Prior to the 1970s, the UK had had a mixed system of local government, with some areas being covered by a county council and a more local district council, while large towns had only a single tier of authority (in England and Wales these were termed county boroughs, and in Scotland 'counties of cities').
In 1990, Thatcher's government introduced the Community Charge, popularly known as the Poll Tax, a new way of funding local councils based on a fixed per-head fee.
[2] Eventually, Thatcher was ousted by her own party,[3] and the new Conservative leader and Prime Minister, John Major, pledged to abolish the Community Charge.
In some cases the names of traditional counties were revived as administrative areas, although often with vastly different borders.
This was partially reversed in 1996, with Anglesey, Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Monmouthshire and Pembrokeshire all reappearing as local government areas, although not necessarily with their traditional borders.