On the 1st April, 1974 a nationwide redrawing of the council map saw Liverpool become part of Merseyside. Previously a part of Lancashire and a county borough from 1889, it's now been 50 years since the changes came into effect. We've been on the streets of Liverpool to get your thoughts.
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00:00 In the old days Southport was part of Lancashire and Stockport was part of Cheshire and all the rest of it, yes.
00:09 If you live on Merseyside everybody tends to take the mic about the way they speak.
00:17 But then everybody's got a different accent, haven't they?
00:23 It doesn't matter where you live, every little town is slightly different.
00:30 No, I think Merseyside is by and large its own entity, with its own identity,
00:38 but you have got some outlying areas like Southport and places that perhaps would prefer to be part of Lancashire.
00:48 Cities including Liverpool were once part of what was and still is an historic Lancashire that can be traced back to 1182.
00:57 However, due to a major shake-up of local government 50 years ago, the city became a part of Merseyside,
01:05 comprising of five metropolitan boroughs, Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral and Liverpool.
01:11 Now half a century on, we want to know how the people who live here identify.
01:16 Do you think of yourself as a Merseysider, a Scouser, a Liverpoolian? How would you describe yourself to people?
01:22 A Scouser, yeah.
01:25 And why is that?
01:27 Because I've lived here all my life and, you know, we get called Scousers no matter where we go.
01:32 I'd just say Liverpool, yeah. And everybody knows Liverpool, don't they? It's very popular.
01:39 I think a lot of people say Scouse as well, but I feel at home here. People make you feel very welcome here.
01:47 Everyone says hi to you, you talk to everybody on the street.
01:50 I'm not sure how people identify here, but I hear Scouse a lot. I don't hear Liverpoolian, just Scouse.
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