City status in the United Kingdom council areas and have their own city councils. The cities of Perth, Stirling and Inverness are part of council areas which do not have city status, and have no city councils. Stirling Council's application for city status was specifically for the urban area of the (now former) Royal Burgh of Stirling and included proposed city boundaries which are much smaller than Stirling council area. Cardiff, Newport and Swansea are principal areas and have city councils. The city councils of Bangor, St Asaph and St Davids are community councils with limited powers. Belfast City Council is a local government district council.
City status in the United Kingdom "town" is held to be coterminous with the relevant local government area, such that the city status holder is the corporate body of the council. Examples include the Letters Patent awarded to the "Towns of Brighton and Hove", the "Town of Wolverhampton" and the "Town of Newport in the County Borough of Newport". In each case the existing borough council became the city council. Most cities have city councils, which have varying powers depending on the country and type of settlement. Twelve of the 51 cities in England are in metropolitan counties and their city councils are single-tier metropolitan district