105-611: The Greater London Council ( GLC ) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its powers were devolved to the London boroughs and other entities. A new administrative body, known as the Greater London Authority (GLA),
210-425: A Greater London Development Plan . The plan included in its wide-ranging remit: population changes, employment, housing, pollution, transport , roads, the central area , growth and development areas, urban open spaces and the urban landscape, public services and utilities and planning standards. The plan included the comprehensive redevelopment of Covent Garden and creating a central London motorway loop. The plan
315-462: A "super-council". Each would retain its own political identity, leadership and councillors but staff and budgets would be combined for cost savings. Lambeth and Southwark likewise expressed an interest in sharing services. The management thinker and inventor of the Vanguard Method , Professor John Seddon , claims that shared service projects based on attempts to achieve economies of scale are
420-496: A London borough and its council to be changed. This was used by the London Borough of Hammersmith (changed to Hammersmith and Fulham) on 1 April 1979 and the London Borough of Barking (changed to Barking and Dagenham) on 1 January 1980. Borough names formed by combining two locality names had been discouraged when the boroughs were created. The London boroughs were created by combining whole existing units of local government and it
525-623: A central authority for strategic functions. The London Traffic Act 1924 was a result of the commission. Reform of local government in the County of London and its environs was next considered by the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London , chaired by Sir Edwin Herbert , which issued the 'Herbert Report' after three years of work in 1960. The commission applied three tests to decide if
630-489: A community should form part of Greater London: how strong is the area as an independent centre in its own right; how strong are its ties to London; and how strongly is it drawn outwards towards the country rather than inwards towards London. Greater London was created by the London Government Act 1963 , which came into force on 1 April 1965, replacing the administrative counties of Middlesex and London , including
735-582: A directly elected Mayor of London and a London Assembly . The Mayor of London elections were won by the same Ken Livingstone, who began his victory speech with the words: "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted 14 years ago ...". In February 2020, Labour's Tom Copley , supported by the Conservative's Tony Arbour , both members of the London Assembly, called for the GLC's coat of arms to be adopted by
840-652: A few years, and direct elections to it were held, but ILEA was finally also disbanded in 1990, with the Inner London boroughs assuming control over education as the outer boroughs had done on their creation in 1965. Most of the powers of the GLC were devolved to the London boroughs. Some powers, such as the fire service, were taken over by joint boards made up of councillors appointed by the boroughs – see waste authorities in Greater London for an example. In total, around 100 organisations were responsible for service delivery in Greater London. Tony Blair 's Labour government
945-420: A mix of a) the plausibly obvious and b) a little hard data , brought together to produce two broad assertions, for which there is little hard factual evidence. He argues that shared service projects fail (and often end up costing more than they hoped to save) because they cause a disruption to the service flow by moving the work to a central location, creating waste in hand-offs, rework and duplication, lengthening
1050-417: A number of relatively small alterations in borough boundaries. London borough councils provide the majority of local government services (schools, waste management, social services, libraries), in contrast to the strategic Greater London Authority , which has limited authority over all of Greater London. The councils were first elected in 1964 , and acted as shadow authorities until 1 April 1965. Each borough
1155-494: A population of 9,787,426. None of the administrative area, region, or ceremonial county hold city status , but the City of London and City of Westminster separately do. The area was historically part of Middlesex , Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire. The River Thames is the defining geographic feature of the area, entering it near Hampton in the west and flowing east before exiting downstream of Dagenham . Several tributaries of
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#17328384158661260-455: A population of between 12 and 13 million depending on the definition of that area. According to Eurostat, London has been the most populous city and metropolitan area of the European Union . The region covers an area of 1,579 square kilometres. The population density is 4,761 people per square kilometre, more than ten times that of any other British region. In terms of population, London is
1365-530: A pre-arranged meeting of the new Councillors the day after the election, the Left faction won a complete victory over the less-organised Labour right. McIntosh lost with 20 votes to 30 for Ken Livingstone. Livingstone, dubbed "Red Ken" by some newspapers, managed to gain the guarded support of the Labour deputy leader Illtyd Harrington and the party Chief Whip and set about his new administration. Livingstone's deputy leader of
1470-489: A research centre of academics within the London School of Economics , also had a significant effort on the commission's report and the eventual creation of the GLC. Most of the commission's recommendations were accepted, but the number of new boroughs was reduced to 32. Greater London covered the whole County of London and most of Middlesex , plus parts of Essex , Kent , and Surrey , a small part of Hertfordshire and
