Local Government Act 1972

The **Local Government Act 1972** (1972 c. 70) is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in England and Wales, on 1 April 1974.

Its pattern of two-tier councils remains in use today in large parts of England, although the metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986 and it was replaced with unitary authorities in many areas in the 1990s. In Wales, it established a similar pattern of counties and districts.  These have since been entirely replaced with a system of unitary authorities. In Scotland, the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 established a similar system of two-tier regions and districts in 1975 – this was also replaced by a system of unitary council areas in 1996.

Elections were held to the new authorities in 1973, and they acted as 'shadow authorities' until the handover date. Elections to county councils were held on April 12, for metropolitan and Welsh districts on May 10 for non-metropolitan district councils on June 7.

### Metropolitan counties

|Metropolitan county|Existing geographic county or subdivision|County boroughs|Other parts||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|rowspan=3|Greater Manchester|Cheshire|Stockport|urban north-east Cheshire|
|Lancashire|Bury, Bolton, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Wigan|urban south-east Lancashire|||
|Yorkshire, West Riding|_none_|Saddleworth urban district|||
|rowspan=2|Merseyside|Cheshire|Birkenhead, Wallasey|most of Wirral peninsula|
|Lancashire|Bootle, Liverpool, St Helens, Southport|urban south-west Lancashire|||
|rowspan=2|South Yorkshire|Yorkshire, West Riding|Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield, Rotherham|southern West Riding|
|Finningley|||||
|rowspan=2|Tyne and Wear|Durham|Gateshead, South Shields, Sunderland|urban north-east Durham|
|Northumberland|Tynemouth, Newcastle upon Tyne|urban south-east Northumberland|||
|rowspan=3|West Midlands|Staffordshire|Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton|Aldridge-Brownhills|
|Warwickshire|Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull|Sutton Coldfield, Meriden Gap|||
|Worcestershire|Warley|Halesowen and Stourbridge|||
|rowspan=1|West Yorkshire|Yorkshire, West Riding|Bradford, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield|western West Riding of Yorkshire|

