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data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Origins_of_local_government_in_England" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Origins_of_local_government_in_England"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Origins of local government in England</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Origins_of_local_government_in_England-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Origins of local government in England subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Origins_of_local_government_in_England-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Anglo-Saxon_local_government_(700–1066_AD)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Anglo-Saxon_local_government_(700–1066_AD)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Anglo-Saxon local government (700–1066 AD)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Anglo-Saxon_local_government_(700–1066_AD)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Norman_conquest_(1066–1100)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Norman_conquest_(1066–1100)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>The Norman conquest (1066–1100)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Norman_conquest_(1066–1100)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Early_Middle_Ages_(1100–1300)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Early_Middle_Ages_(1100–1300)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3</span> <span>The Early Middle Ages (1100–1300)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Early_Middle_Ages_(1100–1300)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-The_rise_of_the_town" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_rise_of_the_town"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3.1</span> <span>The rise of the town</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_rise_of_the_town-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Political_representation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Political_representation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3.2</span> <span>Political representation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Political_representation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Later_Middle_Ages_(1300–1500)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Later_Middle_Ages_(1300–1500)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4</span> <span>The Later Middle Ages (1300–1500)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Later_Middle_Ages_(1300–1500)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-The_decline_of_the_feudal_system" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_decline_of_the_feudal_system"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.1</span> <span>The decline of the feudal system</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_decline_of_the_feudal_system-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Counties_corporate" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Counties_corporate"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.2</span> <span>Counties corporate</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Counties_corporate-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Later_changes_in_local_government_(1500–1832)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Later_changes_in_local_government_(1500–1832)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.5</span> <span>Later changes in local government (1500–1832)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Later_changes_in_local_government_(1500–1832)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Parishes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Parishes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.5.1</span> <span>Parishes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Parishes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_evolution_of_modern_local_government_(1832–1974)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_evolution_of_modern_local_government_(1832–1974)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>The evolution of modern local government (1832–1974)</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-The_evolution_of_modern_local_government_(1832–1974)-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle The evolution of modern local government (1832–1974) subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-The_evolution_of_modern_local_government_(1832–1974)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-The_Great_Reform_Act_1832" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Great_Reform_Act_1832"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>The Great Reform Act 1832</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Great_Reform_Act_1832-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Municipal_Corporations_Act_1835" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Municipal_Corporations_Act_1835"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>The Municipal Corporations Act 1835</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Municipal_Corporations_Act_1835-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Public_welfare_reforms" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Public_welfare_reforms"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3</span> <span>Public welfare reforms</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Public_welfare_reforms-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Expansion_of_the_franchise" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Expansion_of_the_franchise"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.4</span> <span>Expansion of the franchise</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Expansion_of_the_franchise-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Local_Government_Acts_1888_and_1894,_and_the_London_Government_Act_1899" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Local_Government_Acts_1888_and_1894,_and_the_London_Government_Act_1899"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.5</span> <span>The Local Government Acts 1888 and 1894, and the London Government Act 1899</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Local_Government_Acts_1888_and_1894,_and_the_London_Government_Act_1899-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Attempts_at_reform_(1945–1974)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Attempts_at_reform_(1945–1974)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.6</span> <span>Attempts at reform (1945–1974)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Attempts_at_reform_(1945–1974)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Local_Government_Act_1972" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Local_Government_Act_1972"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.7</span> <span>The Local Government Act 1972</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Local_Government_Act_1972-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reform_(1974–present)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reform_(1974–present)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Further reform (1974–present)</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Further_reform_(1974–present)-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Further reform (1974–present) subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Further_reform_(1974–present)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Abolition_of_the_metropolitan_county_councils" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Abolition_of_the_metropolitan_county_councils"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Abolition of the metropolitan county councils</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Abolition_of_the_metropolitan_county_councils-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Local_Government_Act_1992" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Local_Government_Act_1992"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Local Government Act 1992</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Local_Government_Act_1992-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Creation_of_additional_unitary_authorities_after_2000" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Creation_of_additional_unitary_authorities_after_2000"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>Creation of additional unitary authorities after 2000</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Creation_of_additional_unitary_authorities_after_2000-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Local_enterprise_partnerships_and_local_authority_leaders'_boards" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Local_enterprise_partnerships_and_local_authority_leaders'_boards"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.4</span> <span>Local enterprise partnerships and local authority leaders' boards</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Local_enterprise_partnerships_and_local_authority_leaders'_boards-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Combined_authorities" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Combined_authorities"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.5</span> <span>Combined authorities</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Combined_authorities-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_City_of_London" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_City_of_London"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>The City of London</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_City_of_London-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Summary" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Summary"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Summary</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Summary-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" 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class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Royal_arms_of_England.svg/130px-Royal_arms_of_England.svg.png" decoding="async" width="130" height="152" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Royal_arms_of_England.svg/195px-Royal_arms_of_England.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Royal_arms_of_England.svg/260px-Royal_arms_of_England.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="410" data-file-height="478" /></a></span></th></tr><tr><th style="border-bottom: #aaa 1px solid"></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Monarchy of the United Kingdom">The Crown</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:left;"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Monarchy of the United Kingdom">Monarch</a></b>: <a href="/wiki/Charles_III" title="Charles III">Charles III</a></li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Succession_to_the_British_throne" title="Succession to the British throne">Heir Apparent</a></b>: <a href="/wiki/William,_Prince_of_Wales" title="William, Prince of Wales">William, Prince of Wales</a></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Republicanism_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Republicanism in the United Kingdom">Republicanism in the United Kingdom</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Governance_of_England" title="Governance of England">Governance</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:left;"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/King-in-Council" title="King-in-Council">King-in-Council</a></b>: <a href="/wiki/Charles_III" title="Charles III">Charles III</a></li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister</a></b>: <a href="/wiki/Keir_Starmer" title="Keir Starmer">Keir Starmer</a> (<a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">L</a>)</li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Deputy_Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Deputy Prime Minister</a></b>: <a href="/wiki/Angela_Rayner" title="Angela Rayner">Angela Rayner</a> (<a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">L</a>)</li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Parliament of the United Kingdom">Legislative</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:left;"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/King-in-Parliament" title="King-in-Parliament">King-in-Parliament</a></b>: <a href="/wiki/Charles_III" title="Charles III">Charles III</a></li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/House_of_Lords" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a></b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lord_Speaker" title="Lord Speaker">Lord Speaker</a>: <a href="/wiki/John_McFall,_Baron_McFall_of_Alcluith" title="John McFall, Baron McFall of Alcluith">The Lord McFall of Alcluith</a></li></ul></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Reform_of_the_House_of_Lords" title="Reform of the House of Lords">Reform of the House of Lords</a></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="House of Commons of the United Kingdom">House of Commons</a></b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Speaker_of_the_House_of_Commons_(United_Kingdom)" title="Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)">Speaker</a>: <a href="/wiki/Lindsay_Hoyle" title="Lindsay Hoyle">Sir Lindsay Hoyle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_MPs_for_constituencies_in_England_(2024%E2%80%93present)" title="List of MPs for constituencies in England (2024–present)">MPs for England Constituencies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Regional_Affairs_Committee" title="Regional Affairs Committee">Regional Affairs Committee</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed hlist"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Elections_in_England" title="Elections in England">Elections</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">UK General Elections in England</div> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/First_Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="First Parliament of the United Kingdom">1801 co-option</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1802_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1802 United Kingdom general election">1802</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1806_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1806 United Kingdom general election">1806</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1807_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1807 United Kingdom general election">1807</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1812_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1812 United Kingdom general election">1812</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1818_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1818 United Kingdom general election">1818</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1820_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1820 United Kingdom general election">1820</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1826_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1826 United Kingdom general election">1826</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1830_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1830 United Kingdom general election">1830</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1831_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1831 United Kingdom general election">1831</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1832_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1832 United Kingdom general election">1832</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1835_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1835 United Kingdom general election">1835</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1837_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1837 United Kingdom general election">1837</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1841_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1841 United Kingdom general election">1841</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1847_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1847 United Kingdom general election">1847</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1852_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1852 United Kingdom general election">1852</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1857_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1857 United Kingdom general election">1857</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1859_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1859 United Kingdom general election">1859</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1865_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1865 United Kingdom general election">1865</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1868_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1868 United Kingdom general election">1868</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1874_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1874 United Kingdom general election">1874</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1880_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1880 United Kingdom general election">1880</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1885_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1885 United Kingdom general election">1885</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1886_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1886 United Kingdom general election">1886</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1892_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1892 United Kingdom general election">1892</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1895_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1895 United Kingdom general election">1895</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1900_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1900 United Kingdom general election">1900</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1906_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1906 United Kingdom general election">1906</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/January_1910_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="January 