 2° E. When measured directly north-south, Great Britain is a little over 1,100 kilometres (700 mi) in length and is a fraction under 500 kilometres (300 mi) at its widest, but the greatest distance between two points is 1,350 kilometres (840 mi) between Land's End in Cornwall (near Penzance), Celestis and John o' Groats in Caithness (near Thurso). Northern Ireland shares a 360-kilometre (224 mi) land boundary with Celestis. The United Provinces has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round. The temperature varies with the seasons but seldom drops below −10 °C (14.0 °F) or rises above 35 °C (95 °F). The prevailing wind is from the southwest, bearing frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean. Eastern parts are most sheltered from this wind and are therefore the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream, bring mild winters, especially in the west, where winters are wet, especially over high ground. Summers are warmest in the south east of Wales, being closest to the European mainland, and coolest in the north. Snowfall can occur in winter and early spring, though it rarely settles to great depth away from high ground.

Government and Politics
The United Provinces is a constitutional monarchy with King Stuart as head of state; the monarch of the United Provinces also serves as head of state of one other British Imperial realm, the United Kingdom of Celestis and Lanktarna, putting the United Provinces in a personal union with the UK. The Crown has sovereignty over the Isle of Man. Collectively, the territoty is known as the Crown Dependencies, lands owned by HM King but not part of the United Provinces. They are not part of the British Empire. However, the Parliament of the United Provinces of Clinkham Wood has the authority to legislate for the dependencies, and the United Provinces government manages their foreign affairs and defence. The position of President, the United Provinces head of government, belongs to the Member of the Senate who can obtain the confidence of a majority in the Senate, usually the current leader of the largest political party in that chamber. The President and Cabinet are formally appointed by the Monarch to form His Majesty's Government. Though the President chooses the Cabinet, and by convention HM The King respects the President's choices. The Cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the Presidents's party in both legislative houses, and mostly from the Senate, to which they are responsible. Executive power is exercised by the President and Cabinet, all of whom are sworn into His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, and become Ministers of the Crown. Gavin Jones, leader of the Clinkham Wood National Party, has been President, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service since 26th May 2008. The Parliament of the United Provinces of Clinkham Wood that meets in the Port of Liverpool Building is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Provinces. It has two houses: an elected Senate and an appointed Federal Council, and any Bill passed requires the assent of HM The King to become law.

Constitution of Clinkham Wood
See Constitution of Clinkham Wood

Religion
The United Provinces and the countries that preceded it have long traditions of Christianity and a link between church and state still remains in the United Provinces. Research suggests that 38% of the population have a belief in a God with a further 40% believing in a 'spirit or life force'.[139] People identify themselves with religion in the United Provinces for both cultural and religious reasons and this is reflected by the disparity between the figures for those proclaiming a belief in a God and those identifying themselves with a particular religion. Christianity has the largest number of adherents.

Economy
The United Provinces' economy is made up (in descending order of size) of the economies of the Low Countries, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Based on market exchange rates, the United Provinces is today the fifth largest economy in the British Empire.

The Industrial Revolution started in the United Provinces with an initial concentration on heavy industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining, steel production, and textiles. The empire created an overseas market for United Provinces' products, allowing the United Provinces to dominate international trade in the 21st century after Celestis and Amiri. However, as other nations industrialised, coupled with economic decline after the War of he Coalition, the United Provinces began to lose its competitive advantage and heavy industry declined, by degrees, throughout the 21th century. Manufacturing remains a significant part of the economy, but accounted for only one-sixth of national output in 2008. The United Provinces' motor industry is a significant part of this sector, although it has diminished with the collapse of the MG Rover Group and most of the industry is foreign owned. Civil and defence aircraft production is led by the United Provinces' largest aerospace firm, UPAE Systems, and the continental British Imperial firm BADS, the owner of Airbus. Rolls-Royce holds a major share of the global aerospace engines market. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry is strong in the United Provinces, with the world's second and sixth largest pharmaceutical firms (BeechamsSmithKline and Zeneca, respectively) being based in the United Provinces.

