Association of British Counties facts for kids
The Association of British Counties (ABC) is a group that started in 1989. It was founded by TV personality Russell Grant. This group is not linked to any political party.
Its main goal is to promote the historic counties of the United Kingdom. The ABC believes these old counties are a very important part of Britain's culture. They think these counties should be kept and celebrated. The group also wants a clear difference between these historic counties and the newer "administrative counties." These administrative areas were first created by a law in 1888.
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What are Historic Counties?
The ABC recognizes 92 historic counties across the United Kingdom. They have a special list of British place names. This list helps people find out which historic county a place belongs to. The list also considers changes made by a law in 1844. This law moved some small parts of counties around.
The Association believes the best way to define county borders is from the first national survey. This survey was done by the Ordnance Survey. If a small area was moved from one county to another in 1844, the ABC says it belongs to both counties. It belongs to its original "parent" county and the county it moved into.
What Does the ABC Want to Achieve?
The ABC does not want to change how local government is set up now. Instead, they want an official difference to be made. They want people to clearly understand the difference between current administrative areas and the historic counties. These historic counties existed before government changes in 1965 and 1974. The ABC says these old counties were never officially removed.
The group wants the government to use clearer words. They want the term "administrative counties" to be used for the newer areas. This is what the original 1888 law called them. The ABC also wants the word "county" removed from some newer local areas. They believe this will stop confusion. They often put "county" in quotation marks when talking about these newer areas.
Other things the ABC wants to see happen include:
- Making the Ordnance Survey maps show the historic county borders.
- Putting up signs on roads to mark these old county boundaries.
- Making the ceremonial counties of England match the historic county borders.
- Changing the regions in England. This would make sure each historic county is fully inside one region.
What Has the ABC Done?
The "traditional counties movement" has had some successes:
- They successfully asked the Royal Mail to include historic counties. These are now in a special file that helps find correct postal addresses.
- Signs have been put up on the A59 road. These signs mark the historic border between Lancashire and Yorkshire.
- The Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council has put up signs. These mark the historic border between Cheshire and Lancashire.
- Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council and Saddleworth Parish Council also put up signs. These show the historic border between Yorkshire and Lancashire.
Support in Parliament
Some Members of Parliament (MPs) openly support recognizing historic counties. Eric Pickles, a former government minister, once said: "The historic English counties are one of the oldest forms of local government... Their roots run deep. And no amount of administrative reshuffling can delete these longstanding and cherished local identities."
Some MPs have tried to pass new laws to help. A proposed law called the Historic Counties (Traffic Signs and Mapping) Bill was introduced twice. This was in 2003 by John Randall and in 2004 by Adrian Flook. Adrian Flook thanked the ABC for leading the campaign. However, this bill did not become a law.
Another similar bill was introduced in 2007 by Andrew Rosindell. He also thanked the ABC for their hard work. This bill also did not become a law.
John Butcher was an active supporter in the 1990s. He was an honorary president of the ABC. He was happy when postal counties were removed. This meant people could use the old, pre-1974 county names in their addresses.
Groups Working with the ABC
When the ABC first started, about 30 county groups joined them. Some of these included the Friends of Real Lancashire and the Voice of Rutland.
As of 2012, the following groups were working with the ABC:
- Friends of Real Lancashire
- The Huntingdonshire Society
- The Monmouthshire Association
- The Oxfordshire Association
- The Westmorland Association
- Yorkshire Ridings Society and their local group, the Saddleworth White Rose Society
