The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division Administrative divisions are divisions of a political division. In other words, they are designated portions of a country. They are also called subnational entities. They are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own local governments. Countries are divided up into these smaller units to of England The area now called England has been settled by people of various cultures for about 35,000 years, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million.[1] They were created in 1974 and are each divided into several metropolitan districts A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted royal charters to give them borough status.
The metropolitan county councils County councils were formed in the United Kingdom in the late nineteenth century. In the various constituent countries of the United Kingdom councils had different powers and different memberships. Following local government reforms in the 1970s, county councils no longer exist in Scotland or Northern Ireland. In England they generally form the were abolished in 1986 with most of their functions being devolved to the individual boroughs, making them de facto unitary authorities A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national government. The remaining functions were taken over by joint boards.[2]
The metropolitan counties have population densities of between 800 (South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and the city of Sheffield. South Yorkshire was created on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972) and 2800 (West Midlands The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2,591,300. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The county consists of seven metropolitan boroughs: the City of) people/km². Individual metropolitan districts range from 4,000 people/km² in Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880. Liverpool is the fourth largest city in the United Kingdom and has a population of 435,500, and lies at the centre of the wider Liverpool Urban Area, which has a to only 500 people/km² in Doncaster.[3] Today, residents of metropolitan counties account for around 22% of the population of England The demography of England has conventionally been acquired through the census in the United Kingdom since 1801, and is marked by centuries of population growth and urbanisation. Due to the lack of authoritative contemporary sources, estimates of the population of England for dates prior to the first census in 1801 vary considerably, or 18% of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land.
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Counties and districts
The six metropolitan counties and their metropolitan districts are:
The structure of Greater London Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The administrative area was officially created in 1965 and covers the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, the City of Westminster, and the 32 London boroughs. Its area also forms the London region of England and the London European Parliament is similar to the metropolitan counties, but it is not one. It was created earlier in 1965, by the London Government Act 1963.
History
Creation
The idea for creating administrative areas based upon the large conurbations A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area. In most cases, a conurbation is a polycentric urban agglomeration, in which transportation has developed to link areas to outside London London is a leading global city being the world's largest financial centre alongside New York City, and has the largest city GDP in Europe. Central London is home to the headquarters of most of the UK's top 100 listed companies and more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest. London's influence in politics, finance, education, entertainment, media,, based on the model of the County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area today known as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government Act 1888. The Act created an administrative County of London, which included within its territory the City or Greater London Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The administrative area was officially created in 1965 and covers the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, the City of Westminster, and the 32 London boroughs. Its area also forms the London region of England and the London European Parliament, was mooted several times in the 20th century. The Local Government Boundary Commission in 1948 had proposed several new counties including ones based on 'South East Lancashire North East Cheshire Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.57 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the cities of Manchester and Salford. Greater Manchester' and 'South West Lancashire North West Cheshire Merseyside is divided into two parts by the Mersey Estuary: the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is located to the west of the estuary on the Wirral Peninsula; the rest of the county is located on the eastern side of the estuary. The eastern boroughs of Merseyside border Lancashire to the north and Greater Manchester to the east, and both parts of'. The Local Government Commission for England proposed in the 1960s this arrangement for Tyneside and draft proposals considered it for Selnec. Its proposal for the West Midlands conurbation preferred instead an area of contiguous county boroughs County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. The Local Government Act 1972 abolished them in England and Wales, but they are still used in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 re- with no overall metropolitan authority.