1575-550: A time when Adams was banned from entering Great Britain due to his links with the Provisional IRA . By 1983, the government argued for the abolition of the GLC, claiming that it was inefficient and unnecessary, and that its functions could be carried out more efficiently by the boroughs. The arguments for this case which were detailed in the White Paper Streamlining the cities . Critics of this position argued that
1680-601: Is a local education authority . Shared services are borough council services shared between two or more boroughs. Shared services were previously resisted due to councils guarding their authority. However, as the need for budget cuts in the late 2000s became apparent some councils have sought service mergers. Westminster and Hammersmith & Fulham were due to merge their education services, including school admissions and transport, by 2011. In October 2010, Hammersmith & Fulham , Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster announced plans to merge all their services to create
1785-467: Is commonly regarded as a city in the general senses of a conurbation and a municipality. A Lord Lieutenant of Greater London is appointed for its area, excluding the City of London. For the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 , this area is defined as a county . The term "London" usually refers to region or to the conurbation, but not often to the ancient, tiny City of London. That small area
1890-625: Is divided into electoral wards , subject to periodic review, for the purpose of electing councillors. Council elections take place every four years, with the most recent elections in 2022, and the next elections due in 2026. The political make-up of London borough councils is dominated by the Conservative , Labour and Liberal Democrat parties. Twenty-eight councils follow the leader and cabinet model of executive governance, while five have directly elected mayors ( Croydon , Hackney , Lewisham , Newham , and Tower Hamlets ). The City of London
1995-564: Is divided into five sub-regions . Greater London is divided into 32 London Boroughs, each governed by a London Borough council. The City of London has a unique government dating back to the 12th century and is separate from the county of Greater London, although is still part of the region served by the Greater London Authority. All London Borough councils belong to the London Councils association. Three London Boroughs carry
2100-639: Is explained by the quantity of independent schools getting good A-level results. The state school system is often bypassed at age 16 by the more able pupils. Some London boroughs need more good sixth form colleges. The region's 34 further education colleges are funded through the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People's Learning Agency . Large colleges include Kingston College , Havering College of Further and Higher Education , and Croydon College . London borough The London boroughs are
2205-808: Is home to sizeable Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish communities. Many Muslims live in Tower Hamlets and Newham ; the most important Muslim buildings are the East London Mosque in Whitechapel and the London Central Mosque on the edge of Regent's Park . London's large Hindu community is in the north-western boroughs of Harrow and Brent, the latter containing one of Europe's largest Hindu temples, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London . Sikh communities are in East and West London, particularly Southall in
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#17328384158662310-776: Is instead governed by the City of London Corporation (and the Inner and Middle Temples, which are not governed by the City of London Corporation). There are four boroughs that do not have "London Borough" in their official names: the City of Westminster, and the Royal Boroughs of Kingston upon Thames, Kensington and Chelsea, and Greenwich. From the mid-1930s, the Greater London area comprised four types of local government authorities. There were county boroughs , municipal boroughs , urban districts and metropolitan boroughs . The large county boroughs provided all local government services and held
2415-531: Is often referred to as "the City" or "the Square Mile" and it forms the main financial district. Archaically, the urbanised area of London was known as the Metropolis . In common usage, the terms "London" and "Greater London" are usually used interchangeably. Greater London is officially divided for some purposes, with varying definitions, into Inner London and Outer London . For some strategic planning purposes, it
2520-554: Is responsible for Greater London's strategic planning and is required to produce or amend the London Plan each electoral cycle. The Mayor of London is a directly elected politician who, along with the London Assembly, is responsible for the strategic government of Greater London. For elections to the London Assembly , London is divided into 14 constituencies, each formed from two or three boroughs. The City of London forms part of
2625-476: The City and East constituency. London is divided into 73 Parliamentary borough constituencies , formed from the combined area of several wards from one or more boroughs. Typically a borough is covered by two or three constituencies. The London Region does not have city status granted by the Crown. The Cities of London and Westminster within it have received formal city status. Despite this, Greater London
2730-538: The City of London , where the London County Council had limited powers, and absorbing parts of Essex , Hertfordshire , Kent and Surrey . Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council (GLC) sharing power with the City of London Corporation (governing the small City of London) and the 32 London Borough councils. The GLC was abolished in 1986 by
2835-434: The City of London . The Greater London Authority is responsible for strategic local government across the region, and regular local government is the responsibility of the borough councils and the City of London Corporation . Greater London is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Hertfordshire to the north, Essex to the north-east, Kent to the south-east, Surrey to the south, and Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to
