Humberside - Abolition

Abolition

Humberside was not well-loved, and to quote James Cran (MP for Beverley), "almost the day after the decision was announced, a campaign began to have Humberside abolished". North Wolds Borough Council changed its name to East Yorkshire Borough Council, likely to emphasise this, and Beverley Borough Council formally included 'East Yorkshire' in its name. According to Cran there was a campaign in 1987 to get Humberside County Council to change its name to something like 'East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire'.

This attitude was reported as less common in the port towns of the county - The Times noted that Hull and Grimsby "regard the advantages of unification as an exciting prospect".

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England advised the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Heseltine, in 1982 that "a review of the Humberside county boundary warranted". The Local Government Boundary Commission reviewed the existence of Humberside from 1985 to 1988, but found that "that Humberside County Council could not be shown to have failed". The Secretary of State for the Environment called for a further review in 1989, which ultimately resulted in a proposal made in November 1990, to transfer the four districts south of the Humber to the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire (which would have left the remaining part north of the Humber free to change its name to include Yorkshire). A report prepared for the LGBC in 1990 indicated that 63% of respondents thought that the creation of Humberside was "bad", 14% that it was "good")

However, before this could be implemented, a general local government review for England was announced. This was being conducted with an eye to creating unitary authorities, and Humberside was one of the areas that the Commission was expecting "early wins" in, and was in the first tranche of reviews. The Commission recommended it and its districts be abolished and replaced with four unitary authorities, which the government accepted. The Order to do so was debated in the House of Commons on 28 February 1995, and in the House of Lords on 6 March 1995, and came into effect on 1 April 1996.

This resulted in four successor unitary authorities:

• Kingston upon Hull
• East Riding of Yorkshire: Beverley, East Yorkshire, Holderness, and northern Boothferry
• North Lincolnshire: Glanford, Scunthorpe and southern Boothferry
• North East Lincolnshire: Great Grimsby, Cleethorpes

There was some debate as to the fate of the Goole area (historically part of the West Riding). The Secretary of State (John Gummer) originally proposed that Goole should be "incorporated in Selby of North Yorkshire", but ultimately it was decided to associate it with the rest of North Humberside.

There were also questions raised as to whether the boundaries of Hull should be expanded from their present boundaries (which had been set many decades ago and not altered, despite continuous urbanisation outside these borders in the former urban district of Haltemprice).

Michael Brown the Conservative MP for Brigg and Cleethorpes, was particularly vociferous in support of the Order, saying 'I want to see the word "Humberside" expunged from the English language' in the debate regarding its abolition.

There were to be heard few voices in its defence. Elliot Morley, Labour MP for Glanford and Scunthorpe claimed that 'young people who were born in Humberside and have an affinity with Humberside identify with it', although he agreed that the council was a 'flawed idea'.

The office of Lord Lieutenant of Humberside was also abolished. The Yorkshire part became the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire (which includes Hull); the Lincolnshire part reverted to Lincolnshire for ceremonial purposes. The whole of the area once covered by the former non-metropolitan county of Humberside, including the Lincolnshire parts, is part of the government office region of Yorkshire and the Humber (originally Yorkshire and Humberside).