The Redcliffe-Maud Report of 1969 proposed the creation of three large "metropolitan areas" based upon the conurbations surrounding Manchester Manchester (pronounced /ˈmæntʃɛstə/ ) is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2008, the population of the city was estimated to be 464,200, making it the seventh-most populous local authority district in England. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas; the metropolitan county of Greater, Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880. Liverpool is the fourth largest city in the United Kingdom and has a population of 435,500, and lies at the centre of the wider Liverpool Urban Area, which has a and Birmingham Birmingham (pronounced /ˈbɜːmɪŋəm/ , BUR-ming-əm, locally /ˈbɝːmɪŋɡəm/ BIIR-ming-gəm) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. It is the most populous British city outside London with a population of 1,016,800 (2008 estimate), and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the United - Selnec Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.57 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the cities of Manchester and Salford. Greater Manchester, Merseyside Merseyside is divided into two parts by the Mersey Estuary: the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is located to the west of the estuary on the Wirral Peninsula; the rest of the county is located on the eastern side of the estuary. The eastern boroughs of Merseyside border Lancashire to the north and Greater Manchester to the east, and both parts of, and West Midlands The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2,591,300. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The county consists of seven metropolitan boroughs: the City of, which were to have both metropolitan councils covering the entire areas, and district councils covering parts. Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC was a British Labour politician. One of the most prominent British politicians of the latter half of the 20th century, he served two terms as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, firstly from 1964 to 1970, and again from 1974 to 1976. He emerged as Prime Minister after more general's government published a white paper A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that often addresses issues and how to solve them. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions. They are often used in politics, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term "white paper" has also come to refer to documents used by businesses as accepting these recommendations broadly, also adding South Hampshire (including the Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, 3–5 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent. The island is known for its outstanding natural beauty, its world-famous sailing based at the town of Cowes, and its resorts, which) and West Yorkshire as metropolitan areas.[4]
The proposals of the report were radically altered when Edward Heath's Conservative government came to power in 1970. The Conservative's local government White Paper was published in February 1971, naming the metropolitan areas "metropolitan counties", and giving them as "Merseyside, south-east Lancashire and north-east Cheshire, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and the Tyne and Wear area".[5][6]
The counties were also far smaller than in the original proposals, being trimmed at each successive stage - the Redcliffe Maud report had included Chester in Merseyside and Redditch and Stafford in West Midlands. The Conservative policy favoured retaining historic boundaries as far as was practicable[4], and the White Paper proposals generally reduced the metropolitan counties to the continuously built up area. Many areas on the edges were excluded from the metropolitan counties when the Bill was passed: Easington, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ellesmere Port, Neston, New Mills, Whaley Bridge and Glossop : other areas were excluded during the Bill's passage, such as Seaham, Skelmersdale and Holland, Poynton and Wilmslow. One area, the county borough of Southport, was added to Merseyside in the Bill, at the local council's request.
Several other proposals for metropolitan counties were made during the Bill's passage, including a revival of the proposal for Hampshire (either the southern part or all of it, with Portsmouth, Southampton, Isle of Wight and northern Hampshire as districts)[7] and central Lancashire. A Thamesside metropolitan county, covering areas of north Kent and south Essex on the Thames Estuary (and now considered part of the Thames Gateway) was also proposed.[8]
The metropolitan counties were established by the Local Government Act 1972, the county councils were first elected in 1973, and were formally established in April 1974.
Structure
The metropolitan counties were first created with a two-tier structure of local government. Local government functions were divided between the metropolitan district councils as lower tier authorities and metropolitan county councils (MCCs) as the upper tier.
The structure differed from the non-metropolitan counties in the allocation of powers between the county and district councils. The metropolitan districts had more powers than non-metropolitan districts, in that they were responsible for services such as education, and social services. In the non-metropolitan counties these were the responsibility of the county councils.
The metropolitan county councils (MCCs) were intended to be strategic authorities that ran regional services such as main roads, public transport, emergency services, civil protection, waste disposal, and strategic town and country planning. The MCCs functioned between 1974 and 1986.
Abolition of the county councils
Just a decade after they were established the mostly Labour-controlled metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council had several high profile clashes, about overspending and high rates charging, with the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher.
Government policy on the issue was considered throughout 1982, and the Conservative Party put a "promise to scrap the metropolitan county councils" and the GLC, in their manifesto for the 1983 general election.[9][10][11]
The exact details of the reform caused problems[12] In October 1983, it published a White Paper entitled Streamlining the cities[13] which proposed detailed plans for the abolition of the MCCs, together with the abolition of the Greater London Council (GLC).[14][15]
The Bill was formally announced in the Queen's Speech[16] and was introduced into Parliament soon thereafter. It became the Local Government Act 1985;[17] the MCCs and the GLC were abolished at midnight on March 31, 1986.
The last elections to the councils were held in May 1981: elections that would have been held in 1985 were abandoned under the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984;[18] The original plan had been for councillors' terms to expire in April 1985, and then be replaced by nominees from borough councils until 1986.[14]
While GLC abolition was highly controversial, the abolition of the MCCs was much less so. The Liberal Party leader David Steel had supported abolition of the MCCs in his 1981 conference speech[citation needed]. The government's stated reason for the abolition of the MCCs was based on efficiency and their overspending.
