|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
These notes are here as a guide for the users of this website to provide a summary of how the United Kingdom is divided and governed. This site is largely structured to mirror these divisions.
The United Kingdom is the modern nation state representing the union between the individual nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is properly referred to as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but this is shortened to either the United Kingdom, Great Britain or just plain UK. England and Wales first joined together as one state in 1536 with Scotland joining in 1707 and Northern Ireland in 1921.
The Nation, or Nation State, of the United Kingdom is the group of people enclosed by our International Borders that are represented by one Government, one Head of State; 'HM Queen Elizabeth II' and one flag the 'Union Jack'.
Being a United Kingdom it is made up of the individual nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and where as each still has its own flag there is one Head of State but in recent years government has devolved some control and responsibility to each member nation, Scotland now has its own Parliament and both Wales and Northern Ireland have their own National Assemblies however all of which are responsible in some form or other to central government at the Palace of Westminster.
Although the United Kingdom is not a large nation it is populous and therefore for administrative purposes it is divided into a number of regions. Some of these regions reflect historical demarcation and the lands of the ancient tribal kingdoms, however with the growth of the population in certain areas during and since the Industrial Revolution these former boundaries have become blurred. There is a current political trend towards regional government and although this failed in a recent poll is still likely to become established over time in the form of Regional Assemblies.
On this site large areas are divided into regions, some reflect political demarcation others for ease of use of the site.
The County is, or was, an important territorial political division. Many of the names of British Counties are suffixed by the word "shire" recording for posterity that they were once controlled on behalf of the sovereign by a 'Shire Reeve' or Sheriff, the most famous of all being the "Sheriff of Nottingham" in the Tales of Robin Hood. Many of the counties can trace their origin back around 1000 years to the time of the Conquest and the Doomsday Book of King William I. As a result of the Doomsday survey William granted much of the land to the control of his followers in his name and although the name 'County' could be connected to the fact that some of them were Counts most were actually Earls.
After the granting of the lands the Counts and Earls proceeded to build castles roughly in the centre of their new lands and it is around these castles that the county towns grew up. Markets, Law Courts; originally within the castle as some still are, and other administrative services became established.
The counties represented the administrative sub divisions of the nation until the end of the Victorian period. Counties themselves are further sub-divided into Boroughs and Districts some of which are Metropolitan Boroughs and Metropolitan Districts.
In the United Kingdom a city is a densely populated urban area usually consisting of a number of borough and/or districts. Confusingly some people believe a city is a place that has a Cathedral but this is not the case. A city is formed by a charter granted by the Crown (Head of State) to celebrate some national event, the last cities were created at the Golden Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II, although this is not always the case. Large towns can petition the Queen to see if she, and her Government, will grant them the status of a city. Once a town is granted the status of a city they gain a significant degree of self government and are responsible to Parliament and not the county in which they are located. Many cities also have the right to elect a Lord Mayor, the most famous and prestigious of which is that of the Lord Mayor of London. Nowadays most cities are officially Unitary Authorities.
Towards the end of the Victorian period parts of some counties became heavily industrialised and thus attracted a large population. By 1889 in order to effectively manage these areas it became necessary to separate them off into self-administering areas. These areas are the County Boroughs. These areas have their own elected council, they are not responsible to the County Council in which they are located but answer only to Parliament being the fore-runner to the modern Unitary Authority. (See 'Borough' below)
Originally a 'Borough' within the 'County' structure these areas have now seemingly become absorbed by the expansion of the population around a City or other centre of growth they do retain their autonomy for many aspects of local management and control but are still responsible to the higher authority of the unitary, county or city council of which they form part.
Originally a 'District' within the 'County' structure these areas have now seemingly become absorbed by the expansion of the population around a City or other centre of growth they do retain their autonomy for many aspects of local management and control but are still responsible to the higher authority of the unitary, county or city council of which they form part.
A Borough derives from a very old term 'Burgh or 'Burh'. In mediaeval times the Burgh was a populated area controlled on behalf of the local Lord by a 'Burgess' or a group of "Burgesses". The Burgh had certain rights of self-government but that also came with responsibilities, such as providing men at arms at times of threat. Burhs were therefore what we would recognise as built-op areas represented by large villages and small towns. Some of our modern cities, such as Peterborough, and large towns, such as Wellingborough, owe their existence and much of their name to this old form of local government.