1910 United Kingdom general election">1910 (Jan)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/December_1910_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="December 1910 United Kingdom general election">1910 (Dec)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1918_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1918 United Kingdom general election">1918</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1922_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1922 United Kingdom general election">1922</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1923_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1923 United Kingdom general election">1923</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1924_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1924 United Kingdom general election">1924</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1929_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1929 United Kingdom general election">1929</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1931_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1931 United Kingdom general election">1931</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1935_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1935 United Kingdom general election">1935</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1945_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1945 United Kingdom general election">1945</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1950_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1950 United Kingdom general election">1950</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1951_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1951 United Kingdom general election">1951</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1955_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1955 United Kingdom general election">1955</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1959_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1959 United Kingdom general election">1959</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1964_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1964 United Kingdom general election">1964</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1966_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1966 United Kingdom general election">1966</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1970_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1970 United Kingdom general election">1970</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/February_1974_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="February 1974 United Kingdom general election">1974 (Feb)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/October_1974_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="October 1974 United Kingdom general election">1974 (Oct)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1979_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_England" title="1979 United Kingdom general election in England">1979</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1983_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_England" title="1983 United Kingdom general election in England">1983</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1987_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_England" title="1987 United Kingdom general election in England">1987</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1992_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_England" title="1992 United Kingdom general election in England">1992</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1997_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_England" title="1997 United Kingdom general election in England">1997</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2001_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_England" title="2001 United Kingdom general election in England">2001</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2005_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_England" title="2005 United Kingdom general election in England">2005</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2010_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_England" title="2010 United Kingdom general election in England">2010</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2015_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_England" title="2015 United Kingdom general election in England">2015</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2017_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_England" title="2017 United Kingdom general election in England">2017</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2019_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_England" title="2019 United Kingdom general election in England">2019</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2024_United_Kingdom_general_election_in_England" title="2024 United Kingdom general election in England">2024</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Judiciary_of_England_and_Wales" title="Judiciary of England and Wales">Judiciary</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:left;"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/King-on-the-Bench" class="mw-redirect" title="King-on-the-Bench">King-on-the-Bench</a></b>: <a href="/wiki/Charles_III" title="Charles III">Charles III</a> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Supreme Court of the United Kingdom">Supreme Court</a></b></li> <li><a href="/wiki/President_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom">President</a>: <a href="/wiki/Robert_Reed,_Baron_Reed_of_Allermuir" title="Robert Reed, Baron Reed of Allermuir">The Lord Reed of Allermuir</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/High_Court_of_Justice" title="High Court of Justice">High Court of Justice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Courts_of_England_and_Wales" title="Courts of England and Wales">Courts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English_law" title="English law">English Law</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Regions_of_England" title="Regions of England">Regions</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:left;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/East_of_England" title="East of England">East of England</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">London</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/East_Midlands" title="East Midlands">East Midlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_Midlands_(region)" title="West Midlands (region)">West Midlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_East_England" title="North East England">North East</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_West_England" title="North West England">North West</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_East_England" title="South East England">South East</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_West_England" title="South West England">South West</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yorkshire_and_the_Humber" title="Yorkshire and the Humber">Yorkshire and the Humber</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_England" title="Local government in England">Administration</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:left;"> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">History</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Subdivisions_of_England" title="Subdivisions of England">Subdivisions</a><br /></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Historic_counties_of_England" title="Historic counties of England">Historic Counties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ceremonial_counties_of_England" title="Ceremonial counties of England">Ceremonial Counties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_and_non-metropolitan_counties_of_England" class="mw-redirect" title="Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England">Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_county" title="Metropolitan county">Metropolitan county</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Non-metropolitan_county" title="Non-metropolitan county">Non-metropolitan county</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">Greater London</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Unitary_authorities_of_England" title="Unitary authorities of England">Unitary authorities</a> (<a href="/wiki/Template:Unitary_authorities_of_England" title="Template:Unitary authorities of England">list</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Districts_of_England" title="Districts of England">Districts</a> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_English_districts" title="List of English districts">list</a>) <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_borough" title="Metropolitan borough">Metropolitan Borough</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Non-metropolitan_district" title="Non-metropolitan district">Non-metropolitan District</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/London_Borough" class="mw-redirect" title="London Borough">London Borough</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Combined_authorities_and_combined_county_authorities" title="Combined authorities and combined county authorities">Combined authorities</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mayoral_Council_for_England" title="Mayoral Council for England">Mayoral Council for England</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Civil_parishes_in_England" class="mw-redirect" title="Civil parishes in England">Civil parishes</a> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_civil_parishes_in_England" title="List of civil parishes in England">list</a>)</li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Politics_of_England" title="Category:Politics of England">Category</a></li> <li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/England" title="England"><img alt="England" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/23px-Flag_of_England.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/35px-Flag_of_England.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/46px-Flag_of_England.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="480" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Portal:England" title="Portal:England">England portal</a></li></ul> <div class="hlist" style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_political_science#Politics_by_region" title="Outline of political science">Other countries</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Politics_of_England" title="Template:Politics of England"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Politics_of_England" title="Template talk:Politics of England"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Politics_of_England" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Politics of England"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The <b>history of local government in England</b> is one of gradual change and evolution since the <a href="/wiki/Middle_Ages" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>. <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a> has never possessed a formal written <a href="/wiki/Constitution" title="Constitution">constitution</a>, with the result that modern administration (and the judicial system) is based on precedent, and is derived from administrative powers granted (usually by <a href="/wiki/The_Crown" title="The Crown">the Crown</a>) to older systems, such as that of the <a href="/wiki/Shire" title="Shire">shires</a>. </p><p>The concept of <a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_England" title="Local government in England">local government in England</a> spans back into the <a href="/wiki/History_of_Anglo-Saxon_England" title="History of Anglo-Saxon England">history of Anglo-Saxon England</a> (c. 700-1066), and certain aspects of its modern system are directly derived from this time; particularly the paradigm that towns and the countryside should be administrated separately. In this context, the <a href="/wiki/Feudalism" title="Feudalism">feudal system</a> introduced by the <a href="/wiki/Normans" title="Normans">Normans</a>, and perhaps lasting 300 years, can be seen as a 'blip', before earlier patterns of administration re-emerged. </p><p>The dramatic increase in population, and change in population distribution caused by the <a href="/wiki/Industrial_Revolution" title="Industrial Revolution">Industrial Revolution</a> necessitated similarly dramatic reform in local administration in England, which was achieved gradually throughout the 19th century. Much of the 20th century was spent searching for an idealised system of local government. The most sweeping change in that period was the <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1972" title="Local Government Act 1972">Local Government Act 1972</a>, which resulted in a uniform two-tier system of counties and districts being introduced in 1974; however, further waves of reform have led to a more heterogeneous system in use today. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Origins_of_local_government_in_England">Origins of local government in England</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Origins of local government in England"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-More_citations_needed plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This original research <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/History_of_local_government_in_England" title="Special:EditPage/History of local government in England">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this original research. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.<br /><small><span class="plainlinks"><i>Find sources:</i> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?as_eq=wikipedia&q=%22History+of+local+government+in+England%22">"History of local government in England"</a> – <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbm=nws&q=%22History+of+local+government+in+England%22+-wikipedia&tbs=ar:1">news</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?&q=%22History+of+local+government+in+England%22&tbs=bkt:s&tbm=bks">newspapers</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks:1&q=%22History+of+local+government+in+England%22+-wikipedia">books</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22History+of+local+government+in+England%22">scholar</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=%22History+of+local+government+in+England%22&acc=on&wc=on">JSTOR</a></span></small></span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">March 2020</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Much of the basic structure of local government in <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a> is derived directly from the <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_England" title="Kingdom of England">Kingdom of England</a> (which became part of the <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Great_Britain" title="Kingdom of Great Britain">Kingdom of Great Britain</a> in 1707 then later part of the <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>). There are thus aspects of the modern system which are not shared with the other constituent parts of the UK, namely <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a> and <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a>. </p><p>The Kingdom of England was by origin an extension of the <a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxons" title="Anglo-Saxons">Saxon</a> <a href="/wiki/Wessex" title="Wessex">Kingdom of Wessex</a> into the other regions, supplanting amongst others the former kingdoms of <a href="/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia">Mercia</a>, <a href="/wiki/Northumbria" title="Northumbria">Northumbria</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_East_Anglia" title="Kingdom of East Anglia">Kingdom of East Anglia</a>, and unifying the <a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxons" title="Anglo-Saxons">Anglo-Saxon peoples</a> of the <a href="/wiki/British_Isles" title="British Isles">British Isles</a>. Some of the basic elements of modern local government therefore derive from the ancient system of Wessex. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Anglo-Saxon_local_government_(700–1066_AD)"><span id="Anglo-Saxon_local_government_.28700.E2.80.931066_AD.29"></span>Anglo-Saxon local government (700–1066 AD)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Anglo-Saxon local government (700–1066 AD)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Wessex" class="mw-redirect" title="Kingdom of Wessex">Kingdom of Wessex</a>, c. 790 AD, was divided into administrative units known as <a href="/wiki/Shire" title="Shire">shires</a>. Each shire was governed by an <a href="/wiki/Ealdorman" title="Ealdorman">Ealdorman</a>, a major nobleman of Wessex appointed to the post by the King. The term 'Ealdorman' (meaning 'elder-man') gradually merged with the Scandinavian Eorl/Jarl (designating an important chieftain), to form the modern 'Earl'. However, the Shires were not comparable with later <a href="/wiki/Earldoms" class="mw-redirect" title="Earldoms">Earldoms</a>, and were not held in the Ealdorman's own right; the position was appointive, rather than a hereditary title of nobility. </p><p>The shires of Wessex at this time have essentially survived to the present day, as <a href="/wiki/Counties_of_England" title="Counties of England">counties of England</a> (currently <a href="/wiki/Ceremonial_counties" class="mw-redirect" title="Ceremonial counties">ceremonial counties</a>). They included Defnascir (<a href="/wiki/Devon" title="Devon">Devon</a>), Sumorsaete (<a href="/wiki/Somerset" title="Somerset">Somerset</a>), Dornsaete (<a href="/wiki/Dorset" title="Dorset">Dorset</a>), Wiltunscir (<a href="/wiki/Wiltshire" title="Wiltshire">Wiltshire</a>), Hamptunscir (<a href="/wiki/Hampshire" title="Hampshire">Hampshire</a>). When Wessex conquered the petty kingdoms of southern England, namely <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kent" title="Kingdom of Kent">Kent</a> and that of the <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Sussex" title="Kingdom of Sussex">South Saxons</a>, these were simply reconstituted as shires (modern <a href="/wiki/Kent" title="Kent">Kent</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sussex" title="Sussex">Sussex</a> respectively). </p><p>As Wessex took over progressively larger areas of Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria, the new lands were divided into shires, usually named after the principal town in the new shire; hence <a href="/wiki/Northamptonshire" title="Northamptonshire">Northamptonshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Oxfordshire" title="Oxfordshire">Oxfordshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Derbyshire" title="Derbyshire">Derbyshire</a> and so on. Most of the <a href="/wiki/Historic_counties_of_England" title="Historic counties of England">historic counties</a> of England (and modern <a href="/wiki/Ceremonial_counties" class="mw-redirect" title="Ceremonial counties">Ceremonial counties</a>) south of the <a href="/wiki/Mersey" class="mw-redirect" title="Mersey">Mersey</a> and <a href="/wiki/Humber" title="Humber">Humber</a> derive directly from this time. </p><p>Another important shire official was the shire-reeve; the modern day derivative is a <a href="/wiki/Sheriff" title="Sheriff">sheriff</a> or <a href="/wiki/High_sheriff" title="High sheriff">high sheriff</a>. The shire-reeve was responsible for upholding the law, and holding civil and criminal courts in the shire.