Bryan Gregory and Desmond Wilcox of the British Counties Campaign. Many Warringtonians north of the River Mersey consider themselves Lancastrians. Others say they're from Cheshire. Who is correct and why are people confused? Warrington residents and proud Lancashire lads Bryan Gregory and Des Wilcox of the British Counties Campaign were guests of Andy Green and … Continue reading BCC’s Bryan and Des on the wireless!
Author: BritishCounties
The government wants counties to show pride in their historic roots and hold special celebrations to boost community pride. The government is encouraging local councils to engender community pride. Britain’s historic counties have undergone many indignities in recent decades. Middlesex became part of Greater London in 1965. Yorkshire, which had been divided into the East, … Continue reading Britain should celebrate its regional diversity with local celebrations – Daily Express, 23 April 2019.
Westmorland Boundary Stone and Road Sign cca 1970. Councils should do more to promote 'county days' and historic boundaries says Government minister Jake Berry Historic county day celebrations should be revived to boost community pride, according to new Government guidance for councils. Local authorities should also look to fly their county flags and erect signs … Continue reading Councils should do more to promote ‘county days’ and historic boundaries says Government minister Jake Berry – The Telegraph, 21 April 2019.
This announcement from Jake Berry MP, published in Sunday's Telegraph, came as a surprise to the British Counties Campaign as we have been trying for a while to confirm his support for our campaign, especially as he's already a patron of FORL and with our common aims he'd be a valuable ally to our cause. … Continue reading English counties urged to fly their flags to ‘boost community pride and tourism’ – The Telegraph, 30 Dec 2018.
Oyez, oyez, oyez… Red Rose blooms on Lancashire Day, by Michael Thomas. Ulverston Town Crier - Mr Peter Winston. Visitors were forced to take a second look yesterday as the Lancashire Day proclamation was read out in Ulverston. Ulverston's Town Crier was in market square yesterday to mark all things Lancastrian. Afterall a large part … Continue reading Lancashire Day 2018 – Ulverston and Barrow.
Mr Colin Ballard reads the Lancashire Day proclamation in Warrington. British Counties Campaign (BCC) wants the current 'ceremonial' counties to be abolished and hopes the boundaries of traditional counties will be marked on maps and signage in the future. Historically, Warrington was located within Lancashire but, following local government reforms in 1974, it became a … Continue reading Lancashire Day 2018 – Warrington.
BCC advert in the Yorkshire Post - November 2018.
Following on from the successful parliamentary launch at Portcullis House in the Houses of Parliament back in April this year, the British Counties Campaign has chosen the West Riding of Yorkshire to host its Northern Launch at Leeds Town Hall this Saturday 10th November 2018 between 1 and 4 pm. All Members of Parliament, general public … Continue reading BCC’s Northern Launch – Leeds 10 Nov 2018.
Bordering on chaos – Britain’s ‘dog’s breakfast’ county map. It was the most unpopular reform of its day. A Government mandate, perhaps influenced by its new European partners, swept away centuries of tradition and consigned Britain’s evocative county names to history. Now, a campaign has been mounted to put them back on the map. Yorkshire … Continue reading Article in the Yorkshire Post, 09 Nov 2018.
History matters. Our history matters. It forms a crucial part of our heritage. It should not be thrown into the rubbish bin, but be preserved and cherished, for future generations to appreciate. Geography matters. We all have a sense of who we are based on where we are, where we come from, where we live, … Continue reading Henry Smith MP: Why our ancient counties need preserving.
Where do we stand? A constant question, but rarely meant as literally as it might be: I am standing in Hertfordshire, no one would deny, and if I drive ten minutes down the road I am in Middlesex. There though a question arises: no official map will show Middlesex and no signpost welcomes me there, … Continue reading Rupert Barnes: Restoring our historic counties would show respect for local identity.
The campaign is organised by volunteers, we give our time freely as it's something we strongly believe in. The website costs around £120 per year to maintain, including Hosting, Domain Name, SSL Certification and Backup. Other costs include newspaper advertisements and promotions. In addition to supporting the campaign, if you would like to help us … Continue reading Donate with PayPal.
BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire's Tim Iredale interviewed campaign founder Pam Moorhouse and one of our supporting MPs Martin Vickers during the Parliamentary Launch on 17th April 2018, it was broadcast later that day on BBC Look North. Pam and Martin talk about the meaningless unitary authority names being used and promoted in the media and … Continue reading BBC Look North, 17 April 2018.
On Tuesday 17th April the British Counties Campaign held its Parliamentary Launch in Portcullis House in the Houses of Parliament. With the Campaign’s Founder Pam Moorhouse, Manager Gerard Dugdill and Champion MP Mr Henry Smith and a number of cross-party supporters including Mr Jonathan Djanogly MP and Martin Vickers MP in attendance as well as … Continue reading Campaign Parliamentary Launch, 17th April 2018.
On 23rd April 2018 an article by Christopher Hope, Chief Political Correspondent for The Telegraph was published: Four in 10 Britons still using traditional county names to describe where they live. More than four in 10 people are still using traditional county names to describe where they live, rather than more modern administrative districts. A poll … Continue reading Article in The Telegraph, 23 April 2018.
An article about Pam's crusade was published in The Grimsby Telegraph on 13 April 2018: Grimsby campaigner explains why she wants us to stop saying we live in North East Lincolnshire. Retired factory worker Pam Moorhouse is taking her campaign to restore the historic counties to Parliament. Our Parliamentary Correspondent Patrick Daly spoke to the Grimsby campaigner who wants … Continue reading Grimsby Telegraph, 13 April 2018.
An article about the campaign was published in The Grimsby Telegraph on 14th September 2017: MP backs bid to replace 'confusing' North-East Lincolnshire name with simply Lincolnshire. Cleethorpes Tory MP Martin Vickers is backing the British Counties Campaign which wants to end the use of North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire in addresses. A local MP … Continue reading Grimsby Telegraph, 14 Sept 2017.
Royal Mail abolished its nonsensical 'Postal Counties' years ago, but now there's a new menace: Unitary Authorities - These are NOT part of your address... Following the 1972 Local Government Act which established new 'administrative counties' from April 1974, Royal Mail jumped on the county-chaos bandwagon and introduced its own 'postal counties' in July of … Continue reading Are you properly addressed?
Let’s end this county chaos and restore traditional boundaries! A Wiganer is launching an official political campaign to end county chaos and restore the traditional areas of the country. Gerard Dugdill, who is originally from Springfield, has co-founded the British Counties Campaign to protect the 92 historic counties and finally sweep away the effects of … Continue reading Article in The Wigan Observer, 27 March 2018.
Forty four years ago today, April 1st 1974, the 1972 Local Government Act came into force, abolishing many county councils. The Act did not abolish the historic, proper counties which had existed for hundreds of years prior to county councils being formed in 1888. Proper, real Yorkshire - and other counties including Lancashire, still and … Continue reading On this day in 1974…
On Tuesday 17th April between 2-6 p.m. the British Counties Campaign will hold the Parliamentary Launch in Portcullis House in the Houses of Parliament. With the Campaign's Champion MP Mr Henry Smith and a number of cross-party supporters including Mr Jonathan Djanogly MP and Sir David Amess MP in attendance we will officially launch the … Continue reading Parliamentary Launch, 17th April 2018.
The letter and article in the Telegraph was reported on in The Daily Mail on 12th September: Strong borders! Make county names clearer, say MPs as campaigners claim local council districts have blurred traditional boundaries. MPs are backing calls to reinforce Great Britain's centuries-old county borders on maps and road signs. Campaigners say traditional boundaries … Continue reading Article in The Daily Mail, 12 Sept 2017.
On 10th September 2017 a letter from the British Counties Campaign was published in The Telegraph: Britain needs to bring back historic counties on signs, maps and posts to “eliminate confusion” for hundreds of villages and towns, MPs say today Five Tory MPs and one DUP MP have signed a letter to today's edition of … Continue reading Article in The Telegraph, 10 Sep 2017.
On 10th September 2017 a letter from the British Counties campaign was published in The Telegraph: SIR - Our 92 counties, many of them 1,000 years old, are a key part of our heritage as geographic and cultural reference points. While in Northern Ireland county identity is clear, in England, Scotland and Wales the situation … Continue reading Letter published in The Telegraph, 10 Sep 2017.