103-619: Lonrho is a London -based conglomerate that was established in 1998 as Lonrho Africa plc . It is engaged in multiple business sectors in Africa, mainly agribusiness , infrastructure, transport, hospitality and support services. Lonrho traces its roots to the original Lonrho plc (now Lonmin ), a company which was incorporated in the United Kingdom on 13 May 1909 as the Lon don and Rho desian Mining and Land Company Limited. Lonrho plc grew to be one of
206-468: A Bronze Age bridge were found on the south River Thames foreshore, upstream from Vauxhall Bridge . Two of the timbers were radiocarbon dated to 1750–1285 BC. In 2010, foundations of a large timber structure, dated to 4800–4500 BC, were found on the Thames' south foreshore downstream from Vauxhall Bridge. Both structures are on the south bank of the Thames, where the now-underground River Effra flows into
309-663: A 10-year contract to improve older people's care in Croydon worth £1.8bn in May 2015. It will be delivered by a partnership of Croydon Health Services NHS Trust , South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust , the Croydon GPs Group, which aims to include all the GP practices in the borough, Age UK Croydon, and Croydon Council 's adult social care. Secondary and Tertiary care in London is provided by
412-399: A crisis in primary care where "saturation point has been hit even by the most competently working practices in London. General practice in London is beset by blockages in flow, diverting staff from consulting, co-ordinating or planning care, and both reducing access to patients and demotivating professionals". In August 2018 there were 1,311 GP practices in London. Croydon CCG commissioned
515-678: A fifth of the NHS budget in England, is in many respects distinct from that in the rest of the United Kingdom, or England. The earliest state hospitals in the UK were set up in London under the management of the Metropolitan Asylums Board which was established by the Metropolitan Poor Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 6). They supplemented the pattern of voluntary hospitals which had developed in
618-529: A larger area, similar in size to Greater London, although some outer districts are excluded and some just outside included. The Greater London boundary has been aligned to the M25 motorway in places. Further urban expansion is now prevented by the Metropolitan Green Belt , although the built-up area extends beyond the boundary in places, producing a separately defined Greater London Urban Area . Beyond this
721-481: A number of local or specialist acute NHS trusts. North East London North and North West Central London West London South West London South Central and South East London GPs have been asked to reduce the number of patients they refer to consultants to cut costs. Patients should be sent to local hospitals with long waiting times rather than to specialist hospitals with expertise treating their conditions. Patients seeing more than one consultant may have
824-403: A population density of 802 per acre (325 per hectare). In addition to the growing number of stores selling goods, such as Harding, Howell & Co. —one of the first department stores —located on Pall Mall , the streets had scores of street sellers . London's overcrowded conditions led to cholera epidemics, claiming 14,000 lives in 1848, and 6,000 in 1866. Rising traffic congestion led to
927-549: A population of 7,172,036 in 2001 and a population density of 11,760 inhabitants per square mile (4,542/km ). The extended area known as the London Metropolitan Region or the London Metropolitan Agglomeration, comprises a total area of 3,236 square miles (8,382 km ) has a population of 13,709,000 and a population density of 3,900 inhabitants per square mile (1,510/km ). Modern London stands on
1030-564: A post- Brexit exodus of stock listings from the London Stock Exchange , London remains a European economic powerhouse, and one of the world's major financial centres . It hosts Europe's largest concentration of higher education institutions , some of which are the highest-ranked academic institutions in the world: Imperial College London in natural and applied sciences , the London School of Economics in social sciences , and
1133-461: A radial organisation reflecting the transport links and the "doughnut" with the élite hospitals, the cream, in the middle. There have been attempts to create authorities across Greater London, but in general the conurbation has been divided into sectors, often extending into the suburbs and rural areas which look to the city for specialist provision. The city was divided into four-quarters in 1946 to establish regional hospital boards and this pattern
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#17330863327681236-679: A result of the Local Government Act 1929 and its 24,000 beds transferred to the Council. The Local Government Act permitted, but did not compel, local authorities to take over Poor Law institutions, and to bring some measure of order into an expanded municipal hospital system. This opportunity was exploited by the LCC, which by 1936 had become a stronghold for members of the Socialist Medical Association . Somerville Hastings , President of
1339-537: A review of health and wellbeing and services in London after NHS London was abolished leaving the capital with no strategic direction in health. The Mayor has no formal responsibility for the NHS. The London Health Commission which reported in October 2014 proposed the toughest measures seen in the UK to tackle the "obesity emergency" that leaves one in three 10-year-olds overweight or obese including Ofsted -style ratings highlighting
