Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972 (abbreviated as LGA 72) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the government of Edward Heath (1970-1974), which received royal assent from Elizabeth II on 26 October 1972, and came into effect on 1 April 1974. The Act is concerned with local government in England and Wales, and it established a new system of administrative areas.
A popular myth persists that the Act abolished the counties of England and Wales, some of which had been in existence for around 1000 years at that point. This is incorrect however; the act actually abolished the county councils (of which some covered areas substantially different to the counties) established some 90 years prior, plus the various other administrative bodies established subsequently.[1]
It established a two-tier system of local government areas; metropolitan and non-metropolitan 'county' council areas and district council areas. Many of the act's local government reforms survived for little more than 20 years, as the metropolitan 'county' councils were abolished in 1996 (although areas corresponding with them remain in use as counties for the purposes of lieutenancy and elected metro mayorships)
Evidence that the act did not alter county boundaries
There is a persistent misapprehension that LGA 72 either abolished the traditional counties or modified their boundaries (such as Lancashire, with Lancashire County Council's boundaries differing from the county proper). Neither statement is accurate. LGA 72 abolished not one county, nor any of their traditional subdivisions, only abolishing county councils and the various other units of local government. The last statutory instrument to abolish a county was the Hexhamshire Act 1572, which made the county palatinate of Hexham (or Hexhamshire) part of Northumberland. The last Act of Parliament to modify the boundaries of the counties was the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844.
The Times newspaper printed a statement from Heath's government in April 1974 which read: "The new county boundaries are administrative areas, and will not alter the traditional boundaries of counties, nor is it intended that the loyalties of people living in them will change despite the different names adopted by the new administrative counties."[2]
In 1990, the then-Minister of State for Local Government Michael Portillo, during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, stated: "I can confirm that the Government still stand by this statement,.…that the local authority areas and boundaries introduced in April 1974 do not alter the traditional boundaries of counties. The 1974 arrangements are entirely administrative, and need not affect long-standing loyalties and affinities."[2]
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) features a database Index of Place-Names of Great Britain which states "historic counties [...] have remained largely unchanged since the Middle Ages".
References
- ↑ The Strange Case of the Counties That Didn’t Change
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://britishcounties.org/official-statements/ Official Statements -British Counties Campaign]
