Local Government Boundary Commission (1945 - 1949)
Encyclopedia
The Local Government Boundary Commission was established in 1945 to review the boundaries of local authority areas in England
and Wales
outside the Counties of London
and Middlesex
. The Commission produced its report in 1948 which proposed large changes to county-level areas of local government and changes in the structure and division of powers between tiers of administration. The Commission's proposals were not acted on, and it was disbanded in 1949.
s could be constituted or extended by private act of parliament
, while county councils were to carry out reviews
of county districts (non-county boroughs, urban and rural districts) on a ten yearly cycle. There was no general procedure for adjusting boundaries between administrative counties
, or for amalgamating them. The different procedures were not coordinated.
The wartime coalition government
published a white paper in January, 1945 entitled Local government in England and Wales during the period of reconstruction. The document proposed the establishment of a Local Government Boundary Commission with executive powers to alter council areas, taking over the powers of the county councils and Minister for Health to change areas. In future all proposed changes by local authorities were to be submitted to the Commission. The Commission was to consider administration in each geographical county (the administrative county plus associated county boroughs) and see if there was a prima facie
case for a review. If it felt a review was warranted the commission was to notify the Minister and the relevant county council, who could then require the holding of an inquiry into local government in the county.
The problem of local government in the County of London and Middlesex were deemed to be a special case, with the extension of the County of London, the probable disappearance of Middlesex and annexing of parts of the surrounding counties envisaged. The Commission was not to be allowed to consider these issues, which were to be considered by an "authoritative body" at a later stage. It was recognised that Middlesex contained a number of towns "large enough on any standard for county borough status" but the commissioners were not given the power to "entertain applications for county borough status in the county".
The Commission was to have the power to:
The decisions of the commission were to be subject to parliamentary review. The proposals in the white paper were enacted as the Local Government (Boundary Commission) Act 1945 (1945 c.38). It received the royal assent on the last day in office of the caretaker government that had taken over from the coalition in May. Outside observers considered that the establishment of the Commission meant that the Government did not intend to make any changes in the basic structure of local government, and noted that the Commission lacked the power to recommend radical changes such as the establishment of regional councils.
was appointed the Secretary of State for Health
in the new Labour
government, and took over responsibility for the appointment of the Commission. The five commissioners were appointed by Royal Warrant on 25 October 1945. The chairman was Sir Malcolm Trustram Eve and the deputy chairman Sir John Evelyn Maude. The three other members were Sir George Hammond Etherton, Sir James Frederick Rees and William Holmes.
The Minister for Health made regulations governing the work of the commission. Any alterations in the status or boundaries of local government areas were to create "individually and collectively effective and convenient units of local government administration." The commission was given nine main factors which were to govern their decisions:
Acting on the information they had received, the Commission prioritised the review of areas into two categories, "A" and "B". Reviews of areas in category A were to proceed as soon as possible, while the review of category B areas would be held back until July, 1947 (except where they would affect the boundaries of areas in category A).
The first reviews concerned the claims of Dagenham
, Ilford
, Leyton
, Luton
, Rochester-Chatham
-Gillingham, and Walthamstow
for county borough status. Among the category A reviews were the boundaries of Bedfordshire
, the areas of Surrey
within the Greater London area, and a request by the municipal borough
s of Beckenham
and Bromley
to form a joint county borough.
In addition, the report recommended the ending of the distinction between (non-county) boroughs, rural districts, and urban districts, with all to become known as "county districts". The privileges granted to boroughs under municipal charters were to be preserved, however.
The Commission also sought an amendment of its powers, to extend its power to divide districts to municipal boroughs as well.
It was announced that decisions in the "urgent" category A areas would be given the following month.