1442-540: A shortage of interventional neuroradiologists. Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust , Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust , North East London NHS Foundation Trust , East London NHS Foundation Trust and West London Mental Health NHS Trust established the North London Forensic Consortium in April 2018. It plans to bring back half of the 110 forensic patients currently out of
1545-494: A temperate oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). Rainfall records have been kept in the city since at least 1697, when records began at Kew . At Kew, the most rainfall in one month is 7.4 inches (189 mm) in November 1755 and the least is 0 inches (0 mm) in both December 1788 and July 1800. Mile End also had 0 inches (0 mm) in April 1893. The wettest year on record is 1903, with a total fall of 38.1 inches (969 mm) and
1648-640: Is 1,049.8 millibars (31.00 inHg) on 20 January 2020. Summers are generally warm, sometimes hot. London's average July high is 23.5 °C (74.3 °F). On average each year, London experiences 31 days above 25 °C (77.0 °F) and 4.2 days above 30.0 °C (86.0 °F). During the 2003 European heat wave , prolonged heat led to hundreds of heat-related deaths. A previous spell of 15 consecutive days above 32.2 °C (90.0 °F) in England in 1976 also caused many heat related deaths. A previous temperature of 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) in August 1911 at
1751-414: Is a 14.8% vacancy rate for nurses in London, the highest in the country. Acute hospitals and mental health care are particularly short of nurses. Austerity is blamed. Patients in London who suffered stroke were found to be much more likely to get thrombectomy in 2022 than those in other parts of England. 42% of thrombectomy units only operated during office hours and Monday to Friday, largely due to
1854-554: Is agreed that the name came into these languages from Common Brythonic ; recent work tends to reconstruct the lost Celtic form of the name as * Londonjon or something similar. This was then adapted into Latin as Londinium and borrowed into Old English. Until 1889, the name "London" applied officially only to the City of London , but since then it has also referred to the County of London and to Greater London . In 1993, remains of
1957-468: Is concern this cost saving measure may be extended beyond London. A tender for a centralised pathology service to serve Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust , King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust , South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust , Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust for 15 years was won by Synlab Group in January 2020. There
2060-528: Is formed of two tiers: a citywide, strategic tier and a local tier. Citywide administration is coordinated by the Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities. The GLA consists of two elected components: the mayor of London , who has executive powers , and the London Assembly , which scrutinises the mayor's decisions and can accept or reject
2163-689: Is headquartered in Thames House on the north bank of the River Thames and the foreign intelligence service ( MI6 ) is headquartered in the SIS Building on the south bank. Crime rates vary widely across different areas of London. Crime figures are made available nationally at Local Authority and Ward level. In 2015, there were 118 homicides, a 25.5% increase over 2014. Recorded crime has been rising in London, notably violent crime and murder by stabbing and other means have risen. There were 50 murders from
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#17330863327682266-572: Is held by an independent . The ministerial post of minister for London was created in 1994, however as of 2024, the post has been vacant. Policing in Greater London, with the exception of the City of London , is provided by the Metropolitan Police ("The Met"), overseen by the mayor through the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). The Met is also referred to as Scotland Yard after
2369-496: Is known as London . It is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England by convention rather than statute. The capital of England was moved to London from Winchester as the Palace of Westminster developed in the 12th and 13th centuries to become the permanent location of the royal court , and thus the political capital of the nation. Greater London encompasses a total area of 611 square miles (1,583 km ) an area which had
2472-669: Is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom , with a population of 8,866,180 in 2022. The wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe , with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to the North Sea , and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre ,
2575-523: Is the vast London commuter belt . Greater London is split for some purposes into Inner London and Outer London , and by the River Thames into North and South , with an informal central London area. The coordinates of the nominal centre of London, traditionally the original Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross near the junction of Trafalgar Square and Whitehall , are about 51°30′26″N 00°07′39″W / 51.50722°N 0.12750°W / 51.50722; -0.12750 . Within London, both