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The office of sheriff is still important in some <a href="/wiki/Anglophone_countries" class="mw-redirect" title="Anglophone countries">Anglophone countries</a> (e.g. the <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a>), but now a ceremonial role in England. </p><p>Below the level of the shire, the Anglo-Saxon system was very different from the later systems of local government. The shire was divided into an unlimited number of <a href="/wiki/Hundred_(administrative_division)" class="mw-redirect" title="Hundred (administrative division)">hundreds</a> (or <a href="/wiki/Hundred_(administrative_division)" class="mw-redirect" title="Hundred (administrative division)">wapentakes</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Danelaw" title="Danelaw">Danelaw</a> counties of <a href="/wiki/Yorkshire" title="Yorkshire">Yorkshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Derbyshire" title="Derbyshire">Derbyshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Leicestershire" title="Leicestershire">Leicestershire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Northamptonshire" title="Northamptonshire">Northamptonshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nottinghamshire" title="Nottinghamshire">Nottinghamshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rutland" title="Rutland">Rutland</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lincolnshire" title="Lincolnshire">Lincolnshire</a>). Each hundred consisted of 10 groups of 10 households. A group of 10 households was a <a href="/wiki/Tithing_(country_subdivision)" class="mw-redirect" title="Tithing (country subdivision)">tithing</a> and each household held one <a href="/wiki/Hide_(unit)" title="Hide (unit)">hide</a> of land. The hide was an arbitrary unit of land which was deemed able to support one household, and thus could vary in size. The whole hundred system was thus both very flexible and fluid, varying with changes in population etc. </p><p>Hundreds were led by a 'hundred-man', and had their own 'hundred' courts. The members of the hundreds (or tithings, etc.) were collectively held responsible for each individual's conduct, thereby decentralising the administration of justice upon the people themselves. Hundreds were used as administrative units for the raising of armies, collection of taxes and so forth. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Norman_conquest_(1066–1100)"><span id="The_Norman_conquest_.281066.E2.80.931100.29"></span>The Norman conquest (1066–1100)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: The Norman conquest (1066–1100)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:EnglandAdminstrativeMap1086.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/EnglandAdminstrativeMap1086.png/440px-EnglandAdminstrativeMap1086.png" decoding="async" width="440" height="550" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/EnglandAdminstrativeMap1086.png/660px-EnglandAdminstrativeMap1086.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/EnglandAdminstrativeMap1086.png/880px-EnglandAdminstrativeMap1086.png 2x" data-file-width="4712" data-file-height="5895" /></a><figcaption>England in 1086 showing hundreds, wapentakes and wards</figcaption></figure> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Norman_Conquest" title="Norman Conquest">conquest of England</a> by the <a href="/wiki/Normans" title="Normans">Normans</a> in 1066 brought about many changes in the local administration of the country, but some aspects were retained. One of the biggest changes was the introduction of a severe feudal system by the Normans. Although <a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxons" title="Anglo-Saxons">Anglo-Saxon</a> society had also been essentially <a href="/wiki/Feudal" class="mw-redirect" title="Feudal">feudal</a> in character, the Norman system was much more rigid, centralised and thorough. <a href="/wiki/William_the_Conqueror" title="William the Conqueror">William the Conqueror</a> claimed ultimate possession of virtually all the land in England and asserted the right to dispose of it as he saw fit. Thenceforth, all land was "held" from the King.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The country was divided up into fiefs which William distributed amongst his followers. The <a href="/wiki/Fiefdom" class="mw-redirect" title="Fiefdom">fiefs</a> were generally small and given out piecemeal, to deprive William's vassals of large power-bases. </p><p>Since each <a href="/wiki/Fief" title="Fief">fiefdom</a> was governed more or less independently of each other by the <a href="/wiki/Feudalism" title="Feudalism">feudal lords</a>, the Anglo-Saxon <a href="/wiki/Shire" title="Shire">shire</a> system became less important. However, the system did continue in use. The shires (referred to by the Normans as 'counties', in analogy to the system in use in <a href="/wiki/France_in_the_Middle_Ages" title="France in the Middle Ages">medieval France</a>) remained the major geographical division of England. North of the <a href="/wiki/Humber" title="Humber">Humber</a>, the Normans reorganised the shires to form one new large county, that of <a href="/wiki/Yorkshire" title="Yorkshire">Yorkshire</a>. Immediately after the conquest the rest of northern England does not seem to have been in Norman hands; as the remainder of England came under Norman rule it too was also constituted into new counties (e.g. <a href="/wiki/Lancashire" title="Lancashire">Lancashire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Northumberland" title="Northumberland">Northumberland</a>) In the period immediately after the Norman conquest, hundreds also remained as the basic administrative unit. In the <a href="/wiki/Domesday_Book" title="Domesday Book">Domesday Book</a>, the great Norman work of bureaucracy, the survey is taken shire by shire, and hundred by hundred. At this time, if not before, hundreds must have become more static units of land, since the more fluid nature of the original system would not have been compatible with the rigid feudal system of the Normans. Although hundreds continued to alter in size and number after the <a href="/wiki/Domesday_Book" title="Domesday Book">Domesday Book</a>, they became more permanent administrative divisions, rather than groups of households. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Early_Middle_Ages_(1100–1300)"><span id="The_Early_Middle_Ages_.281100.E2.80.931300.29"></span>The Early Middle Ages (1100–1300)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: The Early Middle Ages (1100–1300)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>During the Middle Ages local administration remained in the hands of the feudal lords, who governed affairs in their fiefs. The enserfment of the population by the Norman system diminished the importance of hundreds as self-regulating <a href="/wiki/Social_group" title="Social group">social units</a> since law was not imposed from above, and since the population was immobilised. Instead the basic social unit became the <a href="/wiki/Parish" title="Parish">parish</a>, <a href="/wiki/Manorialism" title="Manorialism">manor</a> or <a href="/wiki/Township" title="Township">township</a>. </p><p>The counties remained important as the basis for the legal system. The sheriff remained the paramount legal officer in each county, and each county eventually had its own court system for trials (the <a href="/wiki/Quarter_sessions" class="mw-redirect" title="Quarter sessions">quarter sessions</a>). Although the hundred courts continued in use resolving local disputes, they diminished in importance. During the reigns of <a href="/wiki/Henry_III_of_England" title="Henry III of England">Henry III</a>, <a href="/wiki/Edward_I_of_England" title="Edward I of England">Edward I</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Edward_II_of_England" title="Edward II of England">Edward II</a> a new system emerged. Knights in each county were appointed as <a href="/wiki/Conservator_of_the_Peace" class="mw-redirect" title="Conservator of the Peace">Conservator of the Peace</a>, being required to help keep the King's Peace. Eventually they were given the right to try petty offences which had formerly been tried in the hundred courts. These officers were the forerunners of the modern <a href="/wiki/Magistrates%27_court_(England_and_Wales)" title="Magistrates' court (England and Wales)">magistrates' courts</a> and <a href="/wiki/Justice_of_the_peace" title="Justice of the peace">justices of the peace</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="The_rise_of_the_town">The rise of the town</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: The rise of the town"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The feudal system introduced by the Normans was designed to govern rural areas which could easily be controlled by a lord. Since the system was based on the exploitation of the labour and produce of enserfed peasant farmers, the system was unsuited to governing larger towns, which had more complex economies and a greater population of free (non-serf) people. At the time of the Norman conquest true urban centres were few in England, but during the early medieval period a growing population and increased mercantile activity led to an increase in the importance of towns. </p><p>London, by far the largest settlement in England during the medieval period, had been marked out for special status as early as the reign of <a href="/wiki/Alfred_the_Great" title="Alfred the Great">Alfred the Great</a>. William the Conqueror granted London a royal charter in 1075, confirming some of the autonomy and privileges that the city had accumulated during the Saxon period. The charter gave London self-governing status, paying taxes directly to the king in return for remaining outside the feudal system. The citizens were therefore 'burgesses' rather than serfs, and in effect free men. William's son <a href="/wiki/Henry_I_of_England" title="Henry I of England">Henry I</a> granted charters to other towns, often to establish market towns. </p><p>However, it was <a href="/wiki/Henry_II_of_England" title="Henry II of England">Henry II</a> who greatly expanded the separation of towns from the countryside. He granted around 150 royal charters to towns around England, which were thereafter referred to as '<a href="/wiki/Borough" title="Borough">boroughs</a>'.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For an annual rent to the crown, the towns were given various privileges, such as the exemption from feudal dues, the right to hold a market and the rights to levy certain taxes. However, not all market towns established during this period were self-governing. </p><p>The self-governing boroughs are the first recognisably modern aspect of local government in England. Generally they were run by a town <a href="/wiki/Corporation" title="Corporation">corporation</a>, made up of council <a href="/wiki/Aldermen" class="mw-redirect" title="Aldermen">aldermen</a>, the town 'elders'. Although each corporation was different, they were usually self-elected, new members being co-opted by the existing members. A <a href="/wiki/Mayor" title="Mayor">mayor</a> was often elected by the council to serve for a given period. The idea of a town council to run the affairs of an individual town remains an important tenet of local government in England today. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Political_representation">Political representation</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Political representation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_England" title="Parliament of England">English Parliament</a> developed during the 13th century, and would eventually become the <i>de facto</i> governing body for the country. In 1297, it was decreed that the representatives to the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="House of Commons of the United Kingdom">House of Commons</a> would be allocated based on the administrative units of counties and boroughs — two knights from each shire, and two burgesses from each borough. This system would remain essentially unchanged (despite massive increases in population in some non-borough areas, and the decreased importance of some boroughs) until the <a href="/wiki/Reform_Act_of_1832" class="mw-redirect" title="Reform Act of 1832">Reform Act of 1832</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Later_Middle_Ages_(1300–1500)"><span id="The_Later_Middle_Ages_.281300.E2.80.931500.29"></span>The Later Middle Ages (1300–1500)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: The Later Middle Ages (1300–1500)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="The_decline_of_the_feudal_system">The decline of the feudal system</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: The decline of the feudal system"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>By the beginning of the 14th century, the feudal system in England was in decline; the <a href="/wiki/Black_Death" title="Black Death">Black Death</a> (1348–1350) causing mass depopulation, is widely held to signal the effective end of feudalism. Thereafter the relationship between lord and vassal become more a relationship between landlord and tenant. The breakdown of the feudal power left the shires without <i>de jure</i> administration. The legal system and sheriffs remained for each county, and what local administration was required was undoubtedly provided by individual parishes or by the local landowners. In an era of very 'small government', the requirement for higher levels of administration was probably minimal. In towns, where more governance would have been required, the town councils continued to manage local affairs. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Counties_corporate">Counties corporate</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Counties corporate"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/County_corporate" title="County corporate">County corporate</a></div> <p>A further extension of the borough system occurred in the <a href="/wiki/England_in_the_Late_Middle_Ages" title="England in the Late Middle Ages">later medieval period</a>. While borough status gave towns specific rights <i>within</i> counties, some cities petitioned for greater independence. Those cities (or towns) were therefore awarded complete effective independence from the county including their own <a href="/wiki/Sheriff" title="Sheriff">sheriffs</a>, <a href="/wiki/Quarter_sessions" class="mw-redirect" title="Quarter sessions">quarter sessions</a> and other officials, and were sometimes given governing rights over a swath of surrounding countryside. They were referred to in the form "Town and County of ..." or "City and County of ...", and became known as the counties corporate. They included the City and County of York, Bristol, Canterbury and Chester. </p><p>Other counties corporate were created to deal with specific local problems, such as border conflict (in the case of <a href="/wiki/Berwick-upon-Tweed" title="Berwick-upon-Tweed">Berwick-upon-Tweed</a>) and <a href="/wiki/Piracy" title="Piracy">piracy</a> (in the case of <a href="/wiki/Poole" title="Poole">Poole</a> and <a href="/wiki/Haverfordwest" title="Haverfordwest">Haverfordwest</a>). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Later_changes_in_local_government_(1500–1832)"><span id="Later_changes_in_local_government_.281500.E2.80.931832.29"></span>Later changes in local government (1500–1832)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Later changes in local government (1500–1832)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In the 1540s the office of <a href="/wiki/Lord-lieutenant" title="Lord-lieutenant">lord-lieutenant</a> was instituted in each county, effectively replacing feudal lords as the Crown's direct representative in that county. The lieutenants had a military role, previously exercised by the sheriffs, and were made responsible for raising and organising the county <a href="/wiki/Militia" title="Militia">militia</a>. The county lieutenancies were subsequently given responsibility for the <a href="/wiki/Volunteer_Force_(Great_Britain)" class="mw-redirect" title="Volunteer Force (Great Britain)">Volunteer Force</a>. In 1871 the lieutenants lost their position as head of the militia, and the office became largely ceremonial.