Regions of England
The Region is the first level of administrative division, below the United Kingdom national government, within the country of England. Historically, the administrative divisions of England included Counties, Unitarian Authorities and Metropolitan counties. There were many attempts to rationalise these small divisions into a regional structure after World War Two. In 1972, the Local Government Act reformed the administration of Scotland and Wales into regions but implementation in England was delayed and piecemeal. Some government departments set up regional offices with limited roles and the boundaries varied from department to department. In 1994, under John Major's government, 10 regional offices were set up in order to standardise the regional boundaries across all departments. The new Labor government in 1997 used the regional setup to establish Regional Development Agencies. Later, in 1998, the Region of Merseyside was merged into the North East Region, reducing the number to just 9 Regions. The regions borders also form the European Parliament constituencies for England.
Only one region - London - has a directly elected administration in the form of the London Assembly, Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The other regions have appointed assemblies containing members nominated by the county councils within each region. A referendum was held on 4 November 2004 in the North East Region on whether people wanted and elected assembly with devolved powers. The proposal was rejected and plans for referendums in other regions have been put on hold indefinitely.
Catalog of Regions
| Name | Regional HQ | European Parliament Representative[1] |
Land-area (km²) | Population[2] | Subdivisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | Newcastle |
|
8,573[3] | 2,515,442 | x Ceremonial counties Which further divide into x District |
| North West | Liverpool and Manchester |
|
14,165[4] | 6,729,800 | x Ceremonial counties Which further divide into |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | Leeds and Sheffield |
|
15,411[5] | 4,964,838 | x Ceremonial counties Which further divide into |
| West Midlands | Birmingham |
|
12,998[6] | 5,267,337 | x Ceremonial counties Which further divide into |
| East Midlands | Melton Mowbray |
|
15,607[7] | 4,172,179 | x Ceremonial counties Which fruther divide into |
| East | Cambridge |
|
5,388,154 | x Ceremonial counties Which further divide into |
|
| London | Southwark |
|
1,572[8] | 7,172,036 | x Ceremonial counties Which further divide into |
| South East | Guildford |
|
19,200[9] | 8,000,550 | x Ceremonial counties Which further divide into |
| South West | Bristol and Plymouth |
|
4,928,458 | x Ceremonial counties Which further divide into |
Key to Political Parities
Conservative; Group of the European People's party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats.
Labour; Group of the party of European Socialists.
Liberal Democrat; Group of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform party.
Green; Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance
Uk Independence Party; Group for a Europe of Democracies and Diversities
Independent; Non-attached member
References
- ↑ Full list of the UK's MEPs. Guardian. Retrieved on December 05, 2007.
- ↑ Estimated figures for 2005. Population Estimates. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved on May 12, 2007.
- ↑ North East Fact File. Government Office for the English Regions. Retrieved on December 05, 2007.
- ↑ NWRA :: The Region. North West Regional Assembly. Retrieved on May 12, 2007.
- ↑ Yorkshire & Humber Assembly. Yorkshire and Humber Assembly. Retrieved on May 12, 2007.
- ↑ West Midlands Fact File. Government Office for the English Regions. Retrieved on December 05, 2007.
- ↑ East Midlands Fact File. Government Office for the English Regions. Retrieved on December 05, 2007.
- ↑ London Fact File. Government Office for the English Regions. Retrieved on December 05, 2007.
- ↑ South East Fact File. Government Office for the English Regions. Retrieved on December 05, 2007.