| | The neutrality of this article is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page. |
 ABC map of counties, based approximately on "reputed boundaries" from first edition Ordnance Survey maps The Association of British Counties (ABC) is one of a small number of pressure groups in the United Kingdom dedicated to promoting the traditional counties of Britain. Its current president is the astrologer Russell Grant. The chairman of the Association is Peter Boyce. Image File history File links Stop_hand. ...
Image File history File links ABC_Great_Britain_counties. ...
An advocacy group, interest group or lobbying group is a group, however loosely or tightly organized, doing advocacy: those determined to encourage or prevent changes in public policy without trying to be elected. ...
The British Isles may be divided into the following traditional counties (also ancient or geographic counties or historic counties). ...
Astrology refers to any of several systems, traditions or beliefs in which knowledge of the apparent positions of celestial bodies is held to be useful in understanding, interpreting, and organizing knowledge about human affairs and events on earth. ...
Russell Grant (born 5 February 1951) is a popular astrologer and media personality in the United Kingdom. ...
The significance of ABC is hard to ascertain, there being no data on membership published on its website, and no evidence of widespread coverage in the British news media. Political parties with a manifesto commitment to adopt the cause include the United Kingdom Independence Party. The "traditional counties movement" does claim some minor successes. There is no indication of ABC's role in these. The United Kingdom has a diverse range of different types of media. ...
Political parties in the United Kingdom lists political parties in the United Kingdom. ...
The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced you-kip) is a Eurosceptic political party that aims at British withdrawal from the European Union. ...
Claims
ABC claims that the traditional counties are an important part of Britain's cultural heritage and as such should be preserved and promoted. To this end it has produced a postal directory putting British place names in the corresponding traditional county with respect to the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844, in addition to cross-referencing this with various other administrative areas, noting alternatives where the correct county is debatable and providing detailed discussion of these instances where they occur. It should be noted that the boundaries and designations of counties have changed a number of times in British history, so the designation of the asserted boundaries as "historic" or "traditional" is itself contentious. For example, the historic county of Fife, in Scotland, might more justifiably be characterised as the historic Kingdom of Fife. The Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. ...
Britain may be understood in a number of ways (See Britain). ...
Fife (Fìobh in Gaelic) is a council area of Scotland, situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with landward boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. ...
Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (Eng: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ...
It also seeks to bring about an official change in government terminology to bring it in line with its interpretation of the Local Government Act 1888 — the original piece of legislation which created the modern administrative counties of England and Wales, though there have since been several further changes. The Act specifically called them "administrative counties", and the ABC wishes to see this terminology consistently used to describe them. Also it wishes to see the term 'county' stripped from the unitary authorities that use it, a measure which it claims will remove what it sees as confusion resulted from the status of various entities termed counties since 1889. In particular, ABC uses scare quotes around the word 'county' when not referring to the traditional counties. Terminology is the set of all the terms related to a given subject field or discipline. ...
The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. ...
The division into counties is one of the larger divisions of England. ...
For an explanation of often confusing terms such as Great Britain, Britain, United Kingdom and England, see British Isles (terminology). ...
In journalism, scare quotes are quotation marks used in a context other than to identify a direct quotation. ...
Other policies Other policies include: - Compelling the Ordnance Survey to mark traditional county borders on their maps
- Lobbying for the erection of boundary signs at the boundaries of traditional counties
- Making the ceremonial counties match the historic ones
- That the English regions should be redefined in to order ensure that counties 'be brought wholly within one region or another'
The latter point would mean various local authorities would need to be changed, a change for which there is no evidence of current political will. Currently the border between the London region and the South-East and East regions straddles numerous former county borders - so these regions would probably need to be merged. Some areas not part of Yorkshire and the Humber would be moved to a different local authority in order that they could be part of this region, as region boundaries never split authorities. Also North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire would become part of the East Midlands Region, where the administrative county of Lincolnshire is located. This policy is mainly designed to safeguard the local attachment and identification with the historic counties, should England be split in regional assemblies. Otherwise, the ABC fears [citation needed], having a single historic county falling within more than one region could have an adverse effect on people's cultural ties to their home county . This point is debatable since the British population is quite mobile and also includes a number of ethnic and social sub-groups, so cultural identification with counties is not universal, although there is evidence of county identification in natives of counties with long-standing rivalries such as Yorkshire and Lancashire. Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. ...
The Ceremonial counties of England are areas of England that are appointed a Lord-Lieutenant, and are defined by the government with reference to administrative counties of England. ...
Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st...
The region (sometimes known as Government Office Region) is currently the highest level of local government in England. ...
The region (sometimes known as Government Office Region) is currently the highest level of local government in England. ...
Yorkshire and The Humber is one of the regions of England. ...
North East Lincolnshire is a unitary authority in the north east of England, bordering onto North Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire. ...
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority in England, established in April 1996, one of the first unitary councils. ...
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England and consists of most of the eastern half of the tradional region of the Midlands. ...
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the East Midlands of England. ...
The White Yorkshire rose. ...
Lancashire is a county in the North of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ...
However, it also states on its FAQ:
- Q. Does ABC seek further local government reorganisation ?
- A. No, but we do wish to see reforms to certain parts of local government terminology.
Successes Successes for the "traditional counties movement" are claimed to include: - Successfully lobbying the Royal Mail to have traditional counties included in the Postcode Address File's Alias record, which now gives the ability to determine the traditional county for any UK postcode.
- The erection of signs marking the traditional boundary between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire on the A59. [1]
Two minor political parties, the English Democrats Party and the UK Independence Party, have in the past included measures supportive of the traditional counties movement in their local or national manifestos, but neither party has a current manifesto commitment as of March 2006. Royal Mails logo Royal Mail is the national postal service of the United Kingdom. ...
The Postcode Address File (PAF) is a data file available from the Royal Mail. ...
The English Democrats Party, previously the English National Party, is a political party in England, which seeks the establishment of a Parliament for England with at least the same powers as those granted to the Scottish Parliament. ...
The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced you-kip) is a right-wing political party that aims at British withdrawal from the European Union. ...
See also County Watch is a direct action group which was set up in 2004 to remove what they consider to be wrongly-placed County boundary signs that do not mark the historic, traditional County boundaries of Britian. ...
References - Russell Grant (1996). The Real Counties of Britain, Virgin Books. ISBN 1852274794.
- Local Government Act 1888
- ABC response to Government white paper 'Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions'
- ABC response to Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales review of preserved counties
The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. ...
External link - ABC web site (generally does not work after midnight UK time)
|
Feeds |
Contact