Today a Borough is usually a largely self-governing town or a distinct area within a city but it is still responsible to the higher authority of the unitary, county or city council of which they form part.
The term 'District' can have a number of different meanings when used to refer to location in the Untied Kingdom. It may simply be used to refer to a particular area within a city or large town. Similarly it can refer to an administrative area with its own elected council and these are largely of a rural nature although some developed into urban areas. By the middle of the 20th Century these differences were accommodated by adopting a naming convention of "Rural District" and "Urban District" although by the end of the century these names had been swept away by local government reform.
A district is still responsible to the higher authority of the unitary, county or city council of which they form part.
A town is an urban area that is larger than a village but smaller than a city. Unless a town grows to a size where it is elevated to a higher administrative status as described above it is effectively a parish but to differentiate between the two at the turn of the last century towns were granted the right to allow their elected representatives call themselves a "Town Council" and to, from their number, elect a Mayor. Other than that they have the same limited legal rights and responsibilities as a Parish Council. The town and its council is responsible to the Unitary Authority or both the Borough or District and the County in which it is located.
Although communities existed long before the establishment of the United Kingdom it is only in recent years that they began to form part of the administrative structure of the nation. Today, especially in Wales and Scotland, large areas of the country is managed a the lower level by Community Councils. A community may be made up of one or a number of individual parishes or parish meetings. The community and its council is responsible to the Unitary Authority or both the Borough or District and the County in which it is located.
The Parish is nearly the lowest level of local government formed at a time when there was little difference, to the local people, between the Church and the State. The parish is usually formed around a village or other small community and used to be centred around the Parish Church. Today Church and State have separted but the same area is now represented as a local authority by the Parish Council and the Church of England by the Parochial Church Council.
The Parish Councils have few major rights and/or obligations and are responsible to the higher authorities above them. They do however manage local amenities and have a watching brief on local issues and their opinion is noted by those higher authorities in matters concerning them such as local planning issues. The parish and its council is responsible to the Unitary Authority or both the Borough or District and the County in which it is located.
In areas where the population is very small, usually predominately agricultural, and where there is no specific cluster of dwellings to form a community an even less formal method of keeping some control in the hands of the local people has developed and this is achieved by holding a limited number of gatherings of the local people known as Parish Meetings.
These Parish Meetings also have few major rights and/or obligations and are responsible to the higher authorities above them. They do however manage local amenities and have a watching brief on local issues and their opinion is noted by those higher authorities in matters concerning them such as local planning issues. The parish meeting is responsible to the Unitary Authority or both the Borough or District and the County in which it is located.
A village is the primary unit of human settlement anywhere in the world it is only later in its development and growth that a village can become a town. A village is therefore smaller than a town and is usually found in the rural environment.
For the purposes of this website 'central government' of the United Kingdom means Parliament at the Palace of Westminster, London however when referring to Scotland this could alternatively mean the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.
Currently devolution, or the transfer of power from central to local government, is the name of the game and both Wales and Northern Ireland have National Assemblies.
Although currently England is a the top level governed as a whole by Parliament there are some major differences between the north and the south and the east and west. As a result of these differences a single policy is often not the best solution and to cope with this situation the current government would like to extend devolution and form Regional Assemblies. Although there has been some strong public opinion against the formation of a new layer of government it does represent a logical solution to many problems and therefore likely to emerge anyway over time.
A unitary authority is where an area is controlled by one council under Parliament. This is not a new idea as most cities have had this status for hundreds of years. In the modern age the first non-city unitary authorities to appear in the United Kingdom were the County Boroughs and to these have now been added a new status of "unitary authority". This status can be applied to a city, borough or district usually when the population within that area has reached a certain level.
The name "local authority" can mean any council depending upon the area of responsibility to which is being referred. Within the area of a unitary authority then that authority is responsible for all local matters however within the traditional structure the different councils will be the "local authority" for different portfolios.
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
