Metropolitan county

Metropolitan county
Category	Counties
Location	England
Found in	Regions
Created by	Local Government Act 1972
Created	1 April 1974
Number	6
Additional status	Ceremonial counties
Populations	1.2–2.8 million
Subdivisions	Metropolitan district

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Politics of England
The Crown Monarch: Charles III Heir Apparent: William, Prince of Wales Republicanism in the United Kingdom
Governance King-in-Council: Charles III Prime Minister: Keir Starmer (L) Deputy Prime Minister: Angela Rayner (L)
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Metropolitan counties are a subdivision of England which were originally used for local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and West Yorkshire.

The metropolitan counties were created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales. They were the top tier of a two-tier system of counties and metropolitan boroughs, and were created to govern large urban areas. In 1986 their county councils were abolished, and since then the metropolitan counties have had no local government role. The local government functions were largely taken over by the metropolitan boroughs, with joint boards created to co-ordinate some county-wide services.^[1] The metropolitan counties are all ceremonial counties which share their borders.

All of the metropolitan boroughs belong to combined authorities, which are statutory bodies introduced in 2011 that allow local authorities to voluntarily pool responsibilities and collaborate. The combined authorities for Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, West Midlands and West Yorkshire cover the same areas as the metropolitan counties; the boroughs of Merseyside are part of the Liverpool City Region, and those of Tyne and Wear are part of the North East Combined Authority.^[2]