Two weeks later the Commission issued a statement on further proposed changes:
The commission recommended the creation of:
The small counties requiring union were: Cambridgeshire, Herefordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Ely, Lincolnshire (Parts of Holland), Lincolnshire (Parts of Kesteven), Rutland, East Suffolk, West Suffolk, Soke of Peterborough, Westmorland and Worcestershire. Although the Isle of Wight was below the population limit it was to be preserved because it was an island and cannot conveniently be united with the mainland."
The large counties needing division were Cheshire, Lancashire, Staffordshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The proposed two-tier counties were as follows:
†large enough to be a one-tier county, but to be centre of gravity for new county of South West Lancashire and North West Cheshire
‡large enough to be a one-tier county, but to be centre of gravity for new county of South East Lancashire and North East Cheshire
replied to a written question in the House of Commons stating that "it will not be practicable to introduce comprehensive legislation on local government reconstruction in the near future". This meant that the proposals in their previous report would not be carried out, and the Commission's annual report for 1948 which followed in April 1949 was therefore reduced to recommending orders under existing legislation. The report also noted that the four proposals for combinations of Welsh counties had been unanimously rejected by the county councils.
On 27 June 1949 a decision to abolish the commission was announced in parliament. The Minister praised the work done by the Commission, but noted that it did not have the power under the 1945 Act to alter the structure or vary the functions of local government. The Government recognised that it was difficult for the Commission to continue with its work without considering these factors. It was therefore repealing the Act creating the body, restoring the situation for local boundary reviews to that pertaining in 1945. The Government was to carry out a review of the structures and functions of local administration, including London, although the Minister was unable to give a date for its commencement. Local government academic Bruce Wood, reviewing the history of the Commission nearly 30 years later, remarked that its refusal to be constrained in its 1947 report meant the Commission had "committed suicide".
The winding-up of the Commission was enacted by the Local Government Boundary Commission (Dissolution) Act 1949 (12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6 c.83). The planned review never took place. Following the 1950 general election
, the Labour government was returned with a small majority. In a debate on local government in the Commons on 17 July 1951, George Lindgren
, Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government and Planning stated that the Government was waiting for the results of negotiations between the local authority associations. In the absence of such agreement, no legislation could be introduced due to the state of the parties in the House. The Minister for Housing and Local Government Hugh Dalton
, added that "the reform of local government was the type of question regarding which, in a parliament like the present, with the Government having a narrow majority, comprehensive legislation was not realistic."
The statement effectively delayed reform until the next parliament, a fact not lost on the commission's former chairman who wrote to The Times bemoaning the fact that "The Government's review of local government structure, which was stated in 1949 to be already in being, appears to have lead nowhere. This lack of decision is bad enough for local government, but surely the reconstitution of district authorities, without previous consideration of any of the functions or boundaries of the existing counties and county boroughs, or even any power to consider them simultaneously, would be a farce."
The Labour party lost power to the Conservatives
in the general election of 25 October 1951, and no further review of local government was put forward until the publication of the white papers leading to the Local Government Act 1958
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
outside the Counties of London
County of London
The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government Act 1888. The Act created an administrative County of...
and Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. The Commission produced its report in 1948 which proposed large changes to county-level areas of local government and changes in the structure and division of powers between tiers of administration. The Commission's proposals were not acted on, and it was disbanded in 1949.
Background
Alterations to local government boundaries had been suspended with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Previously they had been carried out by a number of processes: county boroughCounty borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
s could be constituted or extended by private act of parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
, while county councils were to carry out reviews
Local Government Act 1929
The Local Government Act 1929 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales....
of county districts (non-county boroughs, urban and rural districts) on a ten yearly cycle. There was no general procedure for adjusting boundaries between administrative counties
Administrative county
An administrative county was an administrative division in England and Wales and Ireland used for the purposes of local government. They are now abolished, although in Northern Ireland their former areas are used as the basis for lieutenancy....
, or for amalgamating them. The different procedures were not coordinated.