### Metropolitan districts

|Metropolitan county|Metropolitan district|County boroughs|Other components||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|rowspan=10|Greater Manchester|Bury|Bury|Prestwich, Radcliffe, Ramsbottom (part), Tottington, Whitefield (Lancashire)|
|Bolton|Bolton|Blackrod, Farnworth, Horwich, Kearsley, Little Lever, Turton (part), Westhoughton (Lancashire)|||
|Manchester|Manchester|Ringway from Bucklow Rural District (Cheshire)|||
|Oldham|Oldham|Chadderton, Shaw and Crompton, Failsworth, Lees and Royton (Lancashire); Saddleworth (West Riding)|||
|Rochdale|Rochdale|Heywood,  Littleborough, Middleton, Milnrow and Wardle (Lancashire)|||
|Salford|Salford|Eccles, Irlam, Worsley, Swinton and Pendlebury (Lancashire)|||
|Stockport|Stockport|Bredbury and Romiley, Cheadle and Gatley, Hazel Grove and Bramhall and Marple (Cheshire)|||
|Tameside|_none_|Dukinfield, Hyde, Longdendale, Stalybridge (Cheshire); Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Mossley (Lancashire)|||
|Trafford|_none_|Altrincham, Bowdon, Hale, Sale, part of Bucklow Rural District (Cheshire); Stretford, Urmston (Lancashire)|||
|Wigan|Wigan|Abram, Ashton-in-Makerfield (most), Aspull, Atherton, Billinge-and-Winstanley (part), Golborne (part), Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Leigh, Orrell, Standish-with-Langtree, Tyldesley, part of Wigan Rural District (Lancashire)|||
|rowspan=5|Merseyside|Knowsley|_none_|Huyton-with-Roby, Kirkby, Prescot, Simonswood, part of Whiston Rural District (Lancashire)|
|Liverpool|Liverpool|_none_|||
|St Helens|St Helens|Ashton-in-Makerfield (part), Billinge-and-Winstanley (part) Haydock, Newton-le-Willows, Rainford, part of Whiston Rural District (Lancashire)|||
|Sefton|Bootle, Southport|Crosby, Formby, Litherland, part of West Lancashire Rural District (Lancashire)|||
|Wirral|Birkenhead, Wallasey|Bebington, Hoylake, Wirral (Cheshire)|||
|rowspan=4|South Yorkshire|Barnsley|Barnsley|Cudworth, Darfield, Hoyland Nether, Penistone, Royston, Wombwell, Worsbrough; Penistone Rural District, part of Hemsworth Rural District; part of Wortley Rural District (West Riding)|
|Doncaster|Doncaster|Adwick le Street, Bentley with Arksey, Conisbrough, Mexborough, Tickhill (West Riding), Finningley (Nottinghamshire)|||
|Sheffield|Sheffield|Stocksbridge, part of Wortley Rural District (West Riding)|||
|Rotherham|Rotherham|Maltby, Rawmarsh, Swinton, Wath upon Dearne; Kiveton Park Rural District, Rotherham Rural District (West Riding)|||
|rowspan=5|Tyne and Wear|Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle upon Tyne|Gosforth, Newburn, part of Castle Ward Rural District (Northumberland)|
|North Tyneside|Tynemouth|Wallsend, part of Whitley Bay, Longbenton, part of Seaton Valley (Northumberland)|||
|Gateshead|Gateshead|Blaydon, Felling, Ryton and Whickham, part of Chester-le-Street Rural District (Durham)|||
|South Tyneside|South Shields|Jarrow, Boldon, Hebburn (Durham)|||
|Sunderland|Sunderland|Hetton, Houghton-le-Spring, Washington, part of Easington Rural District, part of Chester-le-Street Rural District (Durham)|||
|rowspan=7|West Midlands|Birmingham|Birmingham|Sutton Coldfield (Warwickshire)|
|Coventry|Coventry|Allesley and Keresley from Meriden Rural District (Warwickshire)|||
|Dudley|Dudley|Halesowen and Stourbridge (Worcestershire)|||
|Sandwell|Warley and West Bromwich|_none_|||
|Solihull|Solihull|many parishes from Meriden Rural District, and Hockley Heath from Stratford-on-Avon Rural District (Warwickshire)|||
|Walsall|Walsall|Aldridge-Brownhills (Staffordshire)|||
|Wolverhampton|Wolverhampton|_none_|||
|rowspan=5|West Yorkshire|Bradford|Bradford|Baildon, Bingley, Denholme, Ilkley, Keighley, Queensbury and Shelf (part), Shipley, Silsden; part of Skipton Rural District (West Riding)|
|Calderdale|Halifax|Brighouse, Elland, Hebden Royd, Queensbury and Shelf (part), Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge, Todmorden, Hepton Rural District (West Riding)|||
|Kirklees|Dewsbury, Huddersfield|Batley, Colne Valley, Denby Dale, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Kirkburton, Meltham, Mirfield, Spenborough (West Riding)|||
|Leeds|Leeds|Aireborough, Garforth, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell; part of Tadcaster Rural District, part of Wetherby Rural District, part of Wharfedale Rural District (West Riding)|||
|Wakefield|Wakefield|Castleford, Featherstone, Hemsworth, Horbury, Knottingley, Normanton, Ossett, Pontefract, Stanley; Wakefield Rural District, part of Hemsworth Rural District, part of Osgoldcross Rural District (West Riding)|||