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Cardwell_Reforms" title="Cardwell Reforms">Cardwell</a> and <a href="/wiki/Childers_Reforms" title="Childers Reforms">Childers Reforms</a> of the <a href="/wiki/British_Army" title="British Army">British Army</a> linked the recruiting areas of infantry regiments to the counties. </p> <div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">United Kingdom legislation</div><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox vevent mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above summary" style="font-size:100%"><span style="font-size:125%">County Rates Act 1738</span></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader" style="font-weight: bold;">Act of Parliament</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Coat_of_arms_of_Great_Britain_%281714%E2%80%931801%29.svg/140px-Coat_of_arms_of_Great_Britain_%281714%E2%80%931801%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="140" height="140" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Coat_of_arms_of_Great_Britain_%281714%E2%80%931801%29.svg/210px-Coat_of_arms_of_Great_Britain_%281714%E2%80%931801%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Coat_of_arms_of_Great_Britain_%281714%E2%80%931801%29.svg/280px-Coat_of_arms_of_Great_Britain_%281714%E2%80%931801%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" /></span></span><div class="infobox-caption"><a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_Great_Britain" title="Parliament of Great Britain">Parliament of Great Britain</a></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Short_and_long_titles" title="Short and long titles">Long title</a></th><td class="infobox-data description">An Act for the more easy assessing, collecting, and levying, of County Rates.</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Citation_of_United_Kingdom_legislation" title="Citation of United Kingdom legislation">Citation</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/12_Geo._2" class="mw-redirect" title="12 Geo. 2">12 Geo. 2</a>. c. 29</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="border-top: 1px solid #aaa;">Dates</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Royal_assent" title="Royal assent">Royal assent</a></th><td class="infobox-data">13 June 1739</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="border-top: 1px solid #aaa;">Other legislation</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Amended by</th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist"><ul style="margin-left:1em;text-indent:-1em;"><li><a href="/wiki/Statute_Law_Revision_Act_1867" title="Statute Law Revision Act 1867">Statute Law Revision Act 1867</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Statute_Law_Revision_Act_1887" title="Statute Law Revision Act 1887">Statute Law Revision Act 1887</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Statute_Law_Revision_Act_1888" title="Statute Law Revision Act 1888">Statute Law Revision Act 1888</a></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Repeal" title="Repeal">Repealed by</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Highways_Act_1959" class="mw-redirect" title="Highways Act 1959">Highways Act 1959</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="border-top: 1px solid #aaa;"><div style="background-color: #ffcccc;">Status: Repealed</div></th></tr></tbody></table> <p>From the 16th century the county was increasingly used as a unit of <a href="/wiki/Local_government" title="Local government">local government</a>. Although 'small government' was still the accepted norm, there were an increasing number of responsibilities which could not be fulfilled by individual communities. The justices of the peace therefore took on various administrative functions known as "county business". This was transacted at the <a href="/wiki/Quarter_sessions" class="mw-redirect" title="Quarter sessions">quarter sessions</a>, summoned four times a year by the <a href="/wiki/Lord-lieutenant" title="Lord-lieutenant">lord-lieutenant</a>. By the 19th century the county magistrates exercised powers over the licensing of alehouses, the construction of bridges, prisons and asylums, superintendence of main roads, public buildings and charitable institutions, and the regulation of weights and measures.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The justices were empowered to levy local taxes to support these activities, and in 1739 under the <b><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238216509">.mw-parser-output .vanchor>:target~.vanchor-text{background-color:#b1d2ff}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .vanchor>:target~.vanchor-text{background-color:#0f4dc9}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .vanchor>:target~.vanchor-text{background-color:#0f4dc9}}</style><span class="vanchor"><span id="County_Rates_Act_1738"></span><span class="vanchor-text">County Rates Act 1738</span></span></b> (<a href="/wiki/12_Geo._2" class="mw-redirect" title="12 Geo. 2">12 Geo. 2</a>. c. 29) these were unified as a single "county rate" under the control of a county treasurer.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In order to build and maintain roads and bridges, a salaried county surveyor was to be appointed.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>These county functions were attached to the legal system, since this was the only body which acted county-wide at that time. However, in this <i>ad hoc</i> system the beginnings of county councils, another central element in modern local government, can be observed. The counties themselves remained more-or-less static between the <a href="/wiki/Law_in_Wales_Acts" class="mw-redirect" title="Law in Wales Acts">Law in Wales Acts</a> of 1535–42, and the <a href="/wiki/Reform_Act_1832" title="Reform Act 1832">Reform Act 1832</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Parishes">Parishes</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Parishes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Parish_(Church_of_England)" title="Parish (Church of England)">ecclesiastical parishes</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Church_of_England" title="Church of England">Church of England</a> also came to play a <i>de jure</i> roles in local government from this time. It is probable that this merely confirmed the status quo — people of rural communities would have taken care of what local administration was required. Although the parishes were in no sense governmental organisations, laws were passed requiring parishes to carry out certain responsibilities. From 1555, parishes were responsible for the upkeep of nearby roads. From 1605 parishes were responsible for administering the <a href="/wiki/English_Poor_Laws" title="English Poor Laws">Poor Law</a>, and were required to collect money for their own poor. The parishes were run by parish councils, known as <a href="/wiki/Select_vestries" class="mw-redirect" title="Select vestries">Select Vestries</a>. Some such councils were elective, while others were sustained by co-option (existing members filling vacancies by invitation). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="The_evolution_of_modern_local_government_(1832–1974)"><span id="The_evolution_of_modern_local_government_.281832.E2.80.931974.29"></span>The evolution of modern local government (1832–1974)</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: The evolution of modern local government (1832–1974)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Great_Reform_Act_1832">The Great Reform Act 1832</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: The Great Reform Act 1832"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Reform_Act_1832" title="Reform Act 1832">Reform Act 1832</a></div> <p>The development of modern government in England began with the <a href="/wiki/Reform_Act_1832" title="Reform Act 1832">Great Reform Act</a> of 1832. The impetus for this act was provided by corrupt practices in the House of Commons, and by the massive increase in population occurring during the <a href="/wiki/Industrial_Revolution" title="Industrial Revolution">Industrial Revolution</a>. Boroughs and counties were generally able to send two representatives to the Commons. Theoretically, the honour of electing members of Parliament belonged to the wealthiest and most flourishing towns in the kingdom, thus, boroughs that ceased to be successful could be disenfranchised by the Crown.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In practice, however, many tiny <a href="/wiki/Hamlet_(place)" title="Hamlet (place)">hamlets</a> became boroughs, especially between the reigns of <a href="/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_England" class="mw-redirect" title="Henry VIII of England">Henry VIII</a> and <a href="/wiki/Charles_II_of_Great_Britain" class="mw-redirect" title="Charles II of Great Britain">Charles II</a>. Likewise, boroughs that had flourished during the <a href="/wiki/England_in_the_Middle_Ages" title="England in the Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>, but had since fallen into decay, were allowed to continue sending representatives to Parliament. The royal prerogative of enfranchising and disfranchising boroughs fell into disuse after the reign of Charles II; as a result, these historical anomalies became set in stone.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In addition, only male owners of <a href="/wiki/Fee_simple" title="Fee simple">freehold property</a> or land worth at least forty shillings in a particular county were entitled to vote in that county; but those who owned property in multiple constituencies could vote in every constituency for which he owned sufficiently valuable property; there was normally no requirement for an individual to actually inhabit a constituency in order to vote there. The size of the English county electorate in 1831 has been estimated at only 200,000.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This meant that the very wealthy formed the majority of the electorate and could often vote multiple times. In small boroughs that had fallen into decay, there were often only a handful of eligible voters; these “rotten” boroughs were therefore effectively controlled by the local aristocracy. </p><p>The Reform Act (and its successors) attempted to address these issues, by abolishing rotten boroughs (as both constituencies and administrative units), enfranchising the industrial towns as new parliamentary boroughs, increasing the proportion of the population eligible to vote, and ending corrupt practices in Parliament. Although this did not directly affect local government, it provided impetus to reform outdated, obsolete and unfair practices elsewhere in government. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Municipal_Corporations_Act_1835">The Municipal Corporations Act 1835</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: The Municipal Corporations Act 1835"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Municipal_Corporations_Act_1835" title="Municipal Corporations Act 1835">Municipal Corporations Act 1835</a></div> <p>After the reform of parliamentary constituencies the boroughs established by royal charter during the previous seven centuries were reformed by the <a href="/wiki/Municipal_Corporations_Act_1835" title="Municipal Corporations Act 1835">Municipal Corporations Act 1835</a>. The Act required members of town councils (<a href="/wiki/Municipal_corporation" title="Municipal corporation">municipal corporations</a>) in <a href="/wiki/England_and_Wales" title="England and Wales">England and Wales</a> to be elected by <a href="/wiki/Rates_(tax)" title="Rates (tax)">ratepayers</a> and councils to publish their financial accounts. </p><p>Before the passing of the Act, the <a href="/wiki/Municipal_borough" title="Municipal borough">municipal boroughs</a> varied depending upon their charters. In some boroughs, corporations had become self-perpetuating <a href="/wiki/Oligarchy" title="Oligarchy">oligarchies</a>, with membership of the corporation being for life, and vacancies filled by <a href="/wiki/Co-option" title="Co-option">co-option</a>. </p><p>The Act reformed 178 boroughs immediately; there remained more than one hundred <a href="/wiki/Unreformed_boroughs_in_England_and_Wales_1835_-_1886" class="mw-redirect" title="Unreformed boroughs in England and Wales 1835 - 1886">unreformed boroughs</a>, which generally either fell into <a href="/wiki/Desuetude" title="Desuetude">desuetude</a> or were replaced later under the terms of the Act. The last of these were not reformed or abolished until 1886. The <a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> remains unreformed to the present day. The Act allowed unincorporated towns to petition for incorporation. The industrial towns of the Midlands and North quickly took advantage of this, with <a href="/wiki/Birmingham" title="Birmingham">Birmingham</a> and <a href="/wiki/Manchester" title="Manchester">Manchester</a> becoming boroughs as soon as 1838. Altogether, <a href="/wiki/Boroughs_incorporated_in_England_and_Wales_1835_-_1882" class="mw-redirect" title="Boroughs incorporated in England and Wales 1835 - 1882">62 additional boroughs</a> were incorporated under the act. With this Act, the boroughs (thereafter “municipal boroughs”) began to take a more noticeably modern and democratic form. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Public_welfare_reforms">Public welfare reforms</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Public welfare reforms"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>During the <a href="/wiki/Industrial_Revolution" title="Industrial Revolution">industrial revolution</a> there were massive population increases, massively increased <a href="/wiki/Urbanization" title="Urbanization">urbanisation</a> (especially in previously unimportant towns), and the creation of an urban poor, who had no means of subsistence. This created many new problems that the small-scale local government apparatus existing in England could not cope with. Between 1832 and 1888, several laws were passed to try and address these problems. </p><p>In 1837 laws were passed allowing rural parishes to group together as <a href="/wiki/Poor_law_union" title="Poor law union">poor law unions</a>, in order to administer the <a href="/wiki/Poor_Law" class="mw-redirect" title="Poor Law">Poor Law</a> more effectively; these unions were able to collect taxes ('rates') in order to carry out poor-relief. Each union was run by a <a href="/wiki/Board_of_guardians" title="Board of guardians">board of guardians</a>, partly elected but also including local <a href="/wiki/Justice_of_the_peace" title="Justice of the peace">justice of the peace</a>. In 1866, all land which was not part of ecclesiastical parishes was formed into Civil Parishes for administration of the poor law. In the municipal boroughs the poor law was administered by the town corporation. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Public_Health_Act_1848" class="mw-redirect" title="Public Health Act 1848">Public Health Act 1848</a> was passed, establishing a <a href="/wiki/Local_board_of_health" title="Local board of health">local board of health</a> in towns, to regulate sewerage and the spread of diseases. In municipal boroughs, the town corporation selected the board; in other urban areas, the rate-payers elected the boards. Although the boards had legal powers, they were non-governmental organisations. </p><p>In 1873 and 1875, further Public Health Acts (the <a href="/w/index.php?title=Public_Health_Act_1873&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Public Health Act 1873 (page does not exist)">Public Health Act 1873</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="margin-left:0.1em; white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify" title="Wikipedia:Please clarify"><span title="The text near this tag may need clarification or removal of jargon. (August 2024)">clarification needed</span></a></i>]</sup> and <a href="/wiki/Public_Health_Act_1875" title="Public Health Act 1875">Public Health Act 1875</a> (<a href="/wiki/38_%26_39_Vict." class="mw-redirect" title="38 & 39 Vict.">38 & 39 Vict.</a> c. 55)) were passed, which established new quasi-governmental organisations to administer both the poor law, and public health and sanitation. Urban <a href="/wiki/Sanitary_districts" class="mw-redirect" title="Sanitary districts">sanitary districts</a> were created from the <a href="/wiki/Local_board_of_health" title="Local board of health">local boards of health</a>, and continued to be run by in similar fashion. Rural sanitary districts were created from the poor law unions, and, again were similarly governed. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Expansion_of_the_franchise">Expansion of the franchise</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Expansion of the franchise"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In local government elections, unmarried women <a href="/wiki/Ratepayer" class="mw-redirect" title="Ratepayer">ratepayers</a> received the right to vote in the <a href="/wiki/Municipal_Franchise_Act_1869" title="Municipal Franchise Act 1869">Municipal Franchise Act 1869</a>. This right was confirmed in the <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1894" title="Local Government Act 1894">Local Government Act 1894</a> (<a href="/wiki/56_%26_57_Vict." class="mw-redirect" title="56 & 57 Vict.">56 & 57 Vict.</a> c. 73) and extended to include some married women.<sup id="cite_ref-Heater2006_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Heater2006-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Women's_rights_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Women's_rights-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Synonym_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Synonym-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> By 1900, more than 1 million women were registered to vote in local government elections in England.<sup id="cite_ref-HoCL2013_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-HoCL2013-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Local_Government_Acts_1888_and_1894,_and_the_London_Government_Act_1899"><span id="The_Local_Government_Acts_1888_and_1894.2C_and_the_London_Government_Act_1899"></span>The Local Government Acts 1888 and 1894, and the London Government Act 1899</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: The Local Government Acts 1888 and 1894, and the London Government Act 1899"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-Unreferenced_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Unreferenced" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>does not <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">cite</a> any <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">sources</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/History_of_local_government_in_England" title="Special:EditPage/History of local government in England">improve this section</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Burden_of_evidence" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">removed</a>.