h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm disappointed to see Middlesex not there, but as the list relates to the 1974 reorganisation (I assume) I'm not surprised. Our county council was abolished in 1965, but nevertheless it is still a historic county and Greater London is not. The Post Office still recognises us in addresses, we still have the cricket team; Middlesex is not dead!

Yes, the list did relate to the 1974 changes, but I have added Middlesex to the list anyway.

Greater London is historic enough to be mentioned in a 1931 book, so I am leaving Greater London in the list.

The text still says: "In the early 1970s the names of the counties in the UK were changed, and the boundaries of the counties also changed."

Of course this refers to local government and not the counties themselves. The counties' names weren't changed or their borders changed!

Also, "The Historic Counties and their County Towns were"
this should be "are" not "were" :O)

This is an unedited article and as such does not need to be factually correct and can be my opinion or just complete tosh. Whatever I like.

However I do know that Wales have changed some of their counties back and I notice you are interested in Wales, so I will change it to "England" and remove all references to Wales.

In England the counties have changed in my opinion. Liverpool and Manchester are no longer in Lancashire for instance.

The counties have not changed. Merseyside, Greater London and Cumbria for example are all current or recent areas that are or were administered as one entity to provide local services over its designated area. These have been created through Act of Parliament and are not true counties which have been formed over hundreds of years. It is only the media and map makers who insist upon basing the "county" upon areas of local government, and councils themselves who fear that their own area will not be recognised by its own people. Please understand that the administrative county is not a true county. On that basis would you really suggest that unitary authorities such as Thurrock or Bath and North East Somerset are counties in their own right because they are higher tiers of local government. The administravive county is NOT the same as the historic county. Simply because Huntingdonshire, Westmorland and Middlesex do not have a county council does not mean that the county has dissapeared off the face of the map, in spite of what people and organisations may think. If you think that way then seeing as Merseyside County Council was abolished in 1986, even if the arguement that this is or was a county could be agreed, on the basis of Westmorland not being a county any more, neither is Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire etc.