Local Government Act 1985 English metropolitan counties abolished

The Local Government Act 1985 is an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Its main effect was to abolish the six

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

s of the

metropolitan counties The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, with populations between 1 and 3 million. They were created in 1974 and are each di ...

that had been set up in 1974, 11 years earlier, by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, along with the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

that had been established in 1965. In their place many single purpose authorities known collectively as 'joint authorities' were established for fire service, police and passenger transport. An ad hoc education authority was established for Inner London and a planning authority for Greater London. The legislation permitted councils to form 'joint arrangements' for waste disposal and other services that they wished to provide together. Time-limited residuary bodies were created to dispose of the assets of the former authorities.

Background

Following the victory of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

at the 1979 general election,

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

were involved in a series of high-profile disputes with the GLC and Metropolitan County Councils. All of the authorities were controlled by, or came under the control of the opposition Labour Party during Thatcher's first term. The Conservative

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

for the 1983 general election pledged their abolition, describing the councils as "a wasteful and unnecessary tier of government". Having won a landslide victory in the 1983 General Election, the government published a

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...

in October of that year, ''

Streamlining the cities Streamlining the cities: Government proposals for reorganising local government in Greater London and the Metropolitan counties was a government white paper issued in 1983, by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher which led to the aboliti ...

''. Its proposals formed the basis of the Local Government Bill.

Provisions

The core provision, section 1, stated that "the Greater London Council; and the metropolitan county councils" shall cease to exist. It came into effect on 1 April 1986, with some powers being devolved to the

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...

s themselves and

London borough The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at ...

s and others to joint authorities (such as for fire or police purposes) consisting of members of each of the metropolitan district councils within each county. At the time of the Act, one third of the population of England were living in Greater London and the metropolitan counties.Hampton, W., ''Local Government and Urban Politics'', (1991) Time-limited

residuary bodies A residuary estate, in the law of wills, is any portion of the testator's estate that is not specifically devised to someone in the will, or any property that is part of such a specific devise that fails. It is also known as a residual estate or s ...

were created to handle the disposal of the councils' assets. Part III of the Act also set up the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was an ad hoc local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. The authority was reconstituted as a directly elected body corpor ...

, which had previously been a committee of the GLC responsible for education in

Inner London Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. With its origins in the bills of mortality, it became fixed as an area for statistics in 1847 and was use ...

, as a directly elected body. This was to remain in existence for only three years. The

allowed councils to voluntarily form joint committees to provide services together and the Local Government Act 1985 extended this principle by directing local authorities to form some shared arrangements whilst permitting them to form others as they wished.

Local authorities abolished by Part I

Six metropolitan county councils were abolished and the local authority of Greater London. *

Greater Manchester County Council The Greater Manchester County Council (GMCC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater Manchester from 1974 to 1986. A strategic authority, with responsibilities for roads, public transport, planning, emergency services ...

Merseyside County Council Merseyside County Council (MCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for Merseyside, a metropolitan county in North West England. MCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 1974 by the Local ...

South Yorkshire County Council The South Yorkshire County Council (SYCC) — also known as South Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council — was the top-tier local government authority for the metropolitan county of South Yorkshire from 1 April 1974 to 31 March 1986. A strategic ...

Tyne and Wear County Council Tyne and Wear County Council was the county council of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear in northeast England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1974 and was abolished on 1 April 1986. The county council was based at Sandyford House in Ne ...

West Midlands County Council West Midlands County Council (WMCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for the West Midlands county, a metropolitan county in England. History The WMCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 19 ...

West Yorkshire County Council West Yorkshire County Council (WYCC) – also known as West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council (WYMCC) – was the top-tier local government administrative body for West Yorkshire from 1974 to 1986. A strategic authority, with responsibilitie ...

Joint committees established by Part II

* Joint planning committee for Greater London *Greater Manchester Trading Standards Joint Committee *Merseyside County Trading Standards Joint Committee *South Yorkshire Trading Standards Joint Committee *Tyne and Wear Trading Standards Joint Committee *West Midlands Trading Standards Joint Committee *West Yorkshire Trading Standards Joint Committee

Joint arrangements established by Part II

*East London Waste Authority *

Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority The Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) was England’s largest waste disposal authority, responsible for the management and disposal of municipal waste from Greater Manchester. It dealt with 1.1 million tonnes of waste produced ...

Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority The Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) (formerly Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority (MWDA)) is a statutory waste disposal authority that manages the municipal solid waste produced in Merseyside, England. MWDA was established in 19 ...

*North London Waste Authority *Western Riverside Waste Authority *West London Waste Authority

Ad hoc authorities established by Part III

Note: The outer London borough councils and metropolitan district councils were already education authorities.

Joint authorities established by Part IV

A number of single purpose authorities were established, collectively known as ''joint authorities'' in the legislation. ;Fire and civil defence authorities *Greater Manchester Fire and Civil Defence Authority *

London Fire and Civil Defence Authority London Fire and Civil Defence Authority (LFCDA) was the fire authority of Greater London from 1 April 1986 to 3 July 2000. It replaced the Greater London Council as fire authority when it was abolished. The LFCDA was a joint authority, made up o ...

*Merseyside Fire and Civil Defence Authority *South Yorkshire Fire and Civil Defence Authority *Tyne and Wear Fire and Civil Defence Authority *West Midlands Fire and Civil Defence Authority *West Yorkshire Fire and Civil Defence Authority ;Passenger transport authorities *

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority The Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) was a local government institution responsible for the strategic direction of passenger transport in Greater Manchester. It existed from 1969 to 1974 as the SELNEC Passenger Transport ...

*Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority *South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority *Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority *West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority *West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority Note:

London Regional Transport London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operatio ...

was established separately by the

London Regional Transport Act 1984 The London Regional Transport Act 1984 (1984 c. 32) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which created the statutory corporation named London Regional Transport. It received royal assent on 26 June 1984, and its major p ...

. ;Police authorities *Greater Manchester Police Authority *Merseyside Police Authority *Northumbria Police Authority *South Yorkshire Police Authority *West Midlands Police Authority *West Yorkshire Police Authority Note: The

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

was under the control of the Home Office and unaffected by the legislation.

Ad hoc bodies established by Part V

London Boroughs Grants Committee London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

Residuary bodies established by Part VII

*Greater Manchester Residuary Body *

London Residuary Body The London Residuary Body was a body set up in 1985 to dispose of the assets of the Greater London Council after the council's abolition in 1986. Similar residuary bodies were set up for the metropolitan counties. After the abolition of the Inn ...

*Merseyside Residuary Body *South Yorkshire Residuary Body *Tyne and Wear Residuary Body *West Midlands Residuary Body *West Yorkshire Residuary Body

Ad hoc bodies established by Part IX

* London Research Centre

References

{{Margaret Thatcher United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1985 Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England Local government legislation in England and Wales