Several leaks, highlighted in a number of newspapers, have suggested that the historic network of English shire counties will be scrapped as Labour rushes to consolidate region based administrations to govern England. Labour’s plan is to abolish all County Councils, replacing them with a network of so called ‘unitary authorities’. At the same time, the powers of the unelected regional assemblies would be enhanced.During the past two decades, the government has set up eight unelected regional assemblies and regional development agencies covering England, in line with a long standing EU plan to create a ‘European Union of the Regions’, with fewer and fewer powers left for the national Parliaments of Europe.
RESISTANCE
During 2004, the government published plans to abolish county based Fire and Ambulance Services, which are being fiercely resisted by public sector trade unions. The government’s current proposal to reduce the 43 County based Police forces to just 12 forces; again based largely on the boundaries of the English regions, has run into serious opposition within the County Constabularies. Home Office Minister Charles Clarke was forced to claim last month: “We have no secret agenda to create regional government”.
The English counties were mostly established in Saxon or early Norman times and are amongst the world’s oldest boundaries, have remained unchanged for 1,000 years of English history, until the unpopular reforms of Edward Heath, who altered many existing county boundaries and created new counties like Humberside, Avon and Cleveland. These were fiercely opposed by an assortment of local groups, who resented government interference with their sense of place and local identity. They were all abolished in the 1980s.
WIDESPREAD OPPOSITION
According to Patrick Wintour, Chief Political Correspondent of The Guardian, “Ministers are now working on the biggest shake up of local government for a generation, which could see ... the scrapping of county councils”. A government white paper is expected to follow shortly. Earlier government plans to implement regional government suffered a serious setback when voters rejected an elected regional assembly for the North East Region by a massive 78% 22% margin. Wintour predicted: “There will be widespread opposition to the creation of unitary councils, especially if mainly Tory controlled County Councils face the axe”.
ABOLITION BY STAGES
Lindsay Jenkins, author of the recent book Disappearing Britain: The EU and the Death of Local Government, said: “The regionalisation of Britain has seen a three stage process. First, some government offices are moved from London to the new regions. Second, some powers are taken from county councils and district councils and given to regions. Third and finally, the County Councils are abolished or turned into unitary authorities. Up to now, the government has avoided admitting that County Councils are to be abolished and omits to say that regional government is required by treaty obligation to the European Union”. She added: “In the 2000 White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice, British loyal authorities are referred to as ‘sub regions; the term used by the EU The White Paper said: ‘In any region where an elected Regional Assembly is established, there should be an associated move to a wholly unitary local government structure”’.
Several grassroots organisations, such as the Association of British Counties and the Friends of Real Lancashire, have vowed to fight to keep Britain’s historic counties. Count Nikolai Tolstoy is leading a fight to reinstate the former Royal County of Berkshire, now abolished and replaced by six unitary authorities. He also hopes that, when restored, it will be based, once again, on its pre 1974 boundaries.
BISHOPS
Many Church of England Bishops, including Bishop of Liverpool, Rt. Rev. James Jones, publicly supported the EU’s plan to break up the governance of England into region based government.