2940-914: The County Boroughs of Croydon (Surrey) and East and West Ham (both in Essex), all of which had been independent of county council control since 1889. Some areas on the boundaries of the area recommended by the Herbert Commission, fearing increased local taxation, fought successfully not to come under the new Greater London Council, notably the urban districts of Chigwell in Essex; and Sunbury-on-Thames , Staines and Potters Bar in Middlesex. Other areas recommended for inclusion that were never part of Greater London included Epsom and Ewell , Caterham and Warlingham , Esher , and Weybridge . The first election for
3045-605: The European Union . Irish people, from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, number about 200,000, as do the Scots and Welsh combined. In January 2005, a survey of London's ethnic and religious diversity claimed that there were more than 300 languages spoken and more than 50 non-indigenous communities with a population of more than 10,000. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2006 London's foreign-born population
3150-522: The Local Government Act 1985 . Its functions were devolved to the City Corporation and the London Boroughs, with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards. Greater London formed the London region in 1994. The 1998 London referendum established a public will to recreate an upper tier of government to cover the region. The Greater London Authority , London Assembly and
3255-753: The London Assembly , and an executive head, the Mayor of London . The current Mayor (not to be confused with the Lord Mayor of London ) is Sadiq Khan . He is scrutinised by the elected London Assembly , which may amend his annual budget (by two-thirds majority) but otherwise lacks the power to block his directives. The headquarters of the GLA, previously at City Hall in Southwark , moved to The Crystal in Newham in January 2022. The Mayor
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3360-522: The London boroughs for providing roads, housing, city planning and leisure services. It had a very limited role in direct service provision with most functions the responsibility of the London boroughs. The GLC did not take control of public transport from the London Transport Board until 1970 and lost control to London Regional Transport in 1984. Under the 1963 Act, the GLC was required to produce
3465-532: The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). The London postal district does not cover all of Greater London. Sadiq Khan ( L ) Statutory Deputy Mayor Joanne McCartney ( L/Co ) London Assembly Lord Mayor Peter Estlin London boroughs ( list ) Vacant Greater London is under the strategic local governance of the Greater London Authority (GLA). It consists of an elected assembly,
3570-457: The manifesto . The May 1981 election was presented as a clash of ideologies by the Conservatives – Thatcherism against a "tax high, spend high" Marxist Labour group, claiming that Andrew McIntosh would be deposed by Ken Livingstone after the election. McIntosh and Labour Party leader Michael Foot insisted this was untrue, and Labour won a very narrow victory with a majority of six. At
3675-742: The "Greater London Conurbation". The term was also used for the Greater London Arterial Road Programme, devised between 1913 and 1916, and the Greater London Planning Region, devised in 1927, which occupied 1,856 square miles (4,810 km ) and included 9 million people. Although the London County Council (LCC) and County of London were created in 1889, the area did not cover all of London. London's built-up area, postal district , transport network and Metropolitan Police District, extended vastly beyond
3780-463: The 1920s). It has now surpassed the previous 1939 peak, and is over 9 million. Figures here are for Greater London in its 2001 boundaries. Figures before 1971 have been reconstructed by the Office for National Statistics based on past censuses to fit the 2001 boundaries. Figures from 1981 onward are mid-year estimates (revised in August 2007), which are more accurate than the censuses, known to underestimate
3885-533: The 1969 transfers of Farleigh to Surrey and Knockholt to Kent. Others have included exchange of two Thames islands with Surrey and adjustments during the 1990s to parts of the boundaries of three boroughs near the M25 . The only part of Greater London outside the motorway is North Ockendon , the furthest land unit from its centre. The majority of Greater London forms the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and
3990-949: The 25th largest city and the 17th largest metropolitan region in the world. It is ranked 4th in the world in the number of US dollar billionaires residing in the city. It ranks as one of the most expensive cities in the world, alongside Tokyo and Moscow . In the 2001 UK Census, 71.15% of the population classed their ethnic group as White, including White British (59.79%), White Irish (3.07%) or "Other White" (8.29%, mostly Greek-Cypriot, Italian, Polish and Portuguese). 12.09% classed themselves as British Asian, including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and "Other Asian" (mostly Sri Lankan, Arab and other Southern Asian ethnicities). 10.91% classed themselves as Black British (around 6% as Black African, 4% as Black Caribbean, 0.84% as "Other Black"). 3.15% were of mixed race; 1.12% as Chinese; and 1.58% as other (mostly Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other "British Orientals"). 21.8% of inhabitants were born outside
4095-478: The 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London , England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at the same time as Greater London on 1 April 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) and are a type of local government district. Twelve were designated as Inner London boroughs and twenty as Outer London boroughs. The City of London ,
