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To: The UK Government

Pam's County Petition: Get Back Our British Counties

PETITION AND CAMPAIGN VIDEO: https://britishcounties.org/video

RESTORE the historic British counties to their rightful place. Make sure they are properly recognised, signposted and marked. Use them as a fixed frame of reference, for a variety of purposes, across all media.

*IF YOU are signing the petition, please state a reason why. This helps us know why people are supporting the campaign. Many thanks.

Why is this important?

THE 92 traditional - some say "historic" - counties of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales often date back more than a thousand years. They are an important part of the culture, geography and heritage of the United Kingdom. The public understand what they are, and they help create an identity that binds communities together. 

Since the 1960s-70s, in particular 1974, huge confusion has been caused to county identity in England, Scotland and Wales through successive legislative acts seeking to change administrative areas. 

These acts have eroded the role of the historic counties in the life of our nation, despite assurances by successive governments that the counties would be preserved as the basis for local identity.

All this has happened against the wishes and despite the protests of ordinary people, who have been forced against their will into living in new so-called administrative or "ceremonial" areas that do not correspond with their true county. 

We want - and need - legislation to ensure there is just one type of county in this country, namely the historic one. We seek to achieve this by removing all other "county" definitions, and by aligning all ceremonial boundaries to those of the historic counties.

Further, great care must be taken with the names of councils and service areas all over the country, and the counties must be marketed to preserve them into the future.

Pam Moorhouse, who started the petition in 2015, says: “I remember in 1974 when the government sent people all over the country setting up new councils and telling people they had to live in new areas. This was completely against the people's wishes. It upset millions. Why was this acceptable or fair?

"To this day, councils continue wiping out our history and denying it, on TV, in the media, in schools, even in museums, but people feel loyalty towards their traditional area. It is also vital young people know about what happened, otherwise our history will be lost forever. 

"People, not the government, should decide where you live. We need to make sure the changes of the past are undone. We need to get our counties back, and make sure this never happens again. 

“Please feel free to get in touch with your comments. All views are welcome. If you agree with the petition, please sign it. We want an initial 100,000 signatures to help get the support of enough parliamentarians to get our bill enacted.

"We look forward to your support."

You can find additional information on our website, comment on our social media pages, or contact British Counties Campaign chair Gerard Dugdill: [email protected] or call +44(0)7900 267988

If you want to contact Pam directly, please click on her name on the top left of the petition page and fill in the form.

Website: https://britishcounties.org/

NB. The map shows the 92 traditional counties of the UK.

www.britishcounties.org/video

How it will be delivered

To the government, online and printed names.

Links

Updates

2017-03-22 12:02:57 +0000

1,040 paper names as of 21/3/17. Trying to set up a meeting with DCLG. Also trying to get media support for campaign. [email protected]

2017-01-13 17:02:37 +0000

Thanks for all the comments, please keep them coming. We are trying to see if ABC (association of British counties) can support the campaign more fully. The aim is to have a launch event in parliament.

Gerard Dugdill 13/1/17
[email protected]

2016-12-02 16:34:19 +0000

967 paper names as of 2 December 2016.

2016-10-14 15:38:47 +0100

946 paper names as of 13 October 2016

2016-08-19 13:45:48 +0100

Campaign includes 832 paper names as of 19 August 2016

2016-07-03 22:07:42 +0100

723 paper names as of 30/6/16

2016-05-26 23:49:37 +0100

655 paper names as of 25/5/16

2016-04-25 15:40:47 +0100

Total includes 558 paper signatures, as of 25 April 2016

Gerard Dugdill
Campaign administrator

2016-03-21 11:59:10 +0000

Total includes 508 paper signatures, as of 21/3/16.

2016-03-02 11:58:27 +0000

Please note the campaign includes 470 paper signatures as of 1/3/16 collected by Pam in the north of Lincs

2015-12-01 17:26:50 +0000

The total includes 330 paper names

2015-11-28 12:48:17 +0000

I believe we can add about 330 paper names to the current tally, so that is heading us towards 400.

2015-11-22 18:04:00 +0000

25 signatures reached

2015-11-21 10:32:02 +0000

10 signatures reached

* A portion of the signature total has been collected offline and has not yet been verified by 38 Degrees.