### Non-metropolitan counties

|Non-metropolitan county|Existing geographic county or subdivision|County boroughs|Other parts|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|rowspan=2|Avon|Gloucestershire|Bristol|southern part||
|Somerset|Bath|northern part (including Weston-super-Mare)||||
|Bedfordshire|Bedfordshire|Luton|all|||
|rowspan=2|Berkshire|Berkshire|Reading|all except part around Abingdon in Oxfordshire||
|Buckinghamshire|_none_|southern tip (including Slough)||||
|Buckinghamshire|Buckinghamshire|_none_|all except southern tip (including Slough) in Berkshire|||
|rowspan=2|Cambridgeshire|Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely|_none_|all||
|Huntingdon and Peterborough|_none_|all||||
|rowspan=2|Cheshire|Cheshire|Chester|all except Tintwistle Rural District (to Derbyshire), north-eastern urban area (to Greater Manchester), Wirral peninsula (to Merseyside)||
|Lancashire|Warrington|mid-southern part, including Widnes||||
|rowspan=2|Cleveland|Durham|Hartlepool|Stockton Rural District||
|Yorkshire, North Riding|Teesside|urban north||||
|Cornwall|Cornwall|_none_|all|||
|rowspan=4|Cumbria|Cumberland|Carlisle|all||
|Westmorland|_none_|all||||
|Lancashire|Barrow-in-Furness|North Lonsdale||||
|Yorkshire, West Riding|_none_|Sedbergh Rural District||||
|rowspan=2|Derbyshire|Derbyshire|Derby|all||
|Cheshire|_none_|Tintwistle Rural District||||
|Devon|Devon|Exeter, Plymouth, Torbay|all|||
|rowspan=2|Dorset|Dorset|_none_|all||
|Hampshire|Bournemouth|area around Christchurch||||
|Durham|Durham|Darlington|all except urban north-east (to Tyne and Wear) and Stockton Rural District (to Cleveland)|||
|East Sussex|East Sussex|Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings|all except eastern strip (to West Sussex)|||
|Essex|Essex|Southend-on-Sea|all|||
|Gloucestershire|Gloucestershire|Gloucester|all except southern part (to Avon)|||
|Hampshire|Hampshire|Portsmouth, Southampton|all except part around Christchurch (to Dorset)|||
|rowspan=2|Hereford and Worcester|Herefordshire|_none_|all||
|Worcestershire|Worcester|all except Stourbridge and Halesowen (to West Midlands)||||
|Hertfordshire|Hertfordshire|_none_|all|||
|rowspan=3|Humberside|Lincoln, Parts of Lindsey|Grimsby|northern strip including Scunthorpe and Cleethorpes||
|Yorkshire, East Riding|Kingston upon Hull|all except northern fringe||||
|Yorkshire, West Riding|_none_|Goole and Goole Rural District||||
|Isle of Wight|Isle of Wight|_none_|all|||
|Kent|Kent|Canterbury|all|||
|rowspan=2|Lancashire|Lancashire|Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, Preston|central part only (south-east to Greater Manchester, south-west part to Merseyside, mid-south to Cheshire, North Lonsdale to Cumbria)||
|Yorkshire, West Riding|_none_|area including Barnoldswick||||
|rowspan=2|Leicestershire|Leicestershire|Leicester|all||
|Rutland|_none_|all||||
|rowspan=3|Lincolnshire|Lincolnshire, Parts of Holland|_none_|all||
|Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey|Lincoln|all but northern strip including Scunthorpe and Cleethorpes||||
|Lincolnshire, Parts of Kesteven|_none_|||||
|rowspan=2|Norfolk|Norfolk|Norwich|_all_||
|East Suffolk|_none_|part of Lothingland Rural District near Great Yarmouth||||
|rowspan=3|North Yorkshire|North Riding of Yorkshire|rowspan=3|York|all except urban north (to Cleveland) and Startforth Rural District (to Durham)|
|Yorkshire, West Riding|northern part including Harrogate, Knaresborough and Selby|||||
|Yorkshire, East Riding|northern part including Filey|||||
|Northamptonshire|Northamptonshire|Northampton|all|||
|Northumberland|Northumberland|_none_|all except urban south-east (to Tyne and Wear)|||
|Nottinghamshire|Nottinghamshire|Nottingham|all except Finningley (to South Yorkshire)|||
|rowspan=2|Oxfordshire|Oxfordshire|Oxford|all||
|Berkshire|none|area around Abingdon||||
|Salop (Shropshire)|Salop|_none_|all|||
|Somerset|Somerset|_none_|all except northern part (including Weston-super-Mare)|||
|Staffordshire|Staffordshire|Burton upon Trent, Stoke-on-Trent|all except Aldridge-Brownhills|||
|Suffolk|East Suffolk and West Suffolk|Ipswich|all, except part of north-east Suffolk near Great Yarmouth to Norfolk|||
|Surrey|Surrey|_none_|all except Gatwick Airport|||
|Warwickshire|Warwickshire|_none_|all except Sutton Coldfield and Meriden Gap (to West Midlands)|||
|rowspan=2|West Sussex|West Sussex|_none_|all||
|East Sussex|_none_|eastern strip||||
|Wiltshire|Wiltshire|_none_|all|||

### Non-metropolitan districts

The Local Government Boundary Commission originally proposed 278 non-metropolitan districts in April 1972 (still working with the county boundaries found in the Bill).  A further eighteen districts were added in the final proposals of November 1972, which were then ordered.