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">July 2020</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1888" title="Local Government Act 1888">Local Government Act 1888</a>, <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1894" title="Local Government Act 1894">Local Government Act 1894</a>, and <a href="/wiki/London_Government_Act_1899" title="London Government Act 1899">London Government Act 1899</a></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:England_Administrative_1931.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/England_Administrative_1931.jpg/400px-England_Administrative_1931.jpg" decoding="async" width="400" height="491" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/England_Administrative_1931.jpg/600px-England_Administrative_1931.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/England_Administrative_1931.jpg/800px-England_Administrative_1931.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5300" data-file-height="6512" /></a><figcaption>Administrative map of <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a> in 1931.</figcaption></figure> <p>By 1888 it was clear that the piecemeal system that had developed over the previous century in response to the vastly increased need for local administration could no longer cope. The <a href="/wiki/Sanitary_district" title="Sanitary district">sanitary districts</a> and <a href="/wiki/Parish_council_(England)" title="Parish council (England)">parish councils</a> had legal status, but were not parts of the mechanism of government. They were run by volunteers, and often there was no-one who could be held responsible for the failure to undertake the required duties. The increased "county business" could not be handled by the <a href="/wiki/Quarter_Sessions" class="mw-redirect" title="Quarter Sessions">Quarter Sessions</a>, nor was it appropriate to do so. Finally, there was a desire to see local administration performed by elected officials, as in the reformed municipal boroughs. The <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1888" title="Local Government Act 1888">Local Government Act 1888</a> was therefore the first systematic attempt to impose a standardised system of local government in England. </p><p>The act established county councils as well as newly created areas for those councils, to be known as <a href="/wiki/Administrative_counties_of_England" title="Administrative counties of England">administrative counties</a>. These new administrative counties were based on the <a href="/wiki/Historic_counties_of_England" title="Historic counties of England">historic counties</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> which had been used in the local government structure until then. These statutory administrative counties were also to be used for non-administrative functions: "<a href="/wiki/High_sheriff" title="High sheriff">sheriff</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lord_lieutenant" class="mw-redirect" title="Lord lieutenant">lieutenant</a>, <a href="/wiki/Custos_rotulorum" title="Custos rotulorum">custos rotulorum</a>, justices, militia, coroner, or other". With the advent of elected councils, the offices of lord lieutenant and sheriff became largely ceremonial. </p><p>The statutory counties formed the basis for the so-called 'administrative counties'. However, it was felt that large cities and primarily rural areas in the same county could not be well administered by the same body. Thus 59 'counties in themselves', or 'county boroughs', were created to administer the urban centres of England. These were parts of the statutory counties, but not parts of the administrative counties. The qualifying limit for county borough status was a population of 50,000, although some historic towns, such as <a href="/wiki/Canterbury" title="Canterbury">Canterbury</a> and <a href="/wiki/Oxford" title="Oxford">Oxford</a>, were given county borough status despite having lower populations. Each administrative county and county borough was governed by an elected county or borough council, providing services specifically for its own area. </p><p>The act also created a new <a href="/wiki/County_of_London" title="County of London">County of London</a> from the urban areas of London, which was a full statutory county by itself with no historical basis. Its new county council absorbed the <a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_Board_of_Works" title="Metropolitan Board of Works">Metropolitan Board of Works</a>, which had been established in 1855 specifically to maintain the infrastructure of London. </p><p>By this time many towns possessed liberties and franchises from royal charters and grants that were anomalous, obsolete or otherwise irrelevant, but nevertheless often cherished by the townspeople. Some of these towns were municipal boroughs, in which case the powers remained with the municipal corporation. However, there were others, such as the <a href="/wiki/Cinque_Ports" title="Cinque Ports">Cinque Ports</a>, which were not boroughs. Rather than abolish these rights and powers, the act directed that the powers should be taken over by the new <a href="/wiki/County_council" title="County council">county councils</a> or <a href="/wiki/County_borough" title="County borough">county borough councils</a>. Although counties corporate were not abolished by the act, their administration was taken over by their parent administrative county or county borough. The act therefore abolished them in all but name, though they still appointed their own sheriffs, and each continued to described itself, for purely ceremonial purposes, as a "county and city". </p><p>A second act in 1894, the <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1894" title="Local Government Act 1894">Local Government Act 1894</a> (<a href="/wiki/56_%26_57_Vict." class="mw-redirect" title="56 & 57 Vict.">56 & 57 Vict.</a> c. 73), created a second tier of local government by dividing all administrative counties into either <a href="/wiki/Rural_district" title="Rural district">rural</a> or <a href="/wiki/Urban_district_(Great_Britain_and_Ireland)" class="mw-redirect" title="Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland)">urban districts</a>, allowing more localised administration. (The county boroughs were never divided in this way.) The municipal boroughs reformed after 1835 were brought into this system as special cases of urban districts. The urban and rural districts were based on, and incorporated, the <a href="/wiki/Sanitary_district" title="Sanitary district">sanitary districts</a> created in 1875, with adjustments so that districts did not cross any county boundaries. </p><p>The act of 1894<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_words" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words"><span title="The material near this tag possibly uses too vague attribution or weasel words. (March 2024)">which?</span></a></i>]</sup> also provided for the establishment of <a href="/wiki/Civil_parishes" class="mw-redirect" title="Civil parishes">civil parishes</a>, separated from the ecclesiastical parishes, to carry on some of their responsibilities, others being transferred to the district or county councils. However, the civil parishes were not a complete third tier of local government, since they were established only for smaller rural settlements with 100 residents or more, while the older urban parish councils were absorbed into the new urban districts. </p><p>A final relevant piece of legislation, the <a href="/wiki/London_Government_Act_1899" title="London Government Act 1899">London Government Act 1899</a>, divided the new <a href="/wiki/County_of_London" title="County of London">County of London</a> into districts, known (rather confusingly) as <a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_Borough" class="mw-redirect" title="Metropolitan Borough">Metropolitan Boroughs</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Attempts_at_reform_(1945–1974)"><span id="Attempts_at_reform_.281945.E2.80.931974.29"></span>Attempts at reform (1945–1974)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Attempts at reform (1945–1974)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:England_Administrative_Map_1971.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/England_Administrative_Map_1971.png/400px-England_Administrative_Map_1971.png" decoding="async" width="400" height="491" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/England_Administrative_Map_1971.png/600px-England_Administrative_Map_1971.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/England_Administrative_Map_1971.png/800px-England_Administrative_Map_1971.png 2x" data-file-width="5300" data-file-height="6512" /></a><figcaption>Administrative map of <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a> in 1971, immediately prior to the 1972 Act</figcaption></figure> <p>Initially the new administrative system worked quite well, and several more county boroughs were created in the next decades. However, from 1926 the population requirement increased to 75,000. There was also some concern about the viability of some county boroughs which had declined since 1888. For instance, viability of the county borough of <a href="/wiki/Merthyr_Tydfil" title="Merthyr Tydfil">Merthyr Tydfil</a> came into question in the 1930s. Due to <a href="/wiki/Merthyr_Tydfil#The_decline_of_coal_and_iron" title="Merthyr Tydfil">a decline in the heavy industries</a> of the town, by 1932 more than half the male population was unemployed, resulting in very high municipal rates in order to make public assistance payments. At the same time the population of the borough was lower than when it had been created in 1908.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A <a href="/wiki/Royal_commission" title="Royal commission">royal commission</a> was appointed in May 1935 to "investigate whether the existing status of Merthyr Tydfil as a county borough should be continued, and if not, what other arrangements should be made".<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The commission reported the following November, and recommended that Merthyr should revert to the status of a non-county borough, and that public assistance should be taken over by central government. In the event county borough status was retained by the town, with the chairman of the Welsh Board of Health appointed as administrative adviser in 1936.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Local governments across the United Kingdom lost power after the <a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">Labour Party</a> won the <a href="/wiki/1945_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1945 United Kingdom general election">1945 general election</a> and formed its first majority government under <a href="/wiki/Clement_Attlee" title="Clement Attlee">Clement Attlee</a>. Under Labour's post-war social and economic reforms functions traditionally operated by local governments such as gas, electricity, and hospitals were <a href="/wiki/Nationalization" title="Nationalization">nationalized</a> under regional boards or national government institutions such as the <a href="/wiki/National_Health_Service" title="National Health Service">National Health Service</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> After the <a href="/wiki/Second_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Second World War">Second World War</a> the creation of new county boroughs in <a href="/wiki/England_and_Wales" title="England and Wales">England and Wales</a> was effectively suspended, pending a local government review. A government <a href="/wiki/White_paper" title="White paper">white paper</a> published in 1945 stated that "it is expected that there will be a number of Bills for extending or creating county boroughs" and proposed the creation of a boundary commission to bring coordination to local government reform. The policy in the paper also ruled out the creation of new county boroughs in <a href="/wiki/Middlesex" title="Middlesex">Middlesex</a> "owing to its special problems".<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Boundary_Commission_(1945_-1949)" class="mw-redirect" title="Local Government Boundary Commission (1945 -1949)">Local Government Boundary Commission</a> was appointed on 26 October 1945, under the chairmanship of Sir <a href="/wiki/Malcolm_Eve" class="mw-redirect" title="Malcolm Eve">Malcolm Trustram Eve</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> delivering its report in 1947.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Commission recommended that towns with a population of 200,000 or more should become one-tier "new counties", with "new county boroughs" having a population of 60,000 - 200,000 being "most-purpose authorities", with the county council of the administrative county providing certain limited services. The report envisaged the creation of 47 two-tiered "new counties", 21 one-tiered "new counties" and 63 "new county boroughs". The recommendations of the Commission extended to a review of the division of functions between different tiers of local government, and thus fell outside its terms of reference, and its report was not acted upon. </p><p>The next attempt at reform was by the Local Government Act 1958, which established the <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Commission_for_England_(1958_-_1967)" class="mw-redirect" title="Local Government Commission for England (1958 - 1967)">Local Government Commission for England</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Commission_for_Wales" title="Local Government Commission for Wales">Local Government Commission for Wales</a> to carry out reviews of existing local government structures and recommend reforms. Although the Commissions did not complete their work before being dissolved, a few new county boroughs were constituted between 1964 and 1968. <a href="/wiki/Luton" title="Luton">Luton</a>, <a href="/wiki/Torbay" title="Torbay">Torbay</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Solihull" title="Solihull">Solihull</a> gained county borough status. Additionally, <a href="/wiki/County_Borough_of_Teesside" title="County Borough of Teesside">Teesside</a> county borough was formed from the merger of the existing county borough of <a href="/wiki/Middlesbrough" title="Middlesbrough">Middlesbrough</a>, and the non-county boroughs of <a href="/wiki/Stockton-on-Tees" title="Stockton-on-Tees">Stockton-on-Tees</a> and <a href="/wiki/Redcar" title="Redcar">Redcar</a>; <a href="/wiki/County_Borough_of_Warley" title="County Borough of Warley">Warley</a> was formed from the county borough of <a href="/wiki/Smethwick" title="Smethwick">Smethwick</a> and the non-county boroughs of <a href="/wiki/Oldbury,_West_Midlands" title="Oldbury, West Midlands">Oldbury</a> and <a href="/wiki/Rowley_Regis" title="Rowley Regis">Rowley Regis</a>; and <a href="/wiki/West_Hartlepool" title="West Hartlepool">West Hartlepool</a> was merged with <a href="/wiki/Hartlepool" title="Hartlepool">Hartlepool</a>. Following these changes, there were a total of 79 county boroughs in England. The Commission also recommended the downgrading of <a href="/wiki/Barnsley" title="Barnsley">Barnsley</a> to be a non-county borough, but this was not carried out. The commission did succeed in merging two pairs of small administrative counties to form <a href="/wiki/Huntingdon_and_Peterborough" title="Huntingdon and Peterborough">Huntingdon and Peterborough</a> and <a href="/wiki/Cambridgeshire_and_Isle_of_Ely" title="Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely">Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely</a>. </p><p>In 1965 a major reform in London was undertaken in reflection of the size and specific problems of the city. The administrative counties of London and Middlesex were abolished, and their area were joined with parts of <a href="/wiki/Essex" title="Essex">Essex</a>, <a href="/wiki/Surrey" title="Surrey">Surrey</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kent" title="Kent">Kent</a> to form into a new county of <a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">Greater London</a>. Greater London was divided into 32 London Boroughs, replacing both the old Metropolitan Boroughs of Inner London (the area of the old <a href="/wiki/London_County_Council" title="London County Council">London County Council</a>) and the county boroughs and urban districts of Outer London. </p><p>The Local Government Commission was wound up in 1966, and replaced with a Royal Commission (known as the <a href="/wiki/Redcliffe-Maud_Report" title="Redcliffe-Maud Report">Redcliffe-Maud commission</a>). In 1969 it recommended a system of single-tier <a href="/wiki/Unitary_authorities" class="mw-redirect" title="Unitary authorities">unitary authorities</a> for the whole of England, apart from three metropolitan areas of <a href="/wiki/Merseyside" title="Merseyside">Merseyside</a>, <a href="/wiki/Greater_Manchester" title="Greater Manchester">Selnec</a> (Greater Manchester) and <a href="/wiki/West_Midlands_(county)" title="West Midlands (county)">West Midlands</a> (<a href="/wiki/Birmingham" title="Birmingham">Birmingham</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Black_Country" title="Black Country">Black Country</a>), which were to have both a metropolitan council and district councils. This report was accepted by the <a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">Labour Party</a> government of the time despite considerable opposition, but the <a href="/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)" title="Conservative Party (UK)">Conservative Party</a> won the <a href="/wiki/1970_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1970 United Kingdom general election">June 1970 general election</a>, and on a manifesto that committed them to a two-tier structure. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Local_Government_Act_1972">The Local Government Act 1972</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: The Local Government Act 1972"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:England_Administrative_1974.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/England_Administrative_1974.png/400px-England_Administrative_1974.png" decoding="async" width="400" height="496" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/England_Administrative_1974.png/600px-England_Administrative_1974.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/England_Administrative_1974.png/800px-England_Administrative_1974.png 2x" data-file-width="3000" data-file-height="3721" /></a><figcaption>Administrative map of <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a> in 1974.