4200-534: The Anglo-Saxon period. The first London-wide directly elected local government was the London County Council , established for the County of London in 1889, which covered the core of the urban area. In 1965 the county was abolished and replaced by Greater London, a two-tier administrative area governed by the Greater London Council , thirty-two London boroughs, and the City of London Corporation. The Greater London Council
4305-586: The British armed forces in Germany. London has been a focus for immigration for centuries, whether as a place of safety or for economic reasons. Huguenots , Eastern European Jews, Cypriots and East African Asians are examples of the former; Irish, Bangladeshis and West Indians of the latter. The East End district around Spitalfields has been first home for several ethnic groups, which have subsequently moved elsewhere in London as they gained prosperity. The population of
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4410-614: The City and Southwark Cathedral south of the river are Anglican administrative centres, while the clerical head of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion , the Archbishop of Canterbury , has his main residence at Lambeth Palace in the London Borough of Lambeth . Important national and royal ceremonies are shared between St Paul's and Westminster Abbey . The Abbey is not to be confused with nearby Westminster Cathedral ,
4515-593: The City of London and the 32 London boroughs, since the 1990 enactment of the Education Reform Act 1988 . From 1965 to 1990, 12 Inner London boroughs and the City of London were served by the Inner London Education Authority . The introduction of comprehensive schools , directed by Circular 10/65 in 1965, was mostly followed in Greater London; however, 19 grammar schools have been retained in some Outer London boroughs, with Sutton having
4620-637: The City of Westminster"). In 2000 the Greater London Authority was created, comprising the Mayor of London and the London Assembly . As a strategic authority, it absorbed only limited powers, such as major highways and planning strategy, from the borough councils. Sadiq Khan ( L ) Statutory Deputy Mayor Joanne McCartney ( L/Co ) London Assembly Lord Mayor Peter Estlin London boroughs ( list ) Vacant The London boroughs are administered by London borough councils (sometimes abbreviated LBCs), which are elected every four years. They are
4725-512: The Conservatives. The Liberals won two seats. The GLC's hopes under the Labour administration of Reg Goodwin were badly affected by the oil crisis of 1974. Massive inflation, combined with the GLC's £1.6 billion debt, led to heavy rate increases (200% in total before the next election in 1977) and unpopular budget cuts. Some months before the 1977 elections the Labour Group began to split. A left group, including Ken Livingstone , denounced
4830-472: The GDP of Outer London to be 103 billion euros in 2009 and per capita GDP of 21,460 euros. The largest religious groupings are Christian (48.4%), Muslim (8.4%), Hindu (8.0%), Jewish (1.8%), Sikh (1.5%), and Buddhist (1.0%), alongside those of no religion (21.7%). The United Kingdom has traditionally been Christian, and London has a large number of churches, particularly in the city. St Paul's Cathedral in
4935-525: The GLA but this has not materialised. Since the abolition of the GLC in 1986 the London Fire Brigade has continued to use the GLC coat of arms. The archives of the Greater London Council are held at London Metropolitan Archives . Ken Livingstone resigned on 2 August 1984, triggering the 1984 Paddington by-election . He was re-elected on 20 September 1984. During this time Ken Livingstone
5040-405: The GLC although important in themselves, do not add up to an argument for a large authority of this type. The GLC is a strategic planning authority, taken in the widest sense, or it is nothing. Each of the six GLC elections was won by the leading national opposition party, with the party in government nationally coming second in the GLC elections. The first GLC election was on 9 April 1964. Each of
5145-556: The GLC from 1985 to 1986 was John McDonnell , future Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer under Jeremy Corbyn . Livingstone's Technology Director was Mike Cooley who established The Greater London Enterprise Board (GLEB). The first election was held on 9 April 1964, a year before the creation of the council. Subsequent elections were held every three years for a three-year term in 1967, 1970 and 1973. The first three elections were for 100 councillors from 32 multi-member constituencies. This
5250-605: The GLC into direct conflict with Margaret Thatcher ’s Conservative government. Livingstone soon became a thorn in the side of the sitting Conservative government. He antagonised Thatcher through a series of actions: these included posting a billboard of London's rising unemployment figures on the side of County Hall (directly opposite Parliament ), as well as the Fares Fair policy of reducing Tube and bus fares using government subsidies, and meeting Sinn Féin MP Gerry Adams at
5355-618: The GLC was the construction of the Thames Barrier that took place between 1974 and 1982 at a cost of £534 million. Some saw it as a GLC vanity project but over time people's opinions have changed: the barrier was used 35 times in the 1990s and was raised 75 times in the first decade of the 21st century, due to rising sea-levels. In 1969, the GLC announced its plans for the London Ringways which were three motorways that were proposed to solve London's traffic problem once and for all. However,
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#17328384158665460-478: The GLC's abolition (as with that of the metropolitan county councils ) was politically motivated, claiming that it had become a powerful vehicle for opposition to Margaret Thatcher's government. Livingstone and three other Labour councillors resigned in protest, and won back their seats easily in the September 1984 by-elections because the Conservatives refused to stand. The Local Government Act 1985 , which abolished
