Local Government Act 1972

Common card · No. 387840

The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Government of 1970–74. The act took the total number of councils in England from 1,245 to 412 (excluding parish councils), and in Wales to 45. Its pattern of two-tier metropolitan and non-metropolitan county and district councils remained in use until the 2020s in large parts of England, although the metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986, and both county and district councils were often replaced with unitary authorities in many areas since the 1990s. In Wales, too, the Act established a similar pattern of counties and districts, but these have since been entirely replaced with a system of unitary authorities. Elections were held to the new authorities in 1973, and they acted as "shadow authorities" until the handover date. Elections to county...

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