2678-512: The 2012 Summer Olympics . London is an ancient name, attested in the first century AD, usually in the Latinised form Londinium . Modern scientific analyses of the name must account for the origins of the different forms found in early sources: Latin (usually Londinium ), Old English (usually Lunden ), and Welsh (usually Llundein ), with reference to the known developments over time of sounds in those different languages. It
2781-529: The Black Death in the mid-14th century, London lost nearly a third of its population. London was the focus of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. London was a centre of England's Jewish population before their expulsion by Edward I in 1290. Violence against Jews occurred in 1190, when it was rumoured that the new king had ordered their massacre after they had presented themselves at his coronation. In 1264 during
2884-520: The Canary Wharf development. This was born out of London's increasing role as an international financial centre in the 1980s. Located about 2 miles (3 km) east of central London, the Thames Barrier was completed in the 1980s to protect London against tidal surges from the North Sea . The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, leaving London with no central administration until 2000 and
2987-497: The City of London , was founded by the Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster , to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of the national government and parliament . London grew rapidly in the 19th century , becoming the world's largest city at the time . Since the 19th century, the name "London" has referred to
3090-648: The Corn Laws in 1846 was specifically aimed at weakening Dutch economic power. London then overtook Amsterdam as the leading international financial centre. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, an unprecedented growth in urbanisation took place, and the number of High Streets (the primary street for retail in Britain) rapidly grew. London was the world's largest city from about 1831 to 1925 , with
3193-553: The Georgian era , new districts such as Mayfair were formed in the west; new bridges over the Thames encouraged development in South London . In the east, the Port of London expanded downstream. London's development as an international financial centre matured for much of the 18th century. In 1762, George III acquired Buckingham House , which was enlarged over the next 75 years. During
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3296-609: The King's Road , Chelsea and Carnaby Street . The role of trendsetter revived in the punk era. In 1965 London's political boundaries were expanded in response to the growth of the urban area and a new Greater London Council was created. During The Troubles in Northern Ireland, London was hit from 1973 by bomb attacks by the Provisional Irish Republican Army . These attacks lasted for two decades, starting with
3399-600: The London Ambulance Service (LAS) NHS Trust , the largest free-at-the-point-of-use emergency ambulance service in the world. The London Air Ambulance charity operates in conjunction with the LAS where required. Her Majesty's Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution operate on the River Thames , which is under the jurisdiction of the Port of London Authority from Teddington Lock to
3502-698: The Mediterranean was normally through Antwerp and over the Alps ; any ships passing through the Strait of Gibraltar to or from England were likely to be Italian or Ragusan . The reopening of the Netherlands to English shipping in January 1565 spurred a burst of commercial activity. The Royal Exchange was founded. Mercantilism grew and monopoly traders such as the East India Company were founded as trade expanded to
3605-594: The New Model Army entered London in 1647, and they were levelled by Parliament the same year. London was plagued by disease in the early 17th century, culminating in the Great Plague of 1665–1666, which killed up to 100,000 people, or a fifth of the population. The Great Fire of London broke out in 1666 in Pudding Lane in the city and quickly swept through the wooden buildings. Rebuilding took over ten years and
3708-554: The New World . London became the main North Sea port, with migrants arriving from England and abroad. The population rose from about 50,000 in 1530 to about 225,000 in 1605. In the 16th century, William Shakespeare and his contemporaries lived in London during English Renaissance theatre . Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was constructed in 1599 in Southwark . Stage performances came to a halt in London when Puritan authorities shut down
3811-590: The Old Bailey bombing . Racial inequality was highlighted by the 1981 Brixton riot . Greater London's population declined in the decades after the Second World War, from an estimated peak of 8.6 million in 1939 to around 6.8 million in the 1980s. The principal ports for London moved downstream to Felixstowe and Tilbury , with the London Docklands area becoming a focus for regeneration, including
3914-637: The Second Barons' War , Simon de Montfort 's rebels killed 500 Jews while attempting to seize records of debts. During the Tudor period , the Reformation produced a gradual shift to Protestantism . Much of London property passed from church to private ownership, which accelerated trade and business in the city. In 1475, the Hanseatic League set up a main trading base ( kontor ) of England in London, called