5565-731: The GLC, faced considerable opposition from many quarters but was narrowly passed in Parliament, setting the end of the council for 31 March 1986. It also cancelled the scheduled May 1985 elections. GLC assets were assigned to the London Residuary Body for disposal, including County Hall, which was sold to a Japanese entertainment company and now houses the London Aquarium and the London Dungeon , amongst other things. The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) continued in existence for
5670-407: The Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the London borough councils responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. Several London borough councils and the GLC were involved in the rate-capping rebellion of 1985. On 1 April 1986 the GLC was abolished and
5775-612: The Thames flow through the area, but are now mostly culverted and form part of London's sewerage system . The land immediately north and south of the river is flat, but rises to low hills further away, notably Hampstead Heath , Shooter's Hill , and Sydenham Hill . The area's highest point is Westerham Heights (245 m (804 ft)), part of the North Downs . In the north-east the area contains part of Epping Forest , an ancient woodland. The City of London has had its own government since
5880-539: The UK, with "a huge majority of them living in London"). Though a Polish community has existed in London since the late-Middle Ages, it was not significant in the 2001 Census but has grown significantly since 2004, when Poland joined the European Union and by June 2010; London had 122,000 Polish residents. The German-born population figure may be misleading, however, because it includes British nationals born to parents serving in
5985-505: The best GCSE results in England, at A-level it is not even above average. Sutton gets the best A-level results in London and in England. Three of the schools in the top four at A-level in London are in Sutton. It has only one independent school. The few other boroughs with above-average A-level results are Havering, Barnet, Bexley, Redbridge, and Ealing. The poor A-level results in many London boroughs
6090-426: The best results for regions of England. Greater London is generally a prosperous region, and prosperous areas generally have good GCSE results. The City of London has no state schools, just two independent schools. Haringey and Kensington and Chelsea have the most people that pass no GCSEs. At A-level, the average results for LEAs are disappointing compared to their good GCSE results. Although Kingston upon Thames gets
6195-402: The borough councils gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal . The Inner London Education Authority continued to exist as an ad hoc authority. In 1990 it was abolished and the Inner London borough councils also became local education authorities. The Local Government Act 1972 provided a mechanism for the name of
6300-575: The boundaries of the new administrative county. Many of the LCC housing projects, including the vast Becontree Estates , were also outside its boundaries. The LCC pressed for an alteration in its boundaries soon after the end of the First World War , noting that within the Metropolitan and City Police Districts there were 122 housing authorities. A Royal Commission on London Government was set up to consider
6405-413: The councillors, there were aldermen elected by the council at the ratio of one alderman to every six councillors. Initially there were 100 councillors and sixteen aldermen elected by the council. The eight aldermen elected with the fewest votes in 1964 were for a three year term and other eight had a six year term. Eight aldermen were elected for a six year term in 1967 and 1970. In 1973, to coincide with
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#17328384158666510-406: The current area of Greater London rose from about 1.1 million in 1801 (when only about 850,000 people were in the urban area, while 250,000 were living in villages and towns not yet part of London) to an estimated 8.6 million in 1939, but declined to 6.7 million in 1988, before starting to rebound in the 1990s. By 2006, the population had recovered to the level of 1970 (and the level of population in
6615-453: The directly elected Mayor of London were created in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999 . In 2000, the outer boundary of the Metropolitan Police District was re-aligned to the Greater London boundary. The 2000 and 2004 mayoral elections were won by Ken Livingstone , who had been the final leader of the GLC. The 2008 and 2012 elections were won by Boris Johnson . The 2016, 2021 and 2024 elections were won by Sadiq Khan . London
6720-426: The election manifesto of the party. The Conservatives regained control in May 1977, winning 64 seats under their new Thatcherite leader Horace Cutler against a Labour total of just 28. Cutler headed a resolutely right-wing administration, cutting spending, selling council housing and deprioritising London Transport. In opposition the Labour Party continued to fractionalise: Goodwin resigned suddenly in 1980 and in
6825-438: The existence of an Inner London Education Authority , praised by official Opposition and government who further noted that unusually the former County of London's many small local authorities had no history of providing education. The City of London continued to be administered by the City of London Corporation , and the Inner and Middle Temples continued to govern their own areas. Elections were held on 7 May 1964 , with
6930-407: The first Conservative leader of London-wide government in 33 years. The Conservatives retained control in 1970 with a reduced majority. In 1972 the electoral system was reformed to introduce single-member constituencies for the election after the 1973 contest, and extend the term of office to four years. Labour fought the 1973 election on a strongly socialist platform and won with 57 seats to 33 for