The wartime coalition government
Coalition Government 1940-1945
Members of the War Cabinet are in bold face.-Source:* D. Butler and G. Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000....
published a white paper in January, 1945 entitled Local government in England and Wales during the period of reconstruction. The document proposed the establishment of a Local Government Boundary Commission with executive powers to alter council areas, taking over the powers of the county councils and Minister for Health to change areas. In future all proposed changes by local authorities were to be submitted to the Commission. The Commission was to consider administration in each geographical county (the administrative county plus associated county boroughs) and see if there was a prima facie
Prima facie
Prima facie is a Latin expression meaning on its first encounter, first blush, or at first sight. The literal translation would be "at first face", from the feminine form of primus and facies , both in the ablative case. It is used in modern legal English to signify that on first examination, a...
case for a review. If it felt a review was warranted the commission was to notify the Minister and the relevant county council, who could then require the holding of an inquiry into local government in the county.
The problem of local government in the County of London and Middlesex were deemed to be a special case, with the extension of the County of London, the probable disappearance of Middlesex and annexing of parts of the surrounding counties envisaged. The Commission was not to be allowed to consider these issues, which were to be considered by an "authoritative body" at a later stage. It was recognised that Middlesex contained a number of towns "large enough on any standard for county borough status" but the commissioners were not given the power to "entertain applications for county borough status in the county".
The Commission was to have the power to:
- Extend or create county boroughs
- Reduce the status of county boroughs to non-county boroughs
- Merge contiguous county boroughs
- Merge small administrative counties
The decisions of the commission were to be subject to parliamentary review. The proposals in the white paper were enacted as the Local Government (Boundary Commission) Act 1945 (1945 c.38). It received the royal assent on the last day in office of the caretaker government that had taken over from the coalition in May. Outside observers considered that the establishment of the Commission meant that the Government did not intend to make any changes in the basic structure of local government, and noted that the Commission lacked the power to recommend radical changes such as the establishment of regional councils.
Appointment of commissioners
Following the 1945 general election, Aneurin BevanAneurin Bevan
Aneurin "Nye" Bevan was a British Labour Party politician who was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1959 until his death in 1960. The son of a coal miner, Bevan was a lifelong champion of social justice and the rights of working people...
was appointed the Secretary of State for Health
Secretary of State for Health
Secretary of State for Health is a UK cabinet position responsible for the Department of Health.The first Boards of Health were created by Orders in Council dated 21 June, 14 November, and 21 November 1831. In 1848 a General Board of Health was created with the First Commissioner of Woods and...
in the new Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government, and took over responsibility for the appointment of the Commission. The five commissioners were appointed by Royal Warrant on 25 October 1945. The chairman was Sir Malcolm Trustram Eve and the deputy chairman Sir John Evelyn Maude. The three other members were Sir George Hammond Etherton, Sir James Frederick Rees and William Holmes.
The Minister for Health made regulations governing the work of the commission. Any alterations in the status or boundaries of local government areas were to create "individually and collectively effective and convenient units of local government administration." The commission was given nine main factors which were to govern their decisions:
- Community of interest
- Development, or anticipated development
- Economic and industrial characteristics
- Financial resources
- Physical features, including, but not exclusively, suitable boundaries, means of communication, and accessibility of administrative centres and centres of business and social life
- Population size, distribution and characteristics
- Record of administration by local authorities concerned
- Size and shape of the area
- Wishes of the inhabitants
Work of the Commission
In April 1946 the Commission wrote to county and county borough councils, asking for information on any boundary proposals they were considering. By August they had received replies from 80 of 83 county boroughs and 42 of 61 county councils, stating they were seeking boundary reviews.Acting on the information they had received, the Commission prioritised the review of areas into two categories, "A" and "B". Reviews of areas in category A were to proceed as soon as possible, while the review of category B areas would be held back until July, 1947 (except where they would affect the boundaries of areas in category A).
The first reviews concerned the claims of Dagenham
Municipal Borough of Dagenham
Dagenham was a local government district in south west Essex, England from 1926 to 1965 covering the parish of Dagenham. Initially created as an urban district, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1938...