However the fact that all of the county councils were controlled by the Labour Party led to accusations that their abolition was motivated by party politics [19] : the general secretary of Nalgo described it as a "completely cynical manoeuvre".[20][21] Merseyside in particular put up a struggle against abolition. Most of the functions of the MCCs passed either to the metropolitan borough councils, or to joint boards. Some assets were given to residuary bodies for disposal. The split of functions from the metropolitan county councils was as follows:[22]
| Special joint arrangements | Grants to voluntary bodies, roads and traffic management, waste disposal, airports |
|---|---|
| Joint boards | Fire, police, public transport |
| Quangos | Arts, pensions and debt, sport |
| District councils | Arts, civil defence, planning, trading standards, parks, tourism, archives, industrial assistance, highways |
Current status
Metropolitan boroughs, London boroughs and non-metropolitan unitary authorities are shown (the remaining areas are shire counties)The metropolitan counties are sometimes referred to as "former metropolitan counties"[23][24], although this description is not entirely correct. The county councils were abolished, but under the Local Government Act 1972, the counties themselves remain in existence,[25][26] although they no longer exist in ISO 3166-2:GB as extant administrative subdivisions.
By virtue of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 they remain as ceremonial counties (sometimes called 'geographic counties') which have an appointed Lord-Lieutenant. They are also used in certain government statistics, although they no longer appear on Ordnance Survey maps, which show the individual metropolitan boroughs.
Some local services are still run on a metropolitan county-wide basis, administered by statutory joint boards[27] and special joint arrangements, these include policing (by joint police authorities), fire services, public transport (by Passenger Transport Executives) and waste disposal (in Merseyside and Greater Manchester) These joint boards are made up of councillors appointed by the boroughs. Since 2000, the metropolitan counties have been used as the areas of joint Local Transport Plans.[28][29][30]
There has been no great enthusiasm for a return of the MCCs. In 1999, following a successful referendum, the Labour government under Tony Blair legislated to create a strategic authority for London (the Greater London Authority). Despite some talk of doing so, no bodies were established to replace the MCCs. The Blair government instead pursued the idea of elected Regional Assemblies, although following an unsuccessful referendum in the most positive region of the North East, this idea now has few proponents. The idea of city regions has been proposed subsequently, although the 2006 local government white paper has no firm proposals for formal recognition of this concept.
Since 1995, the cities of Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield have assembled together in the English Core Cities Group. This organisation accords no distinct legal status on these councils over any other city council in England but appears to be organically moving towards some kind of recognition of their role as regional capitals outside of London.
See also
References
- ^ Jones, B. et al., Politics UK, (2004)
- ^ Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Aspects of Britain: Local Government, (1996)
- ^ 2001 census : KS01 Usual resident population
- ^ a b Hampton, W., Local Government and Urban Politics, (1991)
- ^ Cities and towns lose borough status in reshaped local councils. The Times. February 17, 1971.
- ^ Bryne, T., Local Government in Britain, (1994)
- ^ Future of Hampshire : Letter to the Editor by Mayors of Southampton and Southampton. The Times. April 12, 1972.
- ^ Thamesside county urged to tackle river problems. The Times. January 19, 1972.
- ^ Tory plan to abolish GLC and metropolitan councils, but rates stay. January 15, 1983.
- ^ Tories may abolish county councils if they win election. May 5, 1983.
- ^ Big cities defiant over police. June 16, 1983.
- ^ Whitehall admits problems in abolishing GLC and metropolitan conucils. The Times. September 23, 1983.
- ^ Cmnd. 9063
- ^ a b "Streamlined" city authorities formula unveiled. The Times. October 8, 1983.
- ^ Labour storm over White Paper on council shake-up. October 8, 1983.
- ^ Bill to abolish GLC centrepiece of Queen's Speech. The Times. November 7, 1984.
- ^ 1985 c. 51
- ^ 1984 c. 53
- ^ Martin Loughlin Legality and Locality: The Role of Law in Central-local Government Relations Oxford University Press, 1996 ISBN 0198260156
- ^ Angry reaction to councils White Paper. The Times. October 8, 1983.
- ^ politics.co.uk Issue Brief and Jonathan Rawle's website refer.
- ^ Kingdom, J., Local Government and Politics in Britain, (1991)
- ^ Number of counties/districts/unitary authorities/wards etc in the UK Office for National Statistics, 22 July 2003. URL accessed April 14, 2009.
- ^ Department for Transport - Regional transport statistics, 20 March 2009. URL accessed 14 April 2009.
- ^ Office of National Statistics - Gazetteer of the old and new geographies of the United Kingdom. p48
- ^ Metropolitan Counties and Districts, Beginners' Guide to UK Geography, Office for National Statistics, September 17, 2004. URL accessed January 11, 2007.
- ^ http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/stats/lgfs/lgfs14/xlsfiles_maps/chapter1/table13a.gif
- ^ http://www.gmltp.co.uk/
- ^ http://www.transportmerseyside.org/ltp/
- ^ http://www.westmidlandsltp.gov.uk/index.php?id=1
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Categories: Administrative divisions | Metropolitan counties | Local government in England | Interested parties in planning in the United Kingdom
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