7035-401: The following leadership contest the little-regarded left-winger Ken Livingstone was only just beaten in an intensely tactical campaign by the moderate Andrew McIntosh . However, the Labour left were strong at constituency level and as the 1981 election approached they worked to ensure that their members were selected to stand and that their democratic socialist anti-austerity convictions shaped
7140-704: The historic centre, is a separate ceremonial county and sui generis local government district that functions quite differently from a London borough. However, the two counties together comprise the administrative area of Greater London as well as the London Region , all of which is also governed by the Greater London Authority , under the Mayor of London . The London boroughs have populations of between 150,000 and 400,000. Inner London boroughs tend to be smaller, in both population and area, and more densely populated than Outer London boroughs. The London boroughs were created by combining groups of former local government units. A review undertaken between 1987 and 1992 led to
7245-534: The honorific title of Royal Borough : Kensington and Chelsea , Kingston , and Greenwich . Within the City of London are the liberties of Middle Temple and Inner Temple . With increasing industrialisation, London's population grew rapidly throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and it was the most populated city in the world until overtaken by New York in 1925. Its population peaked at 8,615,245 in 1939. There were an estimated 7,753,600 official residents in mid-2009. London's wider metropolitan area has
7350-460: The issue. The LCC proposed a vast new area for Greater London, with a boundary somewhere between the Metropolitan Police District and the home counties . Protests were made at the possibility of including Windsor , Slough and Eton in the authority. The commission made its report in 1923, rejecting the LCC's scheme. Two minority reports favoured change beyond the amalgamation of smaller urban districts, including both smaller borough councils and
7455-442: The largest Roman Catholic cathedral in England and Wales. Religious practice in London is lower than in any other part of the UK or Western Europe and is around seven times lower than American averages. Despite the prevalence of Anglican churches, weekly observance is low within that denomination , although in recent years church attendance , particularly at evangelical Anglican churches in London, has started to increase. London
7560-492: The most with five, followed by Bexley with four and others in five other boroughs. In these boroughs the state schools outperform the (relatively few) independent schools. In inner London, private schools always get the best results and are larger in number. At GCSE and A level , Outer London boroughs have broadly better results than Inner London boroughs. At GCSE, the best borough is Kingston upon Thames, closely followed by Sutton. Both boroughs have selective schools, and get
7665-403: The new Greater London administrative area the council replaced Essex County Council , Hertfordshire County Council , Kent County Council , London County Council , Middlesex County Council and the councils of the county boroughs of Croydon , East Ham and West Ham . GLC councillors elected for Inner London electoral divisions (the former County of London) became ex officio members of
7770-535: The new Inner London Education Authority , which took over the LCC responsibility for education. By contrast in Outer London, which was the rest of Greater London, the 20 London borough councils each became a local education authority, akin to a county council or county borough in the rest of England. The GLC was responsible for running strategic services such as the fire service , emergency planning, waste disposal and flood prevention. The GLC shared responsibility with
7875-439: The new Greater London Council took place on 9 April 1964, and the old London County Council was abolished the following year. The GLC was established on 1 April 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 , which sought to create a new body covering more of London rather than just the inner part of the conurbation , additionally including and empowering newly created London boroughs within the overall administrative structure. Within
7980-434: The new boroughs elected a number of representatives under the bloc vote system. Despite Conservative hopes, the first GLC consisted of 64 Labour and 36 Conservative councillors and Labour Group leader Bill Fiske became the first Leader of the council. At the next election in 1967 the unpopularity of the national Labour government produced a massive Conservative victory with 82 seats, to Labour's 18. Desmond Plummer became
8085-443: The new councils acting as shadow authorities before coming into their powers the following year. The boroughs were created as follows. Some relatively minor changes have been made to the boundaries of boroughs since 1965, and two have changed their names. Between 1965 and 1986 the boroughs were part of a two-tier system of government and shared power with the Greater London Council (GLC). The split of powers and functions meant that
8190-572: The northeast between Sewardstonebury next to Epping Forest and Chingford and with the Mar Dyke between Bulphan and North Ockendon . Greater London is also bounded by Hertfordshire to the north, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to the west, Kent to the southeast and Surrey to the south and southwest. The highest point is Westerham Heights, in the North Downs and on the boundary with Kent, at 245 m (804 ft). Central government has implemented small boundary changes . The greatest were
8295-608: The population of London. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added (GVA) of Inner London at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling. Eurostat data shows the GDP of Inner London to be 232 billion euros in 2009 and per capita GDP of 78,000 euros. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Outer London at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling. Eurostat data shows
