Local Government Act 1985
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| Long title | An Act to abolish the Greater London Council and the metropolitan county councils; to transfer their functions to the local authorities in their areas and, in some cases, to other bodies; and to provide for other matters consequential on, or connected with, the abolition of those councils. |
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| Citation | 1985 c.51 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 16 July 1985 |
| Commencement | 1 April 1986 |
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Status: Unknown
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| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Local Government Act 1985 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Its main effect was to abolish the six county councils of the metropolitan counties that had been set up in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, along with the Greater London Council that had been established in 1965. In their place many single purpose authorities known collectively as 'joint authorities' were established for fire service, police and passenger transport. An ad hoc education authority was established for Inner London and a planning authority for Greater London. The legislation permitted councils to form 'joint arrangements' for waste disposal and other services that they wished to provide together. Time-limited residuary bodies were created to dispose of the assets of the former authorities.
Following the victory of the Conservative Party at the 1979 general election, Margaret Thatcher's government were involved in a series of high-profile disputes with the GLC and Metropolitan County Councils. All of the authorities were controlled by, or came under the control of the opposition Labour Party during Thatcher's first term. The Conservative manifesto for the 1983 general election pledged their abolition, describing the councils as "a wasteful and unnecessary tier of government". Having won a landslide victory, the government published a white paper: Streamlining the cities, and its proposals formed the basis of the Local Government Bill.
The core provision, section 1, stated that "the Greater London Council; and the metropolitan county councils" shall cease to exist. It came into effect on 1 April 1986, with some powers being devolved to the metropolitan boroughs themselves and London boroughs and others to joint authorities (such as for fire or police purposes) consisting of members of each of the metropolitan district councils within each county. The measures enacted by the act had been proposed in the white paper Streamlining the cities in 1983. At the time of the Act, one third of the population of England were living in Greater London and the metropolitan counties.
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