England

:For an explanation of often confusing terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology).

Subdivisions

Main article: Subdivisions of England

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Historically, the highest level of local government in England was the county. These divisions had emerged from a range of units of old, pre-unification England, whether they were Kingdoms, such as Essex and Sussex; Duchies, such as Yorkshire, Cornwall and Lancashire or simply tracts of land given to some noble, as is the case with Berkshire. Until 1867, they were subdivided into smaller divisions called hundreds.

Related Topics:
County - Essex - Sussex - Duchies - Yorkshire - Cornwall - Lancashire - Berkshire - Hundreds

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These counties all still exist in, or near to, their original form as the traditional counties. In many places, however, they have been heavily modified or abolished outright as administrative counties. This came about due to a number of factors.

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The fact that the counties were so small meant, and still means, that there was no regional government able to coordinate an overarching plan for the area. This was especially true in the metropolitan areas surrounding the cities, as the county lines were usually drawn up before the industrial revolution and the mass urbanisation of England.

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The solution was the creation of large metropolitan counties centred on cities. These were later broken up, with several other counties, into unitary authorities, unifying the county and district/borough levels of government.

Related Topics:
Metropolitan counties - Unitary authorities

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London is a special case, and is the one region which currently has a representative authority as well as a directly elected mayor. The 32 London boroughs and the Corporation of London remain the local form of government in the city.

Related Topics:
London - Region - Authority - Mayor - London boroughs - Corporation of London

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Other than Greater London, the official regions are:

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• North East England
• North West England
• Yorkshire and the Humber
• West Midlands
• East Midlands
• East of England
• South West England
• South East England

Outside London the regions have very little power and are not accountable to elected representatives; regional authority is placed in the hands of unelected assemblies. If, as now seems unlikely, regions opt to replace these bodies with elected assemblies, local government in England will remain as variable and, some might say, as confusing as ever

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