Metropolitan county facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Metropolitan county
Category	Counties
Location	England
Found in	Regions
Created by	Local Government Act 1972
Created	1 April 1974
Number	6
Additional status	Ceremonial counties
Populations	1.2–2.8 million
Subdivisions	Metropolitan district

Metropolitan counties are special areas in England. They were first created to help with local government, which is how local areas are run. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and West Yorkshire.

These counties were set up in 1974. This was part of a big change to how local areas were governed in England and Wales. They were the top part of a two-level system. This system had counties and smaller areas called metropolitan boroughs. The idea was to help manage large cities and their surrounding areas.

In 1986, the councils that ran these counties were stopped. Since then, metropolitan counties haven't had a direct role in local government. Their jobs were mostly taken over by the metropolitan boroughs. Special groups called "joint boards" were made to help manage some services across the whole county. All metropolitan counties are also ceremonial counties, meaning they have a special representative of the King or Queen.

Today, all metropolitan boroughs are part of "combined authorities." These groups started in 2011. They let local councils work together and share responsibilities. The combined authorities for Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, West Midlands, and West Yorkshire cover the same areas as their counties. The boroughs in Merseyside are part of the Liverpool City Region. Those in Tyne and Wear are part of the North East Combined Authority.

Understanding Metropolitan Counties and Districts

Each metropolitan county is made up of several smaller areas called metropolitan districts. These districts are like local towns or cities. Here's a list of the six metropolitan counties and the districts within them:

How Metropolitan Counties Were Created

The idea of creating special areas for large city regions (called "conurbations") outside London came up many times. This was in the 20th century. People thought about making areas like 'South East Lancashire North East Cheshire' (called "Selnec") and 'South West Lancashire North West Cheshire' (called "Merseyside").

In the 1960s, a group called the Local Government Commission for England suggested this for Tyneside. They also thought about it for Selnec. For the West Midlands conurbation, they suggested a group of cities working together, but without one big authority over them all.

Early Ideas and Changes

In 1969, a report called the Redcliffe-Maud Report suggested three big "metropolitan areas." These were around Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham. They would have a main council for the whole area and smaller councils for parts of it. The government at the time agreed with these ideas. They also added South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire as metropolitan areas.

When a new government led by Edward Heath took over in 1970, the plans changed a lot. In 1971, they called these areas "metropolitan counties." They named them Merseyside, south-east Lancashire and north-east Cheshire, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and the Tyne and Wear area.

The proposed counties became much smaller than first planned. They were made smaller at each step. For example, the first report included Chester in Merseyside. It also included Redditch and Stafford in West Midlands. The new government wanted to keep old boundaries where possible. So, they usually made the new counties only cover the main built-up areas. Many areas on the edges were left out. One area, Southport, was added to Merseyside because its local council asked for it.

Other ideas for metropolitan counties came up too. These included parts of Hampshire and central Lancashire. A "Thamesside" metropolitan county was also suggested. This would cover areas of north Kent and south Essex near the Thames Estuary.

The metropolitan counties were officially created by the Local Government Act 1972. The councils for these counties were first chosen in 1973. They officially started their work in April 1974.

How Metropolitan County Councils Worked

When they were first created, metropolitan counties had a two-level system of local government. Local government jobs were split between the metropolitan district councils (the lower level) and the metropolitan county councils (the upper level).

This system was different from other counties in England. Metropolitan districts had more power. They were in charge of things like education and social services. In other counties, these jobs were done by the main county councils.

The metropolitan county councils were meant to be in charge of big, county-wide services. These included main roads, public transport, emergency services (like fire and police), waste disposal, and planning for the future of the area. These councils worked from 1974 to 1986.

Stopping the County Councils

Just ten years after they started, the metropolitan county councils (MCCs) often disagreed with the government. Most of these councils were controlled by the Labour Party. They argued with the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher about spending too much money and charging high local taxes.

The Conservative Party promised to get rid of the metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council (GLC) in their plan for the 1983 election.

In October 1983, Thatcher's government shared a plan called Streamlining the cities. This plan explained how they would get rid of the MCCs and the GLC.

The plan became a law called the Local Government Act 1985. The MCCs and the GLC were officially stopped on 31 March 1986.

The last elections for these councils were in May 1981. Elections that should have happened in 1985 were cancelled.

Stopping the GLC was very controversial. But stopping the MCCs was less so. The government said they were stopping the MCCs to make things more efficient and because they were spending too much.

However, because all the county councils were controlled by the Labour Party, some people said the reason for stopping them was political. The general secretary of a union called NALGO said it was a "completely cynical manoeuvre." Merseyside, in particular, fought hard against being stopped. Most of the jobs of the MCCs went to the metropolitan borough councils. Some jobs went to "joint boards." Some property was given to "residuary bodies" to sell.

Here's how the jobs were split after the metropolitan county councils were stopped:

Current Status of Metropolitan Counties

Map of the situation in 2023
  metropolitan borough
  London borough or the City of London
  unitary authority
  two-tier non-metropolitan county

People sometimes call metropolitan counties "former metropolitan counties." But this isn't quite right. The county councils were stopped, but the counties themselves still exist. They are still used as ceremonial counties. This means they have a special representative called a Lord Lieutenant. They are also used for some government statistics. However, they don't appear on maps from the Ordnance Survey, which show the individual metropolitan boroughs instead.

Some local services are still run across the whole metropolitan county. These are managed by special "joint boards." These include policing (by joint police authorities), fire services, public transport (by passenger transport executives), and waste disposal (in Merseyside and Greater Manchester). These joint boards are made up of councillors chosen by the boroughs. Since 2000, metropolitan counties have been used for joint local transport plans.

In 1999, after a successful public vote, the government created a main authority for London. This was the Greater London Authority. There was some talk about creating similar bodies to replace the MCCs, but it didn't happen. Instead, the government thought about having elected "regional assemblies." But after a public vote failed in the North East, this idea lost support.

Later, the idea of "city regions" was suggested. In 2010, the government agreed to create a Greater Manchester Combined Authority. This was a new top-level authority for Greater Manchester. In 2014, similar combined authorities were set up for South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. Two other combined authorities were also created. The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority covers Merseyside and the Borough of Halton. The North East Combined Authority covers Tyne and Wear, County Durham, and Northumberland. In 2017, the West Midlands Combined Authority was set up for the West Midlands county. Many of these new combined authorities now have elected mayors.

Since 1995, cities like Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Sheffield have worked together in a group called the Core Cities Group. This group helps these cities work together as important regional centers outside London.

See also

In Spanish: Condado metropolitano para niños