South West England - Definition and Overview

South West
Admin HQ	Bristol/Plymouth
Area  - Total	1st in England 23,829 km²
Population  - Total (2001)  - Density	7th in England 4,928,458 207/km²
NUTS 1:	UKK

South West England is one of the regions of England. It is in the south-west of the United Kingdom, and covers the area known as the West Country and much of the historical area of Wessex, although omitting Hampshire. Although referendums are planned on whether elected assemblies should be set up in some of the regions, there is none planned in the South West.

It was originally divided into just Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire. Since then, Avon has been abolished, and many districts have seceded from their original county.

South West England is one of the constituencies used for elections to the European Parliament. From the 2004 election onwards, Gibraltar is to be considered part of the region.

There is some controversy over the status of Cornwall within the region. While many consider it part of England, a significant minority consider it to be a nation in its own right. Most of these do not advocate independence, however, but devolution outside an artificial "Devonwall"/"South West" region. A petition for a Cornish assembly has received over 50,000 signatures.

External links

• Government Office for the South West (http://www.gosw.gov.uk)
• South West Regional Assembly (http://www.southwest-ra.gov.uk)
• South West Regional Development Agency (http://www.southwestrda.org.uk)
• Campaign for a Cornish Assembly (http://www.senedhkernow.com)

The United Kingdom (UK)
England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland
Regions of England
East of England | East Midlands | Greater London | North East | North West | South East | South West | West Midlands | Yorkshire and the Humber

Districts of England - South West England
Bath and North East Somerset | Bournemouth | Bristol | Caradon | Carrick | Cheltenham | Christchurch | Cotswold | East Devon | East Dorset | Exeter | Forest of Dean | Gloucester | Isles of Scilly | Kennet | Kerrier | Mendip | Mid Devon | North Cornwall | North Devon | North Dorset | North Somerset | North Wiltshire | Penwith | Plymouth | Poole | Purbeck | Restormel | Salisbury | Sedgemoor | South Gloucestershire | South Hams | South Somerset | Stroud | Swindon | Taunton Deane | Teignbridge | Tewkesbury | Torbay | Torridge | West Devon | West Dorset | West Somerset | West Wiltshire | Weymouth and Portland
Administrative counties with multiple districts: Cornwall - Devon - Dorset - Gloucestershire - Somerset - Wiltshire