Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
overview of relations
The diplomatic foreign relations of the United Kingdom are conducted by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, headed by the foreign secretary. The prime minister and numerous other agencies set policy, and many institutions and businesses have a voice and a role to play.
The United Kingdom was the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries, most notably during the so-called "Pax Britannica"—a period of unrivaled supremacy and unprecedented international peace during the mid-to-late 1800s. The country continued to be widely considered a superpower until the Suez crisis of 1956, and the dismantling of the British Empire gradually diminished the UK's dominant role in global affairs. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom remains a great power and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The UK is a founding member of AUKUS, the Commonwealth, the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, the G7, the G20, the International Criminal Court, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the World Health Organization, and the World Trade Organization, additionally the UK is a member of CPTPP. The UK was also a founding member state of the European Union, however due to the outcome of a 2016 membership referendum, proceedings to withdraw from the EU began in 2017 and concluded when the UK formally left the EU on 31 January 2020, and the transition period on 31 December 2020 with an EU trade agreement. Since the vote and the conclusion of trade talks with the EU, policymakers have begun pursuing new free trade agreements with other global partners.
In March 2026, the UK government announced that it would make deep cuts to its foreign aid budget, including a 56% reduction in bilateral aid to African countries, as funds are redirected toward defence spending.
History
Following the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain (which united England and Scotland) in 1707, British foreign relations largely continued those of the Kingdom of England. British foreign policy initially focused on achieving a balance of power in Europe, with no single country dominating the continent's affairs.
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This entry incorporates text from “Foreign relations of the United Kingdom” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.