2018 Review — North West England

[islington]

That's true. Other examples are Broxbourne and Knowsley.

I'm not wild about these names, to be honest, but at least the authority is named after a proper place, albeit relatively small and obscure. This is much better than the completely meaningless and jejune Hertsmere and Castle Point, to say nothing of authorities named after a location of historical significance that, er, actually lies outside the boundary of the authority in question (Kirklees, Runnymede).

[John Chanin]

As I'm old enough to remember this stuff, it needs to be pointed out that it was far from easy to find names for the new councils, as generally the majority of the district outside the largest town weren't going to be subsumed by it. Actually I think quite a lot of thought went into finding names which were imaginative and widely acceptable. The Boundary Commission which came into effect in 1983 then used these new council names for,the same reason. It has gone out of fashion, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't sensibly motivated.