, Ilford
Municipal Borough of Ilford
Ilford was a civil parish and local government district in south west Essex, England from 1888 to 1965, covering the town Ilford. The district saw a considerable rise in population throughout its life, caused by the expansion of the built-up area of London, and became one of the most populous...
, Leyton
Municipal Borough of Leyton
Leyton was a local government district in southwest Essex, England, from 1875 to 1965. It included the neighbourhoods of Leyton, Leytonstone and Cann Hall. It was suburban to London, forming part of the London postal district and Metropolitan Police District...
, Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, Rochester-Chatham
Chatham, Medway
Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
-Gillingham, and Walthamstow
Municipal Borough of Walthamstow
Walthamstow was a local government district in south west Essex, England from 1894 to 1965, around the town of Walthamstow. It was within the London suburbs, forming part of the London postal district and Metropolitan Police District...
for county borough status. Among the category A reviews were the boundaries of Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, the areas of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
within the Greater London area, and a request by the municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
s of Beckenham
Municipal Borough of Beckenham
Beckenham was a local government district in north west Kent from 1878 to 1965 around the town of Beckenham. The area was suburban to London, formed part of the Metropolitan Police District and from 1933 was included in the area of the London Passenger Transport Board.-History:In 1878 the parish of...
and Bromley
Municipal Borough of Bromley
Bromley was a local government district in northwest Kent from 1867 to 1965 around the town of Bromley. The area was suburban to London, and formed part of the Metropolitan Police District and from 1933 was included in the area of the London Passenger Transport Board.-Local board and urban...
to form a joint county borough.
First report
On 22 April 1947, the Commission presented its first report to parliament, covering its work in 1946. The following investigations had been begun:- Plymouth
- Bootle and Liverpool
- Luton
- Eleven Welsh counties (excluding Glamorgan)
- South-west Essex (East Ham, West Ham, Barking, Chingford, Dagenham, Ilford, Leyton, Romford, Walthamstow, Wanstead and Woodford, Chigwell and Hornchurch)
- Southampton
- Grimsby
- Twelve county boroughs in south and east Lancashire (Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, St Helens, Salford, Warrington and Wigan)
- Part of East Anglia (Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Ely, Lincolnshire (Holland, Kesteven and Lindsey), Soke of Peterborough, Rutland, Norfolk and the county boroughs of Great Yarmouth, Lincoln and Norwich)
- Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester
- Dudley, Smethwick, Walsall, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton
- Bath and Bristol
- Cheltenham and Gloucester
- Portsmouth
- Sunderland
In addition, the report recommended the ending of the distinction between (non-county) boroughs, rural districts, and urban districts, with all to become known as "county districts". The privileges granted to boroughs under municipal charters were to be preserved, however.
The Commission also sought an amendment of its powers, to extend its power to divide districts to municipal boroughs as well.
It was announced that decisions in the "urgent" category A areas would be given the following month.
First recommendations
Decisions on the category A areas were announced 1 May 1947:- LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
: The county borough council had sought to annex the county borough of BootleBootleBootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, and a 'Post town' in the L postcode area. Formally known as Bootle-cum-Linacre, the town is 4 miles to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640.Historically part of...
and the borough of CrosbyCrosby, MerseysideCrosby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Lancashire it is situated north of Bootle, south of Southport, Formby and west of Netherton-History:...
, the urban districts of Huyton-with-Roby and LitherlandLitherlandLitherland is a suburban village in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. It was formerly an urban district, which included Seaforth and Ford...
and much of West LancashireWest Lancashire Rural DistrictWest Lancashire was a rural district from 1894 to 1974 in Lancashire, England. It was created with other rural districts in 1894, based on the Ormskirk rural sanitary district...
and WhistonWhiston Rural DistrictWhiston Rural District was a rural district of the administrative county of Lancashire, England. It was created in 1895 by renaming the Prescot Rural District when the parish of Prescot was removed from that rural district and created a separate urban district. Later the parish of Speke was...
rural districts. The commission proposed a much smaller extension to include parts of the two rural districts. - Bootle: The county borough was to be enlarged by gaining the borough of Crosby, the urban districts of Litherland and parts of West Lancashire rural district. The Commission felt that without the extensions Bootle would no longer be a viable local government unit.
- PlymouthPlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
: the county borough had sought to annex a large area from the two adjoining counties. From Cornwall would have come the borough of SaltashSaltashSaltash is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a population of 14,964. It lies in the south east of Cornwall, facing Plymouth over the River Tamar. It was in the Caradon district until March 2009 and is known as "the gateway to Cornwall". Saltash means ash tree by...
, TorpointTorpointTorpoint is a civil parish and town on the Rame Peninsula in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated opposite the city of Plymouth across the Hamoaze which is the tidal estuary of the River Tamar....
urban district and part of St Germans rural district, and from Devon the entire Plympton St Mary rural district and the southern part of Tavistock rural district. The Commission limited its proposed extension to two parishes from the Plympton rural district. - HullKingston upon HullKingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
: The county borough was to be enlarged by the absorption of HaltempriceHaltempricethumb|right|200px|Obsolete Arms of the Former Haltemprice Urban District CouncilHaltemprice is an area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, directly to the west of Hull. It comprises the villages, Anlaby, Cottingham, Hessle, Kirk Ella, Skidby, West Ella and Willerby...
urban district and parts of BeverleyBeverley Rural DistrictBeverley was a rural district in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1894 to 1974.The district surrounded but did not include Beverley, which formed a municipal borough.The district was created by the Local Government Act 1894...
and HoldernessHolderness Rural DistrictHolderness was a rural district in the East Riding of Yorkshire from 1935 to 1974, covering the Holderness area.It was created by a County Review Order made under the Local Government Act 1929 by the merger of Patrington Rural District, most of Skirlaugh Rural District and part of Sculcoates Rural...
rural districts. - SouthamptonSouthamptonSouthampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
: Interim recommendations were made to allow the county borough to acquire territory in order to provide housing following wartime damage. The corporation had sought to gain part of the borough of EastleighEastleighEastleigh is a railway town in Hampshire, England, and the main town in the Eastleigh borough which is part of Southampton Urban Area. The town lies between Southampton and Winchester, and is part of the South Hampshire conurbation...
, but the extension was limited to small parts of the rural districts of Romsey and Stockbridge and Winchester. - GrimsbyGrimsbyGrimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
: The Commission deferred a decision on the county borough's boundary. Grimsby corporation sought to annex the adjacent borough of CleethorpesCleethorpesCleethorpes is a town and unparished area in North East Lincolnshire, England, situated on the estuary of the Humber. It has a population of 31,853 and is a seaside resort.- History :...
and much of GrimsbyGrimsby Rural DistrictGrimsby Rural District was a rural district in Lincolnshire, England, part of the administrative county of Lindsey, from 1894 to 1974.The district covered the town of Immingham and the parishes of Ashby-cum-Fenby, Aylesby, Barnoldby-le-Beck, Beelsby, Bradley, Brigsley, East Ravendale, Great...
rural district, which would probably have ceased to exist as a result. - LutonLutonLuton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
: The borough had sought county borough status and an extension of its boundaries. The Commission deferred a decision on the status of the borough, and proposed a small enlargement of its area. Suggestions that the borough should merge with that of DunstableDunstableDunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
were rejected. - LancashireLancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
and North CheshireCheshireCheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
: No final decision on the future of fourteen county boroughs in the area were made. If all the requests for extensions had been granted, much of south Lancashire would have been made up entirely of county boroughs, and the Commission sought to review the areas around ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Salford before making proposals for the fourteen boroughs. - Eastern Counties: The Commission considered that six administrative counties (HuntingdonshireHuntingdonshireHuntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
, Isle of ElyIsle of ElyThe Isle of Ely is a historic region around the city of Ely now in Cambridgeshire, England but previously a county in its own right.-Etymology:...