4017-568: The Stalhof or Steelyard . It remained until 1853, when the Hanseatic cities of Lübeck , Bremen and Hamburg sold the property to South Eastern Railway . Woollen cloth was shipped undyed and undressed from 14th/15th century London to the nearby shores of the Low Countries . Yet English maritime enterprise hardly reached beyond the seas of north-west Europe . The commercial route to Italy and
4120-543: The Thames , its primary geographical feature, a navigable river which crosses the city from the south-west to the east. The Thames Valley is a flood plain surrounded by gently rolling hills including Parliament Hill , Addington Hills , and Primrose Hill . Historically London grew up at the lowest bridging point on the Thames. The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive marshlands ; at high tide, its shores reached five times their present width. Since
4223-637: The Tower of London ; the site featuring the Palace of Westminster , Church of St. Margaret , and Westminster Abbey ; and the historic settlement in Greenwich where the Royal Observatory defines the prime meridian (0° longitude ) and Greenwich Mean Time . Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace , the London Eye , Piccadilly Circus , St Paul's Cathedral , Tower Bridge , and Trafalgar Square . The city has
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4326-521: The Victorian era the Thames has been extensively embanked , and many of its London tributaries now flow underground . The Thames is a tidal river, and London is vulnerable to flooding. The threat has increased over time because of a slow but continuous rise in high water level caused by climate change and by the slow 'tilting' of the British Isles as a result of post-glacial rebound . London has
4429-562: The metropolis around the City of London, historically split between the counties of Middlesex , Essex , Surrey , Kent , and Hertfordshire , which since 1965 has largely comprised the administrative area of Greater London , governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority . As one of the world's major global cities , London exerts a strong influence on world art , entertainment, fashion , commerce, finance, education , healthcare , media , science, technology, tourism , transport , and communications. Despite
4532-554: The 11th century, London was clearly the largest town in England. Westminster Abbey , rebuilt in Romanesque style by King Edward the Confessor , was one of the grandest churches in Europe. Winchester had been the capital of Anglo-Saxon England , but from this time London became the main forum for foreign traders and the base for defence in time of war. In the view of Frank Stenton : "It had
4635-494: The 18th century, London was said to be dogged by crime, and the Bow Street Runners were established in 1750 as a professional police force. Epidemics during the 1720s and 30s saw most children born in the city die before reaching their fifth birthday. Coffee-houses became a popular place to debate ideas, as growing literacy and development of the printing press made news widely available, with Fleet Street becoming
4738-549: The 32 clinical commissioning groups across London, 33 local authorities, the Greater London Authority, NHS England London Region and Public Health England London Region. There have been five pilots across London since December 2015 to test how greater collaboration, integration and devolution will work in practice. Plans are to focus on childhood obesity, mental ill-health and health inequalities. The London Health and Care Strategic Partnership Board met in shadow form for
4841-669: The City and Hackney; London Central and West Unscheduled Care Collaborative in Westminster, Ealing, Hounslow, and Hammersmith; Barndoc Healthcare Ltd in Barnet, Enfield, Haringey & Brent; Emdoc and Greenbrook Healthcare in Bromley. The Londonwide Local Medical Committee which represents GPs in 27 of the 32 London boroughs produced a report for the Health Committee in September 2015 describing
4944-420: The City of London and the City of Westminster have city status . The City of London and the remainder of Greater London are both counties for the purposes of lieutenancies . The area of Greater London includes areas that are part of the historic counties of Middlesex , Kent , Surrey , Essex and Hertfordshire . More recently, Greater London has been defined as a region of England and in this context
5047-399: The Greenwich station was later disregarded as non-standard. Droughts can also, occasionally, be a problem, especially in summer, most recently in summer 2018, and with much drier than average conditions prevailing from May to December. However, the most consecutive days without rain was 73 days in the spring of 1893. Healthcare in London Healthcare in London , which consumes about
5150-413: The London Ambulance Service. A further 16 trusts in London were self-governing foundation trusts . It was abolished in 2013. In March 2016 five sustainability and transformation plan footprints were established covering the capital: A London Health and Care Devolution Programme Board, chaired by Will Tuckley, chief executive of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets was established in 2017. It includes
5253-435: The London area. This called for the Corporation of the city to extend its jurisdiction and administration over expanding areas around the city. Fearing an attempt by the Crown to diminish the Liberties of London , coupled with a lack of interest in administering these additional areas or concern by city guilds of having to share power, caused the Corporation's "The Great Refusal", a decision which largely continues to account for