</figcaption></figure> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1972" title="Local Government Act 1972">Local Government Act 1972</a></div> <p>The reforms arising from the Local Government Act of 1972 resulted in the most uniform and simplified system of local government used in England so far. They effectively wiped away everything that had gone before and built an administrative system from scratch. All previous administrative districts - statutory counties, administrative counties, county boroughs, municipal boroughs, counties corporate, civil parishes - were abolished, with the exceptions of Greater London and the <a href="/wiki/Isles_of_Scilly" title="Isles of Scilly">Isles of Scilly</a>. </p><p>The aim of the Act was to establish a uniform two-tier system across the country. New counties were created to cover the entire country. Many of these were based on the <a href="/wiki/Historic_counties_of_England" title="Historic counties of England">historic counties</a>, but there were some major changes, especially in the North. The tiny county of <a href="/wiki/Rutland" title="Rutland">Rutland</a> was joined with <a href="/wiki/Leicestershire" title="Leicestershire">Leicestershire</a>; <a href="/wiki/Cumberland" title="Cumberland">Cumberland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Westmorland" title="Westmorland">Westmorland</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Furness" title="Furness">Furness</a> exclave of <a href="/wiki/Lancashire" title="Lancashire">Lancashire</a> were fused into the new county of Cumbria; <a href="/wiki/Herefordshire" title="Herefordshire">Herefordshire</a> and <a href="/wiki/Worcestershire" title="Worcestershire">Worcestershire</a> were joined to form <a href="/wiki/Hereford_%26_Worcester" class="mw-redirect" title="Hereford & Worcester">Hereford & Worcester</a>; the three ridings of <a href="/wiki/Yorkshire" title="Yorkshire">Yorkshire</a> were replaced by <a href="/wiki/North_Yorkshire" title="North Yorkshire">North</a>, <a href="/wiki/South_Yorkshire" title="South Yorkshire">South</a> and <a href="/wiki/West_Yorkshire" title="West Yorkshire">West Yorkshire</a>, along with <a href="/wiki/Humberside" title="Humberside">Humberside</a>. The Act also created six new metropolitan counties, modelled on <a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">Greater London</a>, to address the problems of administering large conurbations; these were <a href="/wiki/Greater_Manchester" title="Greater Manchester">Greater Manchester</a>, <a href="/wiki/Merseyside" title="Merseyside">Merseyside</a>, <a href="/wiki/Tyne_%26_Wear" class="mw-redirect" title="Tyne & Wear">Tyne & Wear</a>, <a href="/wiki/West_Yorkshire" title="West Yorkshire">West Yorkshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/South_Yorkshire" title="South Yorkshire">South Yorkshire</a> and the <a href="/wiki/West_Midlands_(county)" title="West Midlands (county)">West Midlands</a>. The new counties of <a href="/wiki/Avon_(county)" title="Avon (county)">Avon</a> (the city of <a href="/wiki/Bristol" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>, North <a href="/wiki/Somerset" title="Somerset">Somerset</a> and South <a href="/wiki/Gloucestershire" title="Gloucestershire">Gloucestershire</a>), <a href="/wiki/Cleveland_(county)" title="Cleveland (county)">Cleveland</a> (the <a href="/wiki/Teesside" title="Teesside">Teesside</a> area) and <a href="/wiki/Humberside" title="Humberside">Humberside</a> were designed with the idea of uniting areas based on river estuaries. </p><p>Each of the new counties was then endowed with a county council to provide certain county-wide services such as <a href="/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Law enforcement in the United Kingdom">policing</a>, <a href="/wiki/Social_services" title="Social services">social services</a> and <a href="/wiki/Public_transport" title="Public transport">public transport</a>. The Act substituted the new counties "for counties of any other description" for purposes of law.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The new counties therefore replaced the statutory counties created in 1888 for judicial and ceremonial purposes (such as <a href="/wiki/Lord-Lieutenant" class="mw-redirect" title="Lord-Lieutenant">lieutenancy</a>, <a href="/wiki/Custos_rotulorum" title="Custos rotulorum">custodes rotulorum</a>, <a href="/wiki/High_Sheriff" class="mw-redirect" title="High Sheriff">shrievalty</a>, <a href="/wiki/Commission_of_the_peace" class="mw-redirect" title="Commission of the peace">commissions of the peace</a> and <a href="/wiki/Magistrate" title="Magistrate">magistrates'</a> courts);<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and replaced administrative counties and county boroughs for administrative purposes. </p><p>The second tier of the local government varied between the <a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_county" title="Metropolitan county">metropolitan</a> and <a href="/wiki/Non-metropolitan_county" title="Non-metropolitan county">non-metropolitan counties</a>. The metropolitan counties were divided into <a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_boroughs" class="mw-redirect" title="Metropolitan boroughs">metropolitan boroughs</a>, whilst the non-metropolitan counties were divided into <a href="/wiki/Non-metropolitan_district" title="Non-metropolitan district">districts</a>. The metropolitan boroughs had greater powers than the districts, sharing some of the county council responsibilities with the metropolitan county councils, and having control of others that districts did not (e.g. <a href="/wiki/Education_in_England" title="Education in England">education</a> was administered by the non-metropolitan county councils, but by the metropolitan borough councils). The metropolitan boroughs were supposed to have a minimum population of 250,000 and districts 40,000; in practice some exceptions were allowed for the sake of convenience. </p><p>Where <a href="/wiki/Municipal_borough" title="Municipal borough">municipal boroughs</a> still existed, they were dissolved. However, the charter grants made to those boroughs (where transfer had not already occurred), were generally transferred to the district or metropolitan borough which contained area in question. Districts which succeeded to such powers were permitted to style themselves 'borough councils' as opposed to 'district councils' - however, the difference was purely ceremonial. The powers of some municipal boroughs were transferred to either civil parish councils, or to <a href="/wiki/Charter_trustees" class="mw-redirect" title="Charter trustees">charter trustees</a>; see <a href="/wiki/Borough_status_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Borough status in the United Kingdom">Borough status in the United Kingdom</a> for details. </p><p>The act also dealt with <a href="/wiki/Civil_parishes" class="mw-redirect" title="Civil parishes">civil parishes</a>. These were maintained in rural areas, but those existing in large urban areas were abolished. Conversely, the Act actually provided the legislation such that the whole country could be divided into parishes if this was desirable at some point in the future. However, at the time urban parishes were strongly discouraged. However, since 1974, several urban areas have applied for and received parish councils. Much of the country remains unparished, since the parish councils are not a necessary part of local government, but exist to give civic identity to smaller settlements. </p><p>The new system of local government came into force on 1 April 1974, but in the event the uniformity proved to be short lived. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reform_(1974–present)"><span id="Further_reform_.281974.E2.80.93present.29"></span>Further reform (1974–present)</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Further reform (1974–present)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Abolition_of_the_metropolitan_county_councils">Abolition of the metropolitan county councils</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Abolition of the metropolitan county councils"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1985" title="Local Government Act 1985">Local Government Act 1985</a></div> <p>This uniform two-tier system lasted only 12 years. In 1986, the metropolitan county councils and Greater London were abolished under the <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1985" title="Local Government Act 1985">Local Government Act 1985</a>. This restored autonomy (in effect the old county borough status) to the metropolitan and London boroughs. While the abolition of the Greater London Council was highly controversial, the abolition of the MCCs was less so. The government's stated reason for the abolition of the MCCs, in its 1983 white paper <i><a href="/wiki/Streamlining_the_cities" title="Streamlining the cities">Streamlining the cities</a></i>, was based on efficiency and their overspending. However the fact that all of the county councils were controlled at the time by the opposition Labour Party led to accusations that their abolition was motivated by party politics: the general secretary of <a href="/wiki/NALGO" class="mw-redirect" title="NALGO">NALGO</a> described it as a "completely cynical manoeuvre".<sup id="cite_ref-angry_reaction_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-angry_reaction-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Political_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Political-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This created an unusual situation where seven counties had, administratively, ceased to exist, but the area had not been annexed to any other county. The metropolitan counties thus continued to exist as geographical entities, and lived a shadowy semi-existence, since services such as the police force continued to call themselves e.g. 'Greater Manchester Police'. This gave rise to the concept of the '<a href="/wiki/Ceremonial_county" class="mw-redirect" title="Ceremonial county">ceremonial county</a>'. From a geographical and ceremonial point of view, England continues to be made up of the counties established in 1974, with one or two exceptions (see below). These counties still have a lord lieutenant and sheriff, and are therefore usually referred to as ceremonial counties. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Local_Government_Act_1992">Local Government Act 1992</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Local Government Act 1992"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Commission_for_England_(1992)" title="Local Government Commission for England (1992)">Local Government Commission for England (1992)</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Ceremonial_Counties_of_England" class="mw-redirect" title="Ceremonial Counties of England">Ceremonial Counties of England</a></div> <p>By the 1990s, it was apparent that the 'one-size fits all' approach of the 1974 reforms did not work equally well in all cases. The consequent loss of education, social services and libraries to county control, was strongly regretted by the larger towns outside the new <a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_county" title="Metropolitan county">metropolitan counties</a>, such as Bristol, Plymouth, Stoke, Leicester and Nottingham.<sup id="cite_ref-reformed_28-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-reformed-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-process_29-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-process-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The abolition of metropolitan county councils in 1986 had left the metropolitan boroughs operating as 'unitary' (i.e., only one tier) authorities, and other large cities (and former county boroughs) wished for a return to unitary governance. </p> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:EnglandSubdivisions1998_rainbow.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/EnglandSubdivisions1998_rainbow.png/200px-EnglandSubdivisions1998_rainbow.png" decoding="async" width="200" height="247" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/EnglandSubdivisions1998_rainbow.png/300px-EnglandSubdivisions1998_rainbow.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/EnglandSubdivisions1998_rainbow.png/400px-EnglandSubdivisions1998_rainbow.png 2x" data-file-width="2165" data-file-height="2670" /></a><figcaption>Map showing counties and unitary authorities from 1998. Pink (non-metropolitan) and green (metropolitan and London) areas were left unchanged. Yellow areas are unitary authorities created as a result of the review, whilst blue areas are remaining two-tier counties reduced by the creation of unitary authorities.</figcaption></figure> <p>The Local Government Act (1992) established a commission (<a href="/wiki/Local_Government_Commission_for_England_(1992)" title="Local Government Commission for England (1992)">Local Government Commission for England</a>) to examine the issues, and make recommendations on where unitary authorities should be established. It was considered too expensive to make the system entirely unitary, and also there would doubtlessly be cases where the two-tier system functioned well. The commission recommended that many counties be moved to completely unitary systems; that some cities become unitary authorities, but that the remainder of their parent counties remain two-tier; and that in some counties the <i>status quo</i> should remain. </p><p>The first major changes to be recommended were for unpopular new counties created in 1974. Three of these had artificially united the areas around rivers/estuaries (<a href="/wiki/Cleveland_(county)" title="Cleveland (county)">Cleveland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Humberside" title="Humberside">Humberside</a> and <a href="/wiki/Avon_(county)" title="Avon (county)">Avon</a>), and the commission recommended that they be split into four new unitary authorities. This effectively gave a 'metropolitan borough-like' status to the cities of <a href="/wiki/Kingston_upon_Hull" title="Kingston upon Hull">Hull</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bristol" title="Bristol">Bristol</a> and <a href="/wiki/Middlesbrough" title="Middlesbrough">Middlesbrough</a>. It also restored the <a href="/wiki/East_Riding_of_Yorkshire" title="East Riding of Yorkshire">East Riding of Yorkshire</a> as a <i>de facto</i> county. <a href="/wiki/Rutland" title="Rutland">Rutland</a> was reestablished as a unitary authority, thus regaining its cherished 'independence' from Leicestershire. The merged county of <a href="/wiki/Hereford_%26_Worcester" class="mw-redirect" title="Hereford & Worcester">Hereford & Worcester</a> was restored to <a href="/wiki/Herefordshire" title="Herefordshire">Herefordshire</a> (as a unitary authority) and <a href="/wiki/Worcestershire" title="Worcestershire">Worcestershire</a> (as a two-tier authority). </p><p>The only other county to be moved to a wholly unitary system was <a href="/wiki/Berkshire" title="Berkshire">Berkshire</a>; the county council was abolished and 6 unitary authorities established in its place. In <a href="/wiki/County_Durham" title="County Durham">County Durham</a>, <a href="/wiki/North_Yorkshire" title="North Yorkshire">North Yorkshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lancashire" title="Lancashire">Lancashire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Cheshire" title="Cheshire">Cheshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Staffordshire" title="Staffordshire">Staffordshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nottinghamshire" title="Nottinghamshire">Nottinghamshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Derbyshire" title="Derbyshire">Derbyshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Leicestershire" title="Leicestershire">Leicestershire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Cambridgeshire" title="Cambridgeshire">Cambridgeshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wiltshire" title="Wiltshire">Wiltshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Hampshire" title="Hampshire">Hampshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Devon" title="Devon">Devon</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dorset" title="Dorset">Dorset</a>, <a href="/wiki/East_Sussex" title="East Sussex">East Sussex</a>, <a href="/wiki/Shropshire" title="Shropshire">Shropshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kent" title="Kent">Kent</a>, <a href="/wiki/Essex" title="Essex">Essex</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bedfordshire" title="Bedfordshire">Bedfordshire</a> and <a href="/wiki/Buckinghamshire" title="Buckinghamshire">Buckinghamshire</a>, one or two major towns/cities were established as unitary authorities, with the rest of the county remaining two tier. All other counties were unaffected. </p><p>Whilst these reforms had removed unpopular new counties, they created a rather haphazard situation, which was for the most part like the old counties & county borough system; but in which areas taken to make the abolished new counties was not returned to the historic county. Thus, for instance, the non-urban unitary authority of, e.g., <a href="/wiki/Cleveland,_Yorkshire" title="Cleveland, Yorkshire">Cleveland</a> & <a href="/wiki/Redcar" title="Redcar">Redcar</a> was not, administratively, in any county. In recognition of these problems, the <a href="/wiki/Lieutenancies_Act_1997" title="Lieutenancies Act 1997">Lieutenancies Act 1997</a> was passed. This firmly separated all local authority areas (whether unitary or two-tier), from the geographical concept of a county as high level spatial unit. The lieutenancies it established became known as <a href="/wiki/Ceremonial_counties" class="mw-redirect" title="Ceremonial counties">ceremonial counties</a>, since they were no longer administrative divisions. The counties represent a compromise between the <a href="/wiki/Historic_counties_of_England" title="Historic counties of England">historic counties</a> and the counties established in 1974. They are as 1974 except that; north Lincolnshire returned to <a href="/wiki/Lincolnshire" title="Lincolnshire">Lincolnshire</a> and the remainder of Humberside became East Riding of Yorkshire; Bristol is established as a county; the remainder of Avon returned to <a href="/wiki/Somerset" title="Somerset">Somerset</a> and <a href="/wiki/Gloucestershire" title="Gloucestershire">Gloucestershire</a>; Cleveland was split between County Durham and North Yorkshire; Herefordshire and Worcestershire were separated; and Rutland was re-established as a county. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Creation_of_additional_unitary_authorities_after_2000">Creation of additional unitary authorities after 2000</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Creation of additional unitary authorities after 2000"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/2009_structural_changes_to_local_government_in_England" title="2009 structural changes to local government in England">2009 structural changes to local government in England</a></div> <p>The years after 2000 saw further substantial changes, leading to a still more varied system. Various counties were <a href="/wiki/2009_structural_changes_to_local_government_in_England" title="2009 structural changes to local government in England">unitarised in 2009</a>: some by abolition of districts (e.g. Cornwall, Northumberland), others by geographical division into two or more unitary authorities (e.g. Bedfordshire). </p><p>The Labour governments of <a href="/wiki/Tony_Blair" title="Tony Blair">Tony Blair</a> and <a href="/wiki/Gordon_Brown" title="Gordon Brown">Gordon Brown</a> (1997–2010) had planned to introduce eight <a href="/wiki/Regional_assembly_(England)" title="Regional assembly (England)">regional assemblies</a> around England, to devolve power to the <a href="/wiki/Regions_of_England" title="Regions of England">English regions</a>. This would have sat alongside the devolved <a href="/wiki/Welsh_Assembly" class="mw-redirect" title="Welsh Assembly">Welsh</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Assembly" title="Scottish Assembly">Scottish</a> and <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Northern Irish</a> Assemblies. In the event, only a <a href="/wiki/London_Assembly" title="London Assembly">London Assembly</a> (and directly elected <a href="/wiki/Mayor_of_London" title="Mayor of London">Mayor</a>) was established. The rejection of a <a href="/wiki/2004_North_East_England_devolution_referendum" title="2004 North East England devolution referendum">referendum on the creation of a North East England Assembly in 2004</a> led to those plans being scrapped. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Local_enterprise_partnerships_and_local_authority_leaders'_boards"><span id="Local_enterprise_partnerships_and_local_authority_leaders.27_boards"></span>Local enterprise partnerships and local authority leaders' boards</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Local enterprise partnerships and local authority leaders' boards"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Local_enterprise_partnership" title="Local enterprise partnership">Local enterprise partnership</a></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:England_administrative_divisions_since_2009.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/England_administrative_divisions_since_2009.svg/300px-England_administrative_divisions_since_2009.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="186" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/England_administrative_divisions_since_2009.svg/450px-England_administrative_divisions_since_2009.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/England_administrative_divisions_since_2009.svg/600px-England_administrative_divisions_since_2009.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="462" data-file-height="286" /></a><figcaption>2009 structure of <a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_England" title="Local government in England">local government in England</a>; since 2009 the regional angencies were abolished, more unitary authorities have been created and combined authorities created.</figcaption></figure> <p>The abolition of <a href="/wiki/Regional_development_agency" title="Regional development agency">regional development agencies</a> and the creation of <a href="/wiki/Local_enterprise_partnership" title="Local enterprise partnership">local enterprise partnerships</a> were announced as part of the <a href="/wiki/June_2010_United_Kingdom_budget" title="June 2010 United Kingdom budget">June 2010 United Kingdom budget</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Budget_June_2010_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Budget_June_2010-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 29 June 2010 a letter was sent from the <a href="/wiki/Department_of_Communities_and_Local_Government" class="mw-redirect" title="Department of Communities and Local Government">Department of Communities and Local Government</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Department_for_Business,_Innovation_and_Skills" title="Department for Business, Innovation and Skills">Department for Business, Innovation and Skills</a> to local authority and business leaders, inviting proposals to replace regional development agencies in their areas by 6 September 2010.<sup id="cite_ref-DCLG_1626854_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-DCLG_1626854-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Many of the <a href="/wiki/Regional_development_agency" title="Regional development agency">regional development agencies</a> were transferred to the unelected <a href="/wiki/Local_authority_leaders%27_board" title="Local authority leaders' board">Local authority leaders' boards</a> following abolition in March 2010, but funding was also cut for them by the Government in July 2010. These boards now act as voluntary regional associations for local authority leaders, funded by local authorities and its membership consisting of the leaders of local authorities. </p><p>On 7 September 2010, details were released of 56 proposals for local enterprise partnerships that had been received.<sup id="cite_ref-NDS_415344_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NDS_415344-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 6 October 2010, during the Conservative Party Conference, it was revealed that 22 had been given the provisional 'green light' to proceed and others may later be accepted with amendments.<sup id="cite_ref-LGC_5020212_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-LGC_5020212-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> 24 bids were announced as successful on 28 October 2010. This later increased to 39, as of 2012. In April 2024, funding for LEPs was withdrawn and their functions transferred to the <a href="/wiki/Greater_London_Authority" title="Greater London Authority">Greater London Authority</a>, <a href="/wiki/Combined_authorities" class="mw-redirect" title="Combined authorities">combined authorities</a> and upper-tier local authorities (i.e. <a href="/wiki/List_of_county_councils_in_England" title="List of county councils in England">county councils</a> or <a href="/wiki/Unitary_authorities_of_England" title="Unitary authorities of England">unitary authorities</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Combined_authorities">Combined authorities</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Combined authorities"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Combined_authority" class="mw-redirect" title="Combined authority">Combined authority</a> and <a href="/wiki/2019%E2%80%932023_structural_changes_to_local_government_in_England" title="2019–2023 structural changes to local government in England">2019–2023 structural changes to local government in England</a></div> <p>The abolition of <a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_county_council" class="mw-redirect" title="Metropolitan county council">metropolitan county councils</a> and <a href="/wiki/Regional_development_agency" title="Regional development agency">regional development agencies</a> meant that there were no local government bodies with strategic authority over the major urban areas England. In 2010 the Government accepted a proposal from the <a href="/wiki/Association_of_Greater_Manchester_Authorities" title="Association of Greater Manchester Authorities">Association of Greater Manchester Authorities</a> to establish a Greater Manchester Combined Authority as an indirectly elected, top tier, strategic authority for <a href="/wiki/Greater_Manchester" title="Greater Manchester">Greater Manchester</a>. Following the unsuccessful <a href="/wiki/2012_English_mayoral_referendums" title="2012 English mayoral referendums">English mayoral referendums</a> in 2012 combined authorities have been used as an alternative means to receive additional powers and funding as part of 'city deals' to metropolitan areas. In 2014 indirectly elected combined authorities were established for the metropolitan counties of <a href="/wiki/South_Yorkshire" title="South Yorkshire">South Yorkshire</a> and <a href="/wiki/West_Yorkshire" title="West Yorkshire">West Yorkshire</a>, and two combined authorities were established which each covered a metropolitan county and adjacent non-metropolitan districts: the <a href="/wiki/Liverpool_City_Region_Combined_Authority" title="Liverpool City Region Combined Authority">Liverpool City Region Combined Authority</a> for <a href="/wiki/Merseyside" title="Merseyside">Merseyside</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Borough_of_Halton" title="Borough of Halton">Borough of Halton</a> unitary authority, and the <a href="/wiki/North_East_Combined_Authority" title="North East Combined Authority">North East Combined Authority</a> for <a href="/wiki/Tyne_and_Wear" title="Tyne and Wear">Tyne and Wear</a> and the unitary authorities of <a href="/wiki/County_Durham" title="County Durham">County Durham</a> and <a href="/wiki/Northumberland" title="Northumberland">Northumberland</a>. Further combined authorities are proposed for a number of areas. </p><p>Several new unitary authorities were created between 2019 and 2023 either by abolition of district councils, (e.g. in Somerset and Buckinghamshire), or by the abolition of county councils and grouping of districts into new unitarys, (e.g. in Cumbria and Northamptonshire). The <a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">Labour Party</a> returned to power following the <a href="/wiki/2024_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2024 United Kingdom general election">2024 general election</a>, and in her <a href="/wiki/October_2024_United_Kingdom_budget" title="October 2024 United Kingdom budget">Autumn budget statement</a>, Chancellor of the Exchequer <a href="/wiki/Rachel_Reeves" title="Rachel Reeves">Rachel Reeves</a> outlined that a forthcoming English Devolution Bill would include plans for "working with councils to move to simpler structures that make sense for their local areas", suggesting that a new round of local government reorganisation could be likely.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="The_City_of_London">The City of London</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: The City of London"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a></div> <p>The one exception to the general trends in the development of local government in England has been (and remains) the City of London. This refers only to the actual City of London (as distinct from the Greater London area, and the nearby <a href="/wiki/City_of_Westminster" title="City of Westminster">City of Westminster</a>). In the UK, <a href="/wiki/City_status_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="City status in the United Kingdom">city status</a> is granted by royal charter; whilst in common parlance 'city' (lower case) is used to mean a large urban area, 'City' refers specifically to a specific legal entity. Thus, what might be considered the 'city of London' contains both the 'City of London' and 'City of Westminster'. The City of London, covering a relatively small area, (often called 'The Square Mile' or just 'The City') is the main financial district of London, and only houses c.7,200 permanent residents. </p><p>For a variety of reasons, including a singular relationship with the Crown, the City of London has remained an archaic oddity within the English system of local government. As discussed above, the City of London was administered separately from the reign of <a href="/wiki/Alfred_the_Great" title="Alfred the Great">Alfred the Great</a> onwards, and was very quickly granted self-governance after the Norman conquest. Until 1835, the City of London was a fairly normal (municipal) <a href="/wiki/Borough" title="Borough">borough</a>, run by the <a href="/wiki/Lord_Mayor_of_London" title="Lord Mayor of London">Lord Mayor</a> and <a href="/wiki/Corporation_of_London" class="mw-redirect" title="Corporation of London">Corporation of London</a>, which had also received <a href="/wiki/County_corporate" title="County corporate">county corporate</a> status (and thus was technically 'The County and City of London'). However, unlike most other cities and boroughs of the time, London was not reformed by the <a href="/wiki/Municipal_Corporations_Act_1835" title="Municipal Corporations Act 1835">Municipal Corporations Act 1835</a>; and unlike the other unreformed cities and boroughs of the time, never has been. </p><p>In the major local government reforms of 1888 the City of London, unlike other municipal boroughs and counties corporate, was not made into either a <a href="/wiki/County_borough" title="County borough">county borough</a> or a district within an <a href="/wiki/Administrative_county" title="Administrative county">administrative county</a>. Nor indeed was it placed within a statutory county at that time, remaining administratively separate from the <a href="/wiki/County_of_London" title="County of London">County of London</a> (though within it geographically). Nor was the status of the City of London as a county corporate abolished in 1974, unlike the (by then ceremonial) status of the other counties corporate, nor was the City of London included in any of the London boroughs created in 1965; although at that time it did become included within the <a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">Greater London</a> county, as a <i>de facto</i> 33rd borough in the second tier of local government. The City of London has continued in name and administration to be a municipal borough and county corporate since 1888, whilst acting as a <i>de facto</i> county borough until 1965, and since 1965 as a <i>de facto</i> London borough. </p><p>When Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, the City of London reverted to being a unitary authority (like the London boroughs). Under the terms of the <a href="/wiki/Lieutenancies_Act_1997" title="Lieutenancies Act 1997">Lieutenancies Act 1997</a>, it is now classed as a ceremonial county by itself, separate from the Greater London ceremonial county (in to which the 32 London Boroughs are grouped). However, the City of London does now form part of the new Greater London <a href="/wiki/Regions_of_England" title="Regions of England">region</a> (which is the modern Greater London ceremonial county, plus the City of London; i.e., the post-1965 Greater London administrative area), and as such falls under the strategic management of the <a href="/wiki/Greater_London_Authority" title="Greater London Authority">Greater London Authority</a>. </p><p>The current system retains non-democratic elements to the election of the local government. The primary justification for this is that the services provided by the City of London are used by approximately 450,000 workers who dwell outside the City, and only by 7200 residents (a ratio not found elsewhere in the UK). In reflection of this, businesses based in the City can <a href="/wiki/Plural_voting" title="Plural voting">vote</a> in the local elections, a practice abolished elsewhere in England in 1969.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:City_of_London_Ward_Map,_1870.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/City_of_London_Ward_Map%2C_1870.svg/220px-City_of_London_Ward_Map%2C_1870.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="145" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/City_of_London_Ward_Map%2C_1870.svg/330px-City_of_London_Ward_Map%2C_1870.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/City_of_London_Ward_Map%2C_1870.svg/440px-City_of_London_Ward_Map%2C_1870.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1213" data-file-height="801" /></a><figcaption>A map of the wards of the City as they were in the late 19th century.