, HollandHolland, LincolnshireHolland is an area of south-east Lincolnshire, England. The name is still recognised locally and survives in the district of South Holland.-Administration:...
, KestevenKestevenThe Parts of Kesteven are a traditional subdivision of Lincolnshire, England. This subdivision had long had a separate county administration , along with the other two parts, Lindsey and Holland.-Etymology:...
, RutlandRutlandRutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
, and Soke of PeterboroughSoke of PeterboroughThe Soke of Peterborough is an historic area of England that is traditionally associated with the City and Diocese of Peterborough, but considered part of Northamptonshire...
) were too small to be effective units, and amalgamations would be necessary.
Two weeks later the Commission issued a statement on further proposed changes:
- St Helens: The county borough had asked for an extension to absorb two neighbouring urban districts and six parishes. The Commission issued an interim decision, restricting the proposed extension to most of the parish of Windle in the Whiston rural district, as the borough needed land for housing purposes. Further extensions were deferred until the consideration of the wider area.
- Oldham: The Commission proposed extending Oldham county borough to absorb Lees urban district and part of Limehurst rural district, the rest of which was to be split between the borough of Ashton-under-Lyne and Failsworth urban district. As in St Helens, this was an interim decision to allow the borough's housing programme to progress.
- South-west Essex: The Commission had not made a final decision on the area, but hoped to make a decision on "broad principles" within a year.
- Staffordshire: The Commission also hoped to make a decision on seven county boroughs within a year, noting that the Ministry of Town and Country Planning was to carry out a comprehensive planning survey of the geographical county, which might effect local government reforms.
Second report
The Commission's second report was issued in April 1948. It contained a notably strong section outlining the deficiencies with the existing system of local government, and therefore the report made comprehensive proposals for local government areas throughout England, and suggestions for Wales. It was later to be argued that in producing this report, the Commission had significantly exceeded its brief.The commission recommended the creation of:
- 20 one-tier counties (with a target population 200,000 to 1 million)
- 47 two-tier counties (target population 200,000 to 500,000)
- 63 "most-purpose" new county boroughs, which were to be part of the two-tier counties for certain purposes (target population less than 200,000)
One-tier counties
The proposed one-tier counties were based on twenty large county boroughs, which were to continue to manage all local government services in the area. Two of these counties were to be formed from the amalgamation of a number of existing councils.- Birmingham
- Bradford
- Bristol
- Central Sussex (Brighton county borough, Hove municipal borough, and Portslade, Shoreham and Southwick urban districts)
- Coventry
- Croydon
- Derby
- East Ham
- Kingston-upon-Hull
- Leeds
- Leicester
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- North Staffordshire (Stoke on Trent county borough, Newcastle-under-Lyme municipal borough, and Kidsgrove urban district)
- Nottingham
- Plymouth
- Portsmouth
- Sheffield
- Southampton
- Sunderland
- West Ham
Two-tier counties
The two-tier counties were based on the existing administrative counties. The commission felt that in order to provide effective local government a county must have a population of more than 200,000 and less than a million. From this it followed that a number of small counties would need to be merged, and large ones divided.The small counties requiring union were: Cambridgeshire, Herefordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Ely, Lincolnshire (Parts of Holland), Lincolnshire (Parts of Kesteven), Rutland, East Suffolk, West Suffolk, Soke of Peterborough, Westmorland and Worcestershire. Although the Isle of Wight was below the population limit it was to be preserved because it was an island and cannot conveniently be united with the mainland."