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#17330863327685356-866: The London primary care clinical board primary care in London has had "virtually no investment" in over a decade. A third of all GP practices in London are not compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act . Out-of-hours services are provided by: Grabadoc in Greenwich and Bexley; Partnership of East London Co-operatives (PELC) Limited in Waltham Forest, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge, and Havering; South East London Doctors' Co-operative (SELDOC) in Sutton, Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham; Care UK in Kingston, Harrow, Hillingdon, Merton, Islington, Camden and Ealing; KCW Co-operative in Kensington & Chelsea; East Berkshire Primary Care Out Of Hours Services Limited in Richmond; Virgin Care in Croydon; Newham GP Co-operative in Newham; Barts Health NHS Trust in Tower Hamlets; City & Hackney Urgent Healthcare Social Enterprise in
5459-500: The National Health Service in 1979 reported on the special difficulties of providing primary care services in London. In 1977 31% of London GPs were single-handed compared with the English average of 16%. 35% of London GP practices had fewer than 2,000 patients compared with the national figure of almost 20%. The Commission considered that teaching hospitals had a responsibility to improve the quality of primary care services in their surrounding areas. According to Clare Gerada , chair of
5562-477: The North West London sustainability and transformation partnership area. The eight CCGs in North West London: Brent; Central London (Westminster); Ealing; Hammersmith and Fulham; Harrow; Hillingdon; Hounslow; and West London, and the six CCGs in south west London: Croydon; Kingston; Merton; Richmond; Sutton; and Wandsworth, are planning to merge into single organisations covering each of their Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships. The Royal Commission on
5665-459: The SMA, was chairman of the LCC's hospital committee. "The LCC constituted a crucible for experiment, a state within the medical state" which informed the Ministry of Health during the evolution of its thinking on a comprehensive health service. The expansion of health services by the LCC resulted in the maternal death rate per thousand births falling dramatically, from 7.2 in 1932 to 2.49 in 1937 and London under Labour going from well above to below
5768-410: The Shaping a Healthier Future programme in north west London was turned down by NHS Improvement in November 2017 and in March 2019 Matt Hancock announced that the A&E departments in Charing Cross Hospital and Ealing Hospital would not be downgraded as planned by the Shaping a Healthier Future programme. There have been two main patterns for London's health service planning – the "starfish" with
5871-409: The Thames. Despite the evidence of scattered Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans around 47 AD, about four years after their invasion of 43 AD. This only lasted until about 61 AD, when the Iceni tribe led by Queen Boudica stormed it and burnt it to the ground. The next planned incarnation of Londinium prospered, superseding Colchester as
5974-479: The Tomlinson review of London health services. There were severe restrictions on competition. Purchasers were instructed to maintain a "steady state" and the terminology was altered to play down market connotations. In 1993 the Tomlinson review of London hospitals was published and concluded that there were too many hospitals in central London. It recommended that services should be delivered closer to where people lived and that funds should be made available to raise
6077-415: The United Kingdom's population and over 16% of England's population. The Greater London Built-up Area is the fourth-most populous in Europe, with about 9.8 million inhabitants as of 2011. The London metropolitan area is the third-most populous in Europe, with about 14 million inhabitants as of 2016, making London a megacity . Four World Heritage Sites are located in London: Kew Gardens ;
6180-405: The Viking incursions formally agreed by the Danish warlord , Guthrum and the West Saxon king Alfred the Great in 886. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Alfred "refounded" London in 886. Archaeological research shows this involved abandonment of Lundenwic and a revival of life and trade within the old Roman walls . London then grew slowly until a dramatic increase in about 950. By
6283-506: The beds in inner London. In 1974 16 area health authorities were established in London, most covering two boroughs. All but two of the primary care trusts in London were co-terminous with the London boroughs . The City of London was combined with Hackney, and Merton and Sutton were combined. NHS London was established as a strategic health authority in 2006 responsible for the performance of 31 primary care trusts (PCTs), in 6 clusters, 20 acute trusts, three mental health trusts and
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#17330863327686386-445: The best and worst schools at promoting healthy eating, and requiring chain restaurants to include "traffic light" calorie warnings on menus. He called for the Mayor to rewrite the London Plan to give borough councils greater protecting in banning takeaways from within 400m of the school gates. London is submitting proposals for greater local control of the NHS and social care following developments in Manchester. Capital funding for
