Editing England (section)

===Subdivisions===
{{Main|Subdivisions of England}}
{{See also|Regions of England|Combined authority|Counties of England|Districts of England}}
{{England Ceremonial Counties Labelled Map|Londonprefix = Greater|WMsuffix = (county)|float=center|width=400}}

The [[subdivisions of England]] consist of up to four levels of [[administrative division|subnational division]], controlled through a variety of types of administrative entities created for the purposes of [[local government in England|local government]].

Outside the London region, England's highest tier is the 48 [[Ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial counties]].<ref name="britannicagov">{{harvnb|Encyclopædia Britannica|2002|p=100}}</ref> These are used primarily as a geographical frame of reference. Of these, 38 developed gradually since the [[Middle Ages]]; these were reformed to 51 in 1974 and to their current number in 1996.<ref name="maud">{{harvnb|Redcliffe-Maud|Wood|1974}}.</ref> Each has a [[Lord Lieutenant]] and [[High Sheriff]]; these posts are used to represent the [[British monarch]] locally.<ref name="britannicagov" /> Some counties, such as [[Herefordshire]], are only divided further into civil parishes. The royal county of Berkshire and the metropolitan counties have different types of status to other ceremonial counties.<ref>{{Cite web |last=abcounties.com |date=26 June 2013 |title=The problem of 'county confusion' – and how to resolve it |url=https://abcounties.com/counties/county-confusion/ |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=Association of British Counties}}</ref>

The second tier is made up of [[combined authorities]] and the 27 [[County Council|county-tier]] [[shire counties]]. In 1974, all ceremonial counties were two-tier; and with the metropolitan county tier phased out, the 1996 reform separated the ceremonial county and the administrative county tier.

England is also divided into local government districts.<ref name="localgov">{{harvnb|Singh|2009|p=53}}.</ref> The district can align to a ceremonial county, or be a district tier within a [[shire counties|shire county]], be a [[royal borough|royal]] or [[metropolitan borough]], have [[Borough status in the United Kingdom|borough]] or [[city status in the United Kingdom|city status]], or be a [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]].

At the community level, much of England is divided into [[civil parishes in England|civil parishes]] with their own [[Parish councils in England|councils]]; in Greater London only one such parish, [[Queen's Park, London|Queen's Park]], exists {{as of|2014|lc=y}} after they were [[London Government Act 1963|abolished in 1965]] until legislation [[Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007|allowed their recreation]] in 2007.

====London====
From 1994 until the early 2010s England was divided for a few purposes into regions; a [[1998 Greater London Authority referendum|1998 referendum]] for the London Region created the [[London Assembly]] two years later.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cooper |first=Hilary |date=29 March 2011 |title=Tiers shed as regional government offices disappear |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/mar/29/regional-government-disappears-1500-jobs-lost |access-date=16 June 2011}}</ref> A failed [[2004 North East England devolution referendum]] cancelled further [[Regional Assemblies in England|regional assembly]] devolution<ref name="The Times 2004-11-05">{{Cite news |last1=Sherman |first1=Jill |last2=Andrew Norfolk |date=5 November 2004 |title=Prescott's dream in tatters as North East rejects assembly |work=The Times |location=London |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article503255.ece |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525121618/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article503255.ece |archive-date=25 May 2010}}</ref> with the regional structure outside London abolished.

Administratively, London is divided between 33 [[local government districts]]: the 32 [[London boroughs]] and the [[City of London]].<ref>{{harvnb|Axford|2002|p=315}}.</ref> The 32 London boroughs form the ceremonial county of Greater London, with the City of London being a separate ceremonial county.