Background
The Friends of Real Lancashire are concerned to promote what they view as, the true boundaries of the county, namely those of the County Palatine of Lancaster. The current local government boundary of Lancashire was established in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. Lancashire saw more upheaval from this Act than most counties, having most of its population transferred to the new counties: Manchester and the rest of south east Lancashire became part of Greater Manchester; Liverpool and the rest of south west Lancashire became part of Merseyside; Furness became part of Cumbria; and Warrington and Widnes became part of Cheshire.
According to the FORL website, in 1974 "the Government at that time stated that the "new counties" were administrative areas only, and that the boundaries of traditional counties such as Lancashire had not been changed. Unfortunately, the media refer to these administrative areas all too frequently and ignore the fact that places such as Barrow-in-Furness, Liverpool, Manchester, Warrington, etc. are still in Lancashire."
The boundary changes were not intended to affect loyalties but they caused concern in some areas and in practice it is the new boundaries which are now shown on maps and marked by road signs. They have also been widely adopted by the media as geographical designations, despite that many within the new counties continue to regard themselves as Lancastrians. The historic county boundaries continue to be used as the basis for organisations such as the Duchy of Lancaster, Lancashire County Cricket Club and Lancashire Football Association (although its area overlaps with Manchester Football Association).
The area under the control of Lancashire County Council, or shire county, became even smaller in 1998 when Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen became unitary authorities. Although they remain part of the ceremonial county, they are often no longer mapped as part of Lancashire and "Welcome to Lancashire" road signs have been placed on their boundaries with the shire county.
The group counts at least six MPs amongst its supporters and has been mentioned in Hansard. It has received limited support within local government, and its campaign has also mentioned in the local press. Lancashire Life magazine identifies itself as an enthusiastic supporter of the group and continues to cover the historic county area.
Read more about this topic: Friends Of Real Lancashire
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