6489-419: The capital was lagging behind the rest of the country, but the focus of the government continued to be on hospitals. In December 2006 NHS London asked Lord Darzi to "develop a strategy to meet Londoners' health needs over the next five to ten years". His report Healthcare for London: A Framework for Action was published on 11 July 2007. It recommended the development of academic health science centres and
6592-421: The case of St Bartholomew's Hospital since 1123. Florence Nightingale campaigned to establish accommodation in infirmaries for the sick separate from that provided by workhouses. She had formulated her schemes for immediate application to London because it was obvious that sweeping reforms could not be absorbed at once throughout the country. In 1860, she proved successful in her campaign and founded, in London,
6695-437: The centre of the British press. The invasion of Amsterdam by Napoleonic armies led many financiers to relocate to London and the first London international issue was arranged in 1817. Around the same time, the Royal Navy became the world's leading war fleet, acting as a major deterrent to potential economic adversaries. Following a fire in 1838, the Royal Exchange was redesigned by William Tite and rebuilt in 1844. The repeal of
6798-425: The city's metropolis. The City of London at its core once comprised the whole settlement, but as its urban area grew, the Corporation of London resisted attempts to amalgamate the city with its suburbs , causing "London" to be defined several ways. Forty per cent of Greater London is covered by the London post town , in which 'London' forms part of postal addresses. The London telephone area code (020) covers
6901-412: The city, to intimidate the inhabitants. In 1097, William II began building Westminster Hall , near the abbey. It became the basis of a new Palace of Westminster . In the 12th century, the institutions of central government, which had hitherto followed the royal English court around the country, grew in size and sophistication and became increasingly fixed, for most purposes at Westminster , although
7004-443: The combined revenue expenditure by London councils and the GLA amounted to just over £22 billion (£14.7 billion for the boroughs and £7.4 billion for the GLA). The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for Greater London, run by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority . It is the third largest fire service in the world. National Health Service ambulance services are provided by
7107-405: The comprehensive University College London . It is the most visited city in Europe and has the world's busiest city airport system . The London Underground is the world's oldest rapid transit system. London's diverse cultures encompass over 300 languages. The 2023 population of Greater London of just under 10 million made it Europe's third-most populous city , accounting for 13.4% of
7210-500: The creation of the Greater London Authority . To mark the 21st century, the Millennium Dome , London Eye and Millennium Bridge were constructed. On 6 July 2005 London was awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics , as the first city to stage the Olympic Games three times. On 7 July 2005, three London Underground trains and a double-decker bus were bombed in a series of terrorist attacks . In 2008, Time named London alongside New York City and Hong Kong as Nylonkong , hailing them as
7313-419: The creation of the London Underground , the world's first urban rail network . The Metropolitan Board of Works oversaw infrastructure expansion in the capital and some surrounding counties; it was abolished in 1889 when the London County Council was created out of county areas surrounding the capital. From the early years of the 20th century onwards, teashops were found on High Streets across London and
7416-713: The driest is 1921, with a total fall of 12.1 inches (308 mm). The average annual precipitation amounts to about 600mm, which is half the annual rainfall of New York City . Despite relatively low annual precipitation, London receives 109.6 rainy days on the 1.0mm threshold annually. London is vulnerable to climate change , and there is concern among hydrological experts that households may run out of water before 2050. Temperature extremes in London range from 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) at Heathrow on 19 July 2022 down to −17.4 °C (0.7 °F) at Northolt on 13 December 1981. Records for atmospheric pressure have been kept at London since 1692. The highest pressure ever reported
7519-603: The first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital. The mayor's statutory planning strategy is published as the London Plan , which was most recently revised in 2011. The local authorities are the councils of the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation . They are responsible for most local services, such as local planning, schools, libraries, leisure and recreation, social services , local roads and refuse collection. Certain functions, such as waste management , are provided through joint arrangements. In 2009–2010
7622-447: The first time in May 2017. The 32 London clinical commissioning groups agreed to pool 0.15 per cent of their budgets to create a shared fund to make improvements to healthcare across London in April 2015. This is intended to finance 13 programmes: The CCGs in Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing, Harrow, Brent, Hounslow and Hillingdon appointed a common Chief Officer, Mark Easton, in May 2018. This covers