8400-473: The powers usually invested in county councils. The municipal borough and urban district authorities had fewer powers. The situation was made more complex because county councils could delegate functions such as elementary education and library provision to the municipal borough and district councils, and this was implemented piecemeal. Reform of London local government sought to regularise this arrangement. The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London
8505-514: The principal local authorities in London and are responsible for running most local services, such as schools, social services, waste collection and roads. Some London-wide services are run by the Greater London Authority , and some services and lobbying of government are pooled within London Councils . Some councils group together for services such as waste collection and disposal . The boroughs are local government districts and have similar functions to metropolitan boroughs . Each borough council
8610-518: The provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act 1882 . In the London boroughs the legal entity is not the council, as elsewhere in the country, but the inhabitants incorporated as a legal entity by royal charter (a process abolished elsewhere in England and Wales under the Local Government Act 1972 ). Thus, a London authority's official legal title is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of X" (or "The Lord Mayor and Citizens of
8715-406: The reduction in the number of councillors to 92, the number of aldermen was reduced to fifteen and seven aldermen were elected by the council that year. In 1976 the post of alderman was abolished, taking effect from the 1977 election. Aldermen elected in 1970 had their term extended to seven years and those elected 1973 had their term shortened to four years. The most notable and successful scheme of
8820-513: The review a series of relatively minor adjustments were made to borough boundaries, for example uniting the whole of the Becontree estate in Barking and Dagenham . The commission noted that many of its recommendations were strongly opposed and were not implemented. The boundary of the City of London with adjacent boroughs was adjusted to remove some anomalies. The London boroughs were incorporated using
8925-422: The scheme met with heavy opposition as it would have included the demolition of 30,000 homes. The Westway road scheme was opened in 1970 and hailed as a vision of the future. A review into the planned Ringways took place between 1970 and 1972. It concluded that construction should begin on the controversial Ringway One to relieve congestion in central London, but that the others needed a re-think. The Outer Ringway
9030-599: The top 21 countries of birth of residents in 2011. These figures do not give a fair indication of the total population of the specific ethnic groups associated with each country. For example, Londoners of Greek origin (from both Greece and Cyprus) number 300,000, since an organised Greek community has been established for nearly two centuries. The same can be said for Italian and French Londoners whose communities have been here for centuries (the French Embassy estimates there are between 300,000 and 400,000 French citizens living in
9135-421: The top two average GCSE results in England for LEAs. Next is Kensington and Chelsea, the third best in England, then Redbridge , Hammersmith and Fulham, Bromley, Barnet and Harrow. Only ten boroughs have GCSE results under the England average, and some inner-London boroughs have surprisingly good results considering where they lie on the scale of deprivation, e.g. Lambeth. Overall at GCSE in 2009, Greater London had
9240-426: The war and some housing that remained standing was often squalid and overcrowded. The GLC, with new housing powers, sought to resolve this but the results were mixed: efforts to relocate Londoners from the dilapidated inner-city areas to the suburbs or satellite towns were met with resistance from the residents of those areas. Notable successful housing developments that were built by the GLC include Balfron Tower which
9345-550: The west. Greater London has a land area of 1,572 km (607 sq mi) and an estimated population of 8,866,180 in 2022. The ceremonial county of Greater London is only slightly smaller, with an area of 1,569 km (606 sq mi) and a population of 8,855,333 in 2022. The area is almost entirely urbanised and contains the majority of the Greater London Built-up Area , which extends into Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Berkshire and in 2011 had
9450-522: The western borough of Ealing, which is also home to the largest Sikh temple in the capital. The majority of British Jews live in London, with significant communities in Stamford Hill (the most Orthodox Jewish area outside New York City and Israel) and St. John's Wood , Golders Green , and Edgware in North London. Publicly funded education has been administered through 33 LEAs , which correspond to
9555-856: Was 2,288,000 (31%), up from 1,630,000 in 1997. The 2001 UK Census showed that 27.1% of the population were born outside the UK, and a slightly higher proportion were classed as Non-White. In the 2011 UK Census, 59.79% of the population classed their ethnic group as White, including White British (44.89%), White Irish (2.15%) or "Other White" (12.65%, mostly Greek-Cypriot, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Colombians and Portuguese). 18.49% classed themselves as British Asian, including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and "Other Asian" (mostly Sri Lankan, Arab and other Southern Asian ethnicities). 13.32% classed themselves as Black British (7% as Black African, 4.22% as Black Caribbean, 2.08% as "Other Black"). 4.96% were of mixed race; and 3.44% as other (mostly Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other "British Orientals"). The table shows
9660-675: Was abolished in 1986, and its responsibilities largely taken over by the boroughs. The Greater London Authority was formed in 2000. The term "Greater London" was used before it was established by statute in 1965. It referred to the Metropolitan Police District , the area served by the Metropolitan Water Board , the London Passenger Transport Area , and the area defined by the Registrar General as
