Many councils are turning off street lights as a means of saving money, BBC Newsnight
has learned.
Some of us are old enough to remember the days when local authorities covered very local areas with what were variously called Urban or Rural Districts, or Municipal or County Boroughs. The growth of suburbs meant adjustments to boundaries were frequently made, to remove part of a Rural District from the country to the town.
These adjustments were often fiercely resisted. Country folk did not want to pay the Rates (local property taxes) which were always higher in the towns than in the country areas.
This was usually characterised by the claim that the new masters would make them have street lights, when they had always managed very well without those expensive things, thank you very much