7725-404: The highest rates of childhood obesity of any comparable global city. Healthy eating messages in schools are overwhelmed by the temptations of more than 8,000 fast food outlets – with around 800 more opening every year. London illustrated the difficulties which would flow from the market model. The 1990 NHS reforms precipitated a crisis in London which necessitated emergency action in the form of
7828-416: The introduction of more primary services in one place: polyclinics . The plan for moving care from hospitals to GP-led polyclinics was largely thwarted by GP opposition, but his call for trauma, acute stroke and heart attack services to be centralised in specialist units was seen as successful and was widely copied. In September 2013, Lord Darzi was appointed by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to lead
7931-622: The location of its original headquarters in a road called Great Scotland Yard in Whitehall. The City of London has its own police force – the City of London Police . First worn by Met police officers in 1863, the custodian helmet has been called a "cultural icon" and a "symbol of British law enforcement". Introduced by the Met in 1929, the blue police telephone box (basis for the TARDIS in Doctor Who )
8034-455: The mayor's budget proposals each year. The GLA has responsibility for the majority of London's transport system through its functional arm Transport for London (TfL), it is responsible for overseeing the city's police and fire services, and also for setting a strategic vision for London on a range of issues. The headquarters of the GLA is City Hall , Newham. The mayor since 2016 has been Sadiq Khan ,
8137-673: The most museums , art galleries, libraries, and cultural venues in the UK, including the British Museum , National Gallery , Natural History Museum , Tate Modern , British Library , and numerous West End theatres. Important sporting events held in London include the FA Cup Final , the Wimbledon Tennis Championships , and the London Marathon . It became the first city to host three Summer Olympic Games upon hosting
8240-540: The most complex and difficult conditions hardest.” Martin Marshall of the Royal College of GPs said, “GPs are keen to work with CCGs but what is paramount is that any initiatives do not lower the standard of care that patients receive … it is important that GPs do not feel under pressure not to refer against their expert judgement on the basis of cost, or because they are concerned they will be penalised in some way.” There
8343-650: The most diverse cities in the world. In 1951, the Festival of Britain was held on the South Bank . The Great Smog of 1952 led to the Clean Air Act 1956 , which ended the " pea soup fogs " for which London had been notorious, and had earned it the nickname the "Big Smoke". Starting mainly in the mid-1960s, London became a centre for worldwide youth culture , exemplified by the Swinging London sub-culture associated with
8446-579: The national average. Attempts to map deprivation in the city date back at least to London Labour and the London Poor in the 1840s, if not to Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year of 1722. More recently there has been some powerful use of the London Underground as a method of illustration. Life expectancy famously varies, often by several years, between one tube station and the next. London has
8549-444: The number of consultants they see reduced. Doctors are asked to find alternative ways of treating patients. Andy Slaughter MP said this amounted to rationing, Slaughter added, “GPs are being told not to refer patients to consultants unless absolutely necessary and then only to those at the local hospital trust where waiting times could run to six months or more. The restrictions on consultant-to-consultant referrals will hit those with
8652-467: The old Roman city. By about 680 the city had become a major port again, but there is little evidence of large-scale production. From the 820s repeated Viking assaults brought decline. Three are recorded; those in 851 and 886 succeeded, while the last, in 994, was rebuffed. The Vikings applied Danelaw over much of eastern and northern England, its boundary running roughly from London to Chester as an area of political and geographical control imposed by
8755-486: The principal city of the Roman province of Britannia in 100. At its height in the 2nd century, Roman London had a population of about 60,000. With the early 5th-century collapse of Roman rule, the walled city of Londinium was effectively abandoned, although Roman civilisation continued around St Martin-in-the-Fields until about 450. From about 500, an Anglo-Saxon settlement known as Lundenwic developed slightly west of
8858-462: The resources, and it was rapidly developing the dignity and the political self-consciousness appropriate to a national capital ." After winning the Battle of Hastings , William, Duke of Normandy was crowned King of England in newly completed Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. William built the Tower of London , the first of many such in England rebuilt in stone in the south-eastern corner of
8961-624: The rest of Britain, with Lyons , who opened the first of their chain of teashops in Piccadilly in 1894, leading the way. The tearooms, such as the Criterion in Piccadilly, became a popular meeting place for women from the suffrage movement. The city was the target of many attacks during the suffragette bombing and arson campaign , between 1912 and 1914, which saw historic landmarks such as Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral bombed. London