The large counties needing division were Cheshire, Lancashire, Staffordshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The proposed two-tier counties were as follows:
- Bedfordshire (unchanged)
- Berkshire (unchanged)
- Buckinghamshire (unchanged)
- Cambridge from the merger of Cambridgeshire, Isle of Ely, Huntingdonshire, Soke of Peterborough and the Newmarket Urban District from West Suffolk
- Cheshire (reduced in size due to losses of territory to (a) Lancaster South East and Cheshire North East and (b) Lancaster South West and Cheshire North West)
- Cornwall (unchanged)
- Cumberland (with Carlisle county borough)
- Derbyshire
- Devon (with Exeter county borough)
- Dorset (with Bournemouth county borough)
- Durham (with Darlington, Gateshead, South Shields, West Hartlepool county boroughs, but losing territory to North Yorkshire)
- East Sussex (with Eastbourne and Hastings county boroughs, but losing territory to Central Sussex)
- Essex (with Southend county borough)
- Gloucestershire (with Gloucester county borough)
- Hampshire (renaming of county of Southampton)
- Hereford and Worcester from the merger of Herefordshire, Worcestershire (less Oldbury to Stafford South), Worcester county borough plus Amblecote Urban District, Staffordshire.
- Hertfordshire (unchanged)
- Isle of Wight (unchanged)
- Kent (with Canterbury county borough)
- Lancaster Central (including Blackpool, Blackburn, Burnley, Preston and Southport)
- Lancaster North and Westmorland from Westmorland and north Lancashire (the Furness area)
- Lancaster South (including St Helens, Wigan, Warrington, Bolton, Bury and Rochdale)
- Lancaster South East and Cheshire North East (including Manchester, Salford, Stretford, Oldham and Stockport)
- Lancaster South West and Cheshire North West (Including Liverpool, Bootle, Wallasey and Birkenhead)
- Leicester from the merger of Leicestershire and Rutland
- Lincoln South from the merger of Lincolnshire (Parts of Holland) and Lincolnshire (Parts of Kesteven)
- Lincoln North from the merger of Lincolnshire (Parts of Lindsey) and Grimsby county borough
- Middlesex (unchanged)
- Monmouthshire (with Newport county borough)
- Norfolk (with Great Yarmouth, Norwich county boroughs)
- Northamptonshire (with Northampton county borough)
- Northumberland (with Tynemouth county borough)
- Nottinghamshire (unchanged)
- Oxfordshire (with Oxford county borough)
- Salop (unchanged)
- Somerset (with Bath county borough)
- Stafford Central
- Stafford South (including Dudley, Oldbury, Smethwick, Walsall, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton)
- Suffolk formed from the merger of East Suffolk and West Suffolk less Newmarket, and Ipswich county borough
- Surrey (unchanged)
- Warwickshire (unchanged)
- West Sussex (less areas lost to Central Sussex)
- Wiltshire (unchanged)
- York East (Yorkshire East Riding and York county borough)
- York North formed from Yorkshire North Riding, Middlesbrough county borough, and Stockton-on-Tees and Billingham from County Durham
- York South from part of West Riding of Yorkshire (including Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham)
- York West from most of West Riding of Yorkshire (including Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield)
Most-purpose county boroughs
The county boroughs proposed by the Commission were to be responsible for most local government in their area, only looking to the county councils for large area services. They were a mixture of existing county boroughs and larger non-county boroughs.- Barnsley
- Barrow-in-Furness
- Bath
- Birkenhead
- Blackburn
- Blackpool
- Bolton
- Bootle
- Bournemouth
- Burnley
- Cambridge
- Carlisle
- Chatham-Gillingham-Rochester
- Cheltenham
- Chesterfield
- Darlington
- Doncaster
- Dudley
- Exeter
- Gateshead
- Gloucester
- Grimsby
- Halifax
- Hastings
- Huddersfield
- Ipswich
- Lincoln
- Liverpool †
- Luton
- Manchester ‡
- Middlesbrough
- Newport
- Northampton
- Norwich
- Oldham
- Oxford
- Poole
- Preston
- Reading
- Rochdale
- Rotherham
- St Helens
- Salford
- Smethwick
- Slough
- Southend
- Southport
- South Shields
- Stockport
- Stockton-on-Tees (in North Yorkshire)
- Stretford
- Swindon
- Tynemouth
- Wallasey
- Walsall
- Warrington
- West Bromwich
- West Hartlepool
- Wigan
- Wolverhampton
- Worcester
- Worthing
- York
†large enough to be a one-tier county, but to be centre of gravity for new county of South West Lancashire and North West Cheshire
‡large enough to be a one-tier county, but to be centre of gravity for new county of South East Lancashire and North East Cheshire
Wales
