Traditional counties

SIR – Further to your excellent coverage of our campaign to restore awareness of Britain’s traditional counties (report, April 23), it is true that these historical entities still exist in law (Letters, April 24).

As our Ipsos-mori survey also showed, the new administrative areas introduced by the 1974 reforms caused huge confusion. As secretary of state, Eric Pickles did recognise the old counties in 2013.

The hard work starts now in enforcing such recognition as necessary; hence our campaign with the Conservative MP Henry Smith and other parliamentarians to get a Bill into statute. Gerard Dugdill

British Counties Campaign Enfield, Middlesex

SIR – The 1974 government reform resulted in unwanted boundary changes and new county names.

Here in East Yorkshire, we thought we had got rid of “North Humberside” many years ago, but the police, NHS, fire service, banks and so on have clung at least to the “Humberside” part, which includes northern Lincolnshire.

That encourages people from other parts of the country to continue using it in postal communication, though last month I was disgusted to receive a publication from elsewhere in Yorkshire so addressed.

Any chance of our three Ridings returning, with York as their independent centre? Phillip Crossland

Driffield, East Yorkshire