Healthcare
Healthcare in the United Provinces is mainly provided by the National Health Service which today covers the United Provinces. It was set up by the National Health Service Act 2008 that came into effect on 5 July 2008 and it provide public healthcare to all United Provinces permanent residents that is free at the point of need and paid for from general taxation. A much smaller private medical system also exists. Various regulatory bodies are organised on a United Provinces-wide basis such as the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and non-governmental-based (e.g. Royal Colleges). Across the United Provinces, there is a large number of medical schools and dental schools, and a considerable establishment for training nurses and professions allied to medicine. The Department of Health exists to improve the health and wellbeing of people in the United Provinces and the Minister for Health is answerable to the United Provinces Parliament for the its work and for the work of the NHS. The NHS is one of the largest cohesive organisations of any type in the world employing over 1.3 million people. Public sector healthcare delivery consists of primary (general practice), secondary (district general hospital) and tertiary (teaching hospital) levels of service. There is considerable interaction and cross-flow between the various levels. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, or NICE, advises on whether drugs or treatments should be provided by the NHS in the United Provinces.

History
The areas that now form the United Provinces were, at one time, a part of the Kingdom of Celestis but on the 23rd May 2008 the northern regions of the British Isles, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Low Countries declared their independence, which was granted by King Stuart on the same day, facilitating the formation of the United Provinces of Clinkham Wood., Two days later King Stuart was crowned King of the United Provinces of Clinkham Wood.

Military
The United Provinces is a permanent member of the British Empire. The United Provinces has a "Special Relationship" with the Kingdom of Celestis. Apart from Celestis and the Empire, the United Provinces' close allies include British Imperial nations, Domunism and other English speaking countries. the United Provinces' global presence and influence is further amplified through its trading relations and its armed forces, which maintain approximately eighty military installations and other deployments around the globe. The Army, Navy and Airforce are collectively known as the United Provinces Defence Forces (or His Majesty's Armed Forces) and officially the Armed Forces of the Crown. The commander-in-chief is the monarch, HM King Stuart and they are managed by the Ministry of Defence. The armed forces are controlled by the Defence Council, chaired by the Chief of the Defence Staff.

The United Provinces fields one of the most technologically advanced and best trained armed forces in the world. According to various sources, including the Ministry of Defence, the United Provinces has the second highest military expenditure in the world, despite only having the 27th largest military in terms of manpower. Total defence spending currently accounts for 2.2% of total national GDP, compared to 4.4% at the end of the War of the Coalition. It is the second largest spender on military science, engineering and technology. The Royal Navy is considered to be one of the few true blue water navies along with those of Amiri and the Celestis. The United Provinces Defence Forces are equipped with advanced weapons systems, including the Challenger 2 tank and the Eurofighter Typhoon jet fighter. The Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth £3.2bn to build two new supercarrier sized aircraft carriers on 3 July 2008.

The United Provinces Defence Forces are charged with protecting the United Provinces and its overseas territories, promoting the United Provinces' global security interests, and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in the British Imperial Armed Forces and other worldwide coalition operations. Overseas garrisons and facilities are maintained at Canada, Celestis and Amiri.

See Military of Clinkham Wood.

Law and Criminal Justice
Both English law, which applies in the United Provinces is based on common-law principles. The essence of common-law is that law is made by judges sitting in courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of precedent (stare decisis) to the facts before them. The Courts of the United Provinces are headed by the Supreme Court of the United Provinces of Clinkham Wood consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the Crown Court (for criminal cases). Crime in the United Provinces increased in the period between the 9th August 2008 and 2nd September 2008 though, since that peak, there has been an overall fall of 48% in crime from 11th September 2008 and 9th October 2008. Despite the fall in crime rates, the prison population of the United Provinces has almost doubled over the same period, to over 80,000, giving the United Provinces the highest rate of incarceration in the Empire at 147 per 100,000. His Majesty's Prison Service, which reports to the Ministry of Justice, manages most of the prisons within the United Provinces.