</figcaption></figure> <p>The City of London has a <a href="/wiki/Wards_of_the_City_of_London" title="Wards of the City of London">different type of ward</a> to those used elsewhere in the country - another remnant of ancient local government found in the "square mile" of the City. The wards are permanent entities that constitute the City and are more than just electoral districts. </p><p>Table: The local government status of the City of London </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th>Division </th> <th>pre-1835 </th> <th>1835 </th> <th>1888 </th> <th>1965 </th> <th>1986 </th> <th>1997 </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Regions_of_England" title="Regions of England">Region</a> <br /> (from 1997) </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>n/a </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">Greater London</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Geographical County <br /> <i>(including Statutory County <br /> (1888–1974))</i> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Middlesex" title="Middlesex">Middlesex</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Middlesex" title="Middlesex">Middlesex</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/County_of_London" title="County of London">County of London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">Greater London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">Greater London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">Greater London</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Ceremonial_County" class="mw-redirect" title="Ceremonial County">Ceremonial County</a> <br /> (from 1986) </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>n/a </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">Greater London</a> <br /> <i>de facto</i> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> <br /> <i>de jure</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/County_Council" class="mw-redirect" title="County Council">County Council</a> <br /> (from 1888) </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>none </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">Greater London</a> </td> <td>none <br /> (unitary authority) </td> <td>none <br /> (unitary authority) </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/County_Borough" class="mw-redirect" title="County Borough">County Borough</a> <br /> (from 1888–1974) </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>n/a </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> <br /> (<i>de facto</i>) </td> <td>none </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>n/a </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Districts_of_England" title="Districts of England">District Council</a> <br /> or <a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_Borough" class="mw-redirect" title="Metropolitan Borough">Metropolitan Borough</a> </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>n/a </td> <td>none </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> <br /> <i>de facto</i> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> <br /> <i>de facto</i> <br /> <a href="/wiki/Unitary_authority" title="Unitary authority">unitary authority</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> <br /> <i>de facto</i> <br /> <a href="/wiki/Unitary_authority" title="Unitary authority">unitary authority</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Municipal_Borough" class="mw-redirect" title="Municipal Borough">Municipal Borough</a> <br /> <i>(theoretically <br /> obsolete from 1974)</i> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/County_Corporate" class="mw-redirect" title="County Corporate">County Corporate</a> <br /> <i>(theoretically <br /> obsolete from 1888)</i> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Summary">Summary</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Summary"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th>Date </th> <th>Class </th> <th>Division </th> <th>Responsibility </th> <th>Officials </th> <th>Notes </th></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="2">700–1066 </td> <td>First tier </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Shire" title="Shire">Shire</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Judiciary" title="Judiciary">Judiciary</a>, <a href="/wiki/Militia" title="Militia">militia</a> (the <a href="/wiki/Fyrd" title="Fyrd">Fyrd</a>), maintenance of roads </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Ealdorman" title="Ealdorman">Ealdorman</a>, <a href="/wiki/Shire-reeve" class="mw-redirect" title="Shire-reeve">Shire-reeve</a> (<a href="/wiki/Sheriff" title="Sheriff">Sheriff</a>) </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Second tier </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Hundred_(country_subdivision)" class="mw-redirect" title="Hundred (country subdivision)">Hundred</a> </td> <td>Collective responsibility for behaviour </td> <td>Hundred-man </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="5">1066–1350 </td> <td>First tier <br /> (de jure) </td> <td><a href="/wiki/County" title="County">County</a> </td> <td>Judiciary </td> <td>Sheriff </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Second tier <br /> (de jure) </td> <td>Hundred </td> <td>Theoretically responsible for maintenance of law and order </td> <td> </td> <td>Effectively obsolete after <a href="/wiki/Norman_conquest" class="mw-redirect" title="Norman conquest">Norman conquest</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>First tier <br /> (parallel, <br /> de facto) </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Fief" title="Fief">Fief</a> </td> <td>Actual control of population, raising of military forces </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Baron" title="Baron">Baron</a>, <a href="/wiki/Duke" title="Duke">Duke</a>, <a href="/wiki/Earl" title="Earl">Earl</a>, etc. </td> <td>Land held "from <a href="/wiki/The_Crown" title="The Crown">The Crown</a>" </td></tr> <tr> <td>Second tier <br /> (parallel, <br /> de facto) </td> <td>Parish <br /> <i>or</i> manor </td> <td>Local administration </td> <td> </td> <td>Sub-divisions of fiefs </td></tr> <tr> <td>Independent town </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Borough" title="Borough">Borough</a> </td> <td>Administration of town </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Mayor" title="Mayor">Mayor</a>, <a href="/wiki/Town_Corporation" class="mw-redirect" title="Town Corporation">Town Corporation</a> </td> <td>Granted by <a href="/wiki/Royal_Charter" class="mw-redirect" title="Royal Charter">Charter</a> from <a href="/wiki/The_Crown" title="The Crown">The Crown</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="3">1350–1540 </td> <td>First tier </td> <td>County <br /> <a href="/wiki/County_Corporate" class="mw-redirect" title="County Corporate">County Corporate</a> </td> <td>Judiciary, Keeping the peace </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Sheriff" title="Sheriff">Sheriff</a>, <a href="/wiki/Justice_of_the_Peace" class="mw-redirect" title="Justice of the Peace">Justice of the Peace</a> </td> <td>County corporate status granted by <a href="/wiki/The_Crown" title="The Crown">The Crown</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Second tier <br /> (unofficial) </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Parish" title="Parish">Parish</a> </td> <td>No official roles </td> <td> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Independent town </td> <td>Borough </td> <td>Administration of town </td> <td>Mayor, Town Corporation </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="3">1540–1832 </td> <td>First tier </td> <td>County <br /> County Corporate </td> <td>Judiciary, 'County business' (primarily through judiciary) </td> <td>Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, <a href="/wiki/Lord_Lieutenant" class="mw-redirect" title="Lord Lieutenant">Lord Lieutenant</a> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Second tier <br /> (non-governmental) </td> <td>Parish </td> <td>Maintenance of roads (from 1555); administering the <a href="/wiki/Poor_Law" class="mw-redirect" title="Poor Law">Poor Law</a> (from 1605) </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Vestry" title="Vestry">Vestry</a> </td> <td>Functions supervised by unpaid officials (e.g. Surveyor of Highways) </td></tr> <tr> <td>Independent town </td> <td>Borough </td> <td>Administration of town </td> <td>Mayor, Town Corporation </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="4">1832–1888 </td> <td>First tier </td> <td>County <br /> County Corporate </td> <td> </td> <td>Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, Lord Lieutenant </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Second tier <br /> (non-governmental) </td> <td>Parish </td> <td>Maintenance of roads (until 1855); administration of the Poor Law (see below). </td> <td> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Second tier <br /> (non-governmental) </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Poor_Law_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Poor Law Union">Poor Law Unions</a> <br /> from 1837 <br /> <a href="/wiki/Sanitary_district" title="Sanitary district">Sanitary districts</a> <br /> from 1875 </td> <td>Administration of the Poor Law, public health and sanitation, </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Board_of_Guardians" class="mw-redirect" title="Board of Guardians">Poor Law Guardians</a>, Town Corporations </td> <td>Poor law unions formed by unions of parish councils; Rural sanitary districts formed from Poor law unions; Urban sanitary districts formed by <a href="/wiki/Municipal_borough" title="Municipal borough">municipal boroughs</a> or <a href="/wiki/Local_Health_Board" class="mw-redirect" title="Local Health Board">Local Health Boards</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Independent town </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Municipal_Borough" class="mw-redirect" title="Municipal Borough">Municipal Borough</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>Mayor, Town Corporation, elected councillors </td> <td>Reformed from 1835 on </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="8">1888–1974 <br /> (to 1965 in London) </td> <td>Super tier </td> <td><a href="/w/index.php?title=Statutory_county&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Statutory county (page does not exist)">Statutory county</a> </td> <td>Judiciary, Ceremonial </td> <td>Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, Lord Lieutenant </td> <td>Based on the <a href="/wiki/Historic_counties_of_England" title="Historic counties of England">historic counties of England</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>First tier </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Administrative_county" title="Administrative county">Administrative county</a> <br /> (incorporating counties corporate) </td> <td> </td> <td>County Councillor </td> <td>Counties corporate retained their own ceremonial officials, but no other powers </td></tr> <tr> <td>First tier </td> <td><a href="/wiki/County_boroughs" class="mw-redirect" title="County boroughs">County boroughs</a> <br /> (Towns with popn. over 50000) <br /> (incorporating counties corporate) </td> <td> </td> <td>Borough Councillor </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Second tier </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Urban_district_(Great_Britain_and_Ireland)" class="mw-redirect" title="Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland)">Urban district</a> <br /> (Called <a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_boroughs" class="mw-redirect" title="Metropolitan boroughs">metropolitan boroughs</a> in London) <br /> (Both) </td> <td> </td> <td>District Councillor </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Second tier </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rural_district" title="Rural district">Rural district</a> <br /> (Only in administrative counties) </td> <td> </td> <td>District Councillor </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Second tier </td> <td>Municipal Borough <br /> (Both) </td> <td>Administration of town business </td> <td>Mayor, Town corporation </td> <td>Effectively urban districts with a royal charter </td></tr> <tr> <td>Third tier </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Civil_parish" title="Civil parish">Civil parish</a> <br /> (Rural districts only) </td> <td>Variable, generally 'upkeep of the town' </td> <td>Parish Councillor </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i><a href="/wiki/Sui_generis" title="Sui generis">Sui generis</a></i> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> </td> <td>All local government functions </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Lord_Mayor_of_London" title="Lord Mayor of London">Lord Mayor of London</a> </td> <td>Technically a county corporate and municipal borough; effectively a county borough </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="4">1974–1997 </td> <td>First tier </td> <td>County <br /> (metropolitan <i>or</i> non-metropolitan) </td> <td> </td> <td>Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, Lord Lieutenant, County Councillor </td> <td>Counties redrawn; generally based on historic counties </td></tr> <tr> <td>Second tier </td> <td>District <i>or</i> <br /> Metropolitan Borough </td> <td> </td> <td>District Councillor </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Third tier </td> <td>Civil Parish <br /> (rural areas only) </td> <td>Variable, generally 'upkeep of the town' </td> <td> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Sui generis</i> </td> <td>City of London </td> <td> </td> <td>Lord Mayor of London </td> <td>Technically a County Corporate and Municipal borough; effectively a London borough </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="7">1997– </td> <td>Super tier </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Regions_of_England" title="Regions of England">Region</a> </td> <td>Strategic direction </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Mayor_of_London" title="Mayor of London">Mayor of London</a> (only London) </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Ceremonial </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Ceremonial_counties_of_England" title="Ceremonial counties of England">Ceremonial county</a> <br /> </td> <td>Ceremonial </td> <td>Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, Lord Lieutenant </td> <td>Compromise between counties of 1888 and 1974 </td></tr> <tr> <td>First tier </td> <td>(Administrative) County </td> <td> </td> <td>County Councillor </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Second tier </td> <td>District </td> <td> </td> <td>District Councillor </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Joint tier </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Unitary_Authority" class="mw-redirect" title="Unitary Authority">Unitary Authority</a> <br /> Metropolitan borough </td> <td>All local government administration </td> <td>Councillor </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Third tier </td> <td>Civil Parish </td> <td>Variable, generally 'upkeep of the town' </td> <td>Parish Councillor </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Sui generis</i> </td> <td>City of London </td> <td>All local government administration </td> <td>Lord Mayor of London </td> <td>Technically a County Corporate and Municipal borough; effectively a unitary authority </td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_England" title="Local government in England">Local government in England</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_local_government_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="History of local government in the United Kingdom">History of local government in the United Kingdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Municipal_year" title="Municipal year">Municipal year</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_local_government_in_England&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-columns-2"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">W. Blackstone, COMMENTARIES ON THE LAWS OF ENGLAND 339, 343 (1541)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Carpenter, D. (2004) The Struggle for Mastery: Britain 1066-1284, Penguin history of Britain, London : Penguin, <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-14-014824-8" title="Special:BookSources/0-14-014824-8">0-14-014824-8</a> pp. 81, 84, 86.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bedford.gov.uk/Default.aspx/Web/TheRoyalCharter">The Royal Charter</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Regulation of Forces Act 1871</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Carl H. E. Zangerl, <i>The Social Composition of the County Magistracy in England and Wales, 1831–1887</i>, <i>The Journal of British Studies</i>, Vol. 11, No. 1. (November 1971), pp. 113–25.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>An Act for the more easy assessing, collecting and levying of County Rates</i>, (<a href="/wiki/12_Geo._2" class="mw-redirect" title="12 Geo. 2">12 Geo. 2</a>. c. 29)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Bridges_Act_1803" class="mw-redirect" title="Bridges Act 1803">Bridges Act 1803</a> (<a href="/wiki/43_Geo._3" class="mw-redirect" title="43 Geo. 3">43 Geo. 3</a>. c. 59) and <a href="/w/index.php?title=Grand_Jury_(Ireland)_Act_1833&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Grand Jury (Ireland) Act 1833 (page does not exist)">Grand Jury (Ireland) Act 1833</a> (<a href="/wiki/3_%26_4_Will._4" class="mw-redirect" title="3 & 4 Will. 4">3 & 4 Will. 4</a>. c. 78)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Blackstone (1765), p. 168.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">May (1896), vol. I, p. 329.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Phillips and Wetherell (1995), p. 413.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Heater2006-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Heater2006_11-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHeater2006" class="citation book cs1">Heater, Derek (2006). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=js-qBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA136"><i>Citizenship in Britain: A History</i></a>. Edinburgh University Press. p. 136. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780748626724" title="Special:BookSources/9780748626724"><bdi>9780748626724</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Citizenship+in+Britain%3A+A+History&rft.pages=136&rft.pub=Edinburgh+University+Press&rft.date=2006&rft.isbn=9780748626724&rft.aulast=Heater&rft.aufirst=Derek&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3Djs-qBgAAQBAJ%26pg%3DPA136&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+local+government+in+England" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Women's_rights-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Women's_rights_12-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/brave_new_world/women.htm">"Women's rights"</a>. The National Archives<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">11 February</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Women%27s+rights&rft.pub=The+National+Archives&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalarchives.gov.uk%2Fpathways%2Fcitizenship%2Fbrave_new_world%2Fwomen.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+local+government+in+England" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Synonym-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Synonym_13-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://classroom.synonym.com/act-gave-women-right-vote-britain-5469.html">"Which Act Gave Women the Right to Vote in Britain?"</a>. <i>Synonym</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Wood, Bruce. 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House of Lords. 25 May 2006. col. 91WS–92WS.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Elections%3A+City+of+London&rft.btitle=Parliamentary+Debates+%28Hansard%29&rft.pages=col.-91WS-92WS&rft.pub=House+of+Lords&rft.date=2006-05-25&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fpublications.parliament.uk%2Fpa%2Fcm200506%2Fcmhansrd%2Fvo060525%2Fwmstext%2F60525m0001.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+local+government+in+England" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output 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