9765-667: Was completed in 1967 in Tower Hamlets and Trellick Tower which was completed in 1972 in North Kensington . Both of these buildings are now Grade II* listed . In addition to the Thames Barrier, other notable successful GLC transport schemes which changed London included the opening of the Blackwall Tunnel second bore and the improvements to the Woolwich Ferry service. Ken Livingstone 's high-spend socialist policies put
9870-626: Was consensus for the change between all the relevant local authorities. This provision was used to exchange two islands on the River Thames between Richmond upon Thames and Surrey. (See List of Greater London boundary changes .) The Local Government Boundary Commission for England was established by the Local Government Act 1972 to review periodically the boundaries of Greater London and the London boroughs. The first review of boundaries commenced on 1 April 1987 and reported in 1992. Following
9975-634: Was covered by a single Parliamentary constituency in the European Parliament before Brexit . Greater London includes the most closely associated parts of the Greater London Urban Area and their historic buffers and includes, in five boroughs, significant parts of the Metropolitan Green Belt which protects designated greenfield land in a similar way to the city's parks. The closest and furthest boundaries are with Essex to
10080-497: Was developed by Lucas Aerospace workers in the 1970s. In 1980–1981, the workers' combine built a prototype out of a second-hand Bristol bus. The enthusiasm arose from the opportunity to cut costs on rail vehicle production by partially integrating bus parts. Two challenges had to be solved—collision consequences with much heavier rail vehicles and supervision of the transition from road to rail. After World War II large areas of homes in London remained derelict after being bombed in
10185-406: Was elected in 1997 , and was committed to bringing back London-wide government. In 1998 a referendum was held on the establishment of a new London authority and elected mayor, which was approved by a two to one margin. The new Greater London Authority (GLA) was established in 2000 and was effectively a scaled down version of the GLC. The GLA has a very different structure to the GLC, consisting of
10290-437: Was established in 1957 and the report was published on 19 October 1960. It proposed 52 "Greater London Boroughs" with a population range of 100,000 to 250,000. This was made up of a mixture of whole existing units, mergers of two or three areas, and two boroughs formed as the result of a split. In December 1961 the government proposed that there would be 34 boroughs rather than 52, and detailed their boundaries. The proposed number
10395-518: Was established in 2000. In 1957 a Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London had been set up under Sir Edwin Herbert to consider the local government arrangements in the London area. It reported in 1960, recommending the creation of 52 new London boroughs as the basis for local government. It further recommended that the LCC be replaced by a weaker strategic authority, with responsibility for public transport, road schemes, housing development and regeneration. The Greater London Group ,
10500-503: Was further reduced to 32 in 1962. On 1 April 1965, the 32 London boroughs and Greater London were created by the London Government Act 1963 . Twelve boroughs in the former County of London area were designated Inner London boroughs and the 20 others were designated Outer London boroughs. Outer London borough councils were local education authorities , but Inner London borough councils were so designated primarily to continue
10605-476: Was given the go-ahead in 1973 and opened in 1986 as the M25 motorway . The remainder of the GLC's Ringway plans were finally killed off in the 1980s due to public opposition. This meant that the capital was left on a much more human scale than it might have been, but also meant that London was left with an eternally unsolved traffic problem. In 1983, GLC considered investing £230,000 into Lucas rail-bus , which could run on roads and rail tracks. The original concept
10710-415: Was not a member and John Wilson (Labour, Newham North East ) acted as leader of the council. Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region , containing most of the continuous urban area of London . It contains 33 local government districts : the 32 London boroughs , which form a ceremonial county also called Greater London , and
10815-578: Was realised that this might provide arbitrary boundaries in some places. The London Government Act 1963 provided a mechanism for communities on the edge of Greater London to petition for transfer from London boroughs to a neighbouring county district. This was used in 1969 in the transfers of Knockholt in Bromley to Kent, and of Farleigh and Hooley in Croydon to Surrey. The Act also provided for transfers between London boroughs and neighbouring counties where there
10920-451: Was revised to 92 councillors from single-member constituencies from the 1973 election. The electoral cycle was switched to four-yearly in 1976 and those elected in 1973 had their term extended by another year. Elections were held for a four-year term in 1977 and 1981. In 1984 the elections that were due to happen in 1985 were cancelled and those elected in 1981 had their term extended by another year. The results were as follows: In addition to
11025-422: Was subject to an Inquiry which lasted from July 1970 until May 1972. The campaign to save Covent Garden along with various opposition on other matters largely derailed the plan. According to one observer: Looked at from the angle of the GLC... it is useful to consider planning, highways, and traffic together, not only because of the links between them but also because, apart from housing, most other functions of
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