The splits were as follows (in most cases the splits were not exact, and many other changes to the borders of the districts took place at this time)

- Devon: Torridge/North Devon
- Dorset : Weymouth and Portland/Purbeck,  North Dorset/East Dorset
- Durham : Wear Valley/Teesdale
- Hereford and Worcester : Hereford/South Herefordshire/Leominster
- Humberside: Holderness/North Wolds
- Isle of Wight: South Wight/Medina
- Lancashire: Hyndburn/Rossendale
- Leicestershire : Rutland/Melton, Harborough/Oadby and Wigston
- Lincolnshire: Boston/South Holland
- Northamptonshire: Daventry/South Northamptonshire
- Northumberland : Berwick-upon-Tweed/Alnwick
- Shropshire : Oswestry/North Shropshire, Bridgnorth/South Shropshire
- Somerset: Taunton Deane/West Somerset
- Suffolk: Forest Heath

The new district in Suffolk was necessitated by the decision to keep Newmarket in Suffolk; which would otherwise have become part of the South Cambridgeshire district.

### Isles of Scilly

Section 265 af the Act allowed for the continuation of the local government arrangements for the Isles of Scilly. The Isles of Scilly Rural District Council became the Council of the Isles of Scilly, and certain services were to continue to be provided by Cornwall County Council as provided by order in council made by the Secretary of State, although the Isles were not technically in Cornwall before or after 1974.

## Wales

|New county|Existing geographic county|County boroughs|Other parts||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|rowspan=3|Clwyd|Flintshire|_none_|all|
|Denbighshire|_none_|all except Llanrwst and area|||
|Merionethshire|_none_|Edeyrnion Rural District|||
|rowspan=3|Dyfed|Cardiganshire|_none_|all|
|Carmarthenshire|_none_|all|||
|Pembrokeshire|_none_|all|||
|rowspan=2|Gwent|Monmouthshire|Newport|except parts in Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan|
|Breconshire|_none_|Brynmawr and Llanelly|||
|rowspan=4|Gwynedd|Anglesey|_none_|all|
|Caernarvonshire|_none_|all|||
|Merionethshire|_none_|all except Edeyrnion Rural District|||
|Denbighshire|_none_|Llanrwst and area|||
|rowspan=3|Mid Glamorgan|Glamorgan|Merthyr Tydfil|Aberdare, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Pontypridd, Rhondda etc.|
|Breconshire|_none_|Penderyn and Vaynor|||
|Monmouthshire|_none_|Bedwas and Machen, Rhymney, part of Bedwellty|||
|rowspan=3|Powys|Montgomeryshire|_none_|all|
|Radnorshire|_none_|all|||
|Breconshire|_none_|all except parts to Gwent and Mid Glamorgan|||
|rowspan=2|South Glamorgan|Glamorgan|Cardiff|Barry, Cowbridge, Penarth|
|Monmouthshire|_none_|St Mellons|||
|West Glamorgan|Glamorgan|Swansea|Glyncorrwg, Neath, Llwchwr, Port Talbot||

## Elections

Elections were held to the new authorities on three different Thursdays in 1973.  Each new county and district was divided into electoral divisions. For county councils, each electoral division elected one member; for metropolitan district councils, each ward elected three members; and wards in non-metropolitan districts could elect a varying number of members.  There was not sufficient time to conduct a full warding arrangement so a temporary system was used: in some county councils electoral divisions elected multiple councillors.

## Other websites

- Text of The English Non-Metropolitan Districts Order 1972 (S.I 1972/2039)_Order_1972)