EU must be joking! Bureaucrats lump Shropshire in with Staffordshire
They are two proud counties with their own traditions, industrial heritage and economic challenges.
But as far as administrators in Europe are concerned, Shropshire and Stafford are apparently one and the same.
The European Union has linked the two counties together as part of a statistical analysis named the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics – or "Nuts" as it has been nicknamed by its critics.
The EU breaks up regions when putting together figures or carrying out analysis.
Shropshire:
Population: 306,100
Size: 1,346 square miles
Motto: Floreat Salopia May Shropshire Flourish
Claims to fame: The Flax Mill the worlds first skyscraper; birthplace of the Olympics and of the Industrial Revolution.
Staffordshire:
Population: 849,600
Size: 1,049 square miles
Motto: The Knot Unites
Claims to fame: Lichfield Cathedral, head of the diocese that includes parts of Shropshire; Staffordshire Hoard, Stoke pottery.
It is not known how the decision to effectively merge Shropshire and Staffordshire could affect the counties in future rulings by the EU on issues like funding.
But, strangely, while the two counties are joined up, the part of Shropshire that takes in Telford & Wrekin is not included in the EU area.
And counties like Herefordshire also maintain their own identity.
Ukip West Midlands MEP Jill Seymour says she is suspicious of the motives of the EU, saying the decision to "lump" the counties together seems "bizarre".
She said: "We aren't quite sure if this will affect the counties themselves, but I am quite concerned about how the EU sees us. The two counties are very different when it comes to farming and industry and all of those sorts of things.
"It says it hopes to break statistics down by country region and county.
"But it is an odd thing to do to Shropshire and Staffordshire and not other counties – some have been grouped and some have not.
"The question I am asking is why?"
The revelation comes as the debate about English regions and devolution have been raised.
Birmingham and the Black Country boroughs of Wolverhampton,Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley are to be linked as part of a plan to hold more powers from Westminster.