The Commission did not have detailed proposals for Wales. Glamorgan was to remain two-tier, with Merthyr Tydfil as a county borough within it, while Cardiff was to be a one-tier county. No decision had been made on Swansea. The remaining eleven administrative counties were to be grouped as either two, three, four, or five new counties.Third report and abolition
On 25 March 1949, the Minister of Health Aneurin BevanAneurin Bevan
Aneurin "Nye" Bevan was a British Labour Party politician who was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1959 until his death in 1960. The son of a coal miner, Bevan was a lifelong champion of social justice and the rights of working people...
replied to a written question in the House of Commons stating that "it will not be practicable to introduce comprehensive legislation on local government reconstruction in the near future". This meant that the proposals in their previous report would not be carried out, and the Commission's annual report for 1948 which followed in April 1949 was therefore reduced to recommending orders under existing legislation. The report also noted that the four proposals for combinations of Welsh counties had been unanimously rejected by the county councils.
On 27 June 1949 a decision to abolish the commission was announced in parliament. The Minister praised the work done by the Commission, but noted that it did not have the power under the 1945 Act to alter the structure or vary the functions of local government. The Government recognised that it was difficult for the Commission to continue with its work without considering these factors. It was therefore repealing the Act creating the body, restoring the situation for local boundary reviews to that pertaining in 1945. The Government was to carry out a review of the structures and functions of local administration, including London, although the Minister was unable to give a date for its commencement. Local government academic Bruce Wood, reviewing the history of the Commission nearly 30 years later, remarked that its refusal to be constrained in its 1947 report meant the Commission had "committed suicide".
The winding-up of the Commission was enacted by the Local Government Boundary Commission (Dissolution) Act 1949 (12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6 c.83). The planned review never took place. Following the 1950 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
, the Labour government was returned with a small majority. In a debate on local government in the Commons on 17 July 1951, George Lindgren
George Lindgren, Baron Lindgren
George Samuel Lindgren, JP, DL was a British Labour Party politician.Born in Islington, London, at the 1935 general election, he was an unsuccessful candidate in the safe Conservative seat of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, coming a distant second with 36.7% of the votes.At the 1945 general election,...
, Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government and Planning stated that the Government was waiting for the results of negotiations between the local authority associations. In the absence of such agreement, no legislation could be introduced due to the state of the parties in the House. The Minister for Housing and Local Government Hugh Dalton
Hugh Dalton
Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton PC was a British Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947, when he was implicated in a political scandal involving budget leaks....
, added that "the reform of local government was the type of question regarding which, in a parliament like the present, with the Government having a narrow majority, comprehensive legislation was not realistic."
The statement effectively delayed reform until the next parliament, a fact not lost on the commission's former chairman who wrote to The Times bemoaning the fact that "The Government's review of local government structure, which was stated in 1949 to be already in being, appears to have lead nowhere. This lack of decision is bad enough for local government, but surely the reconstitution of district authorities, without previous consideration of any of the functions or boundaries of the existing counties and county boroughs, or even any power to consider them simultaneously, would be a farce."
The Labour party lost power to the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
in the general election of 25 October 1951, and no further review of local government was put forward until the publication of the white papers leading to the Local Government Act 1958
Local Government Act 1958
The Local Government Act 1958 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting local government in England and Wales outside London...
.