9064-454: The royal treasury came to rest in the Tower . While the City of Westminster developed into a true governmental capital, its distinct neighbour, the City of London , remained England's largest city and principal commercial centre and flourished under its own unique administration, the Corporation of London . In 1100, its population was some 18,000; by 1300 it had grown to nearly 100,000. With
9167-534: The sea. London is the seat of the Government of the United Kingdom . Many government departments, as well as the prime minister's residence at 10 Downing Street , are based close to the Palace of Westminster , particularly along Whitehall . There are 75 members of Parliament (MPs) from London; As of June 2024 , 59 are from the Labour Party , 9 are Conservatives , 6 are Liberal Democrats and one constituency
9270-430: The standard of GP premises in inner London. Several hospitals were threatened with closure. Although Tomlinson claimed that he had "found an acceptance of the need for change" in fact the proposals were largely rejected. Frank Dobson commissioned Sir Leslie Turnberg and a panel to undertake a strategic review of health services in the capital in 1997. The report particularly stressed the degree to which primary care in
9373-424: The start of 2018 to mid April 2018. Funding cuts to police in London are likely to have contributed to this, though other factors are involved. However, homicide figures fell in 2022 with 109 recorded for the year, and the murder rate in London is much lower than other major cities around the world. London, also known as Greater London , is one of nine regions of England and the top subdivision covering most of
9476-671: The theatres in the 1640s. The ban on theatre was lifted during the Restoration in 1660, and London's oldest operating theatre, Drury Lane , opened in 1663 in what is now the West End theatre district. By the end of the Tudor period in 1603, London was still compact. There was an assassination attempt on James I in Westminster, in the Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1605. In 1637, the government of Charles I attempted to reform administration in
9579-691: The unique governmental status of the City . In the English Civil War , the majority of Londoners supported the Parliamentary cause. After an initial advance by the Royalists in 1642, culminating in the battles of Brentford and Turnham Green , London was surrounded by a defensive perimeter wall known as the Lines of Communication . The lines were built by up to 20,000 people, and were completed in under two months. The fortifications failed their only test when
9682-615: The world's first secular nursing school connected to a fully serving hospital and medical school ( St. Thomas' Hospital ). Sanatorium benefit was a particular feature of the National Insurance Act 1911 . The Metropolitan Asylums Board had established some 8,500 isolation beds and it was agreed that these beds could be used to meet the obligations of the London County Council . The Board was eventually dissolved in March 1930 as
9785-551: The world's largest companies, with over 800 subsidiary companies in 80 countries. One previous CEO of Lonrho plc was the controversial Tiny Rowland (1917–1998), a corporate raider who ran the firm from 1962 to 1993. Scholars have noted that while he may have been the "unacceptable face of capitalism", in the words of Edward Heath , Lonrho plc worked in tandem with the British government in protecting British business interests in Africa after independence. The current company named Lonrho
9888-625: The world's three most influential global cities . In January 2015, Greater London's population was estimated to be 8.63 million, its highest since 1939. During the Brexit referendum in 2016, the UK as a whole decided to leave the European Union , but most London constituencies voted for remaining. However, Britain's exit from the EU in early 2020 only marginally weakened London's position as an international financial centre. The administration of London
9991-964: Was bombed by the Germans in the First World War , and during the Second World War , the Blitz and other bombings by the German Luftwaffe killed over 30,000 Londoners, destroying large tracts of housing and other buildings across the city. The tomb of the Unknown Warrior , an unidentified member of the British armed forces killed during the First World War, was buried in Westminster Abbey on 11 November 1920. The Cenotaph , located in Whitehall ,
10094-435: Was formed on 26 February 1998 as a spin-off of Lonmin (at the time called "Lonrho plc"), and it was first known as Lonrho Africa plc . The demerger transferred all non-mining African assets to the separate publicly listed Lonrho Africa plc, while Lonrho plc (now Lonmin) retained the mining businesses. Lonrho Africa plc subsequently changed its name to Lonrho plc on 10 May 2007, following the approval of shareholders. Lonrho
10197-437: Was once a common sight throughout London and regional cities in the UK. The British Transport Police are responsible for police services on National Rail , London Underground , Docklands Light Railway and Tramlink services. The Ministry of Defence Police is a special police force in London, which does not generally become involved with policing the general public. The UK's domestic counter-intelligence service ( MI5 )
10300-640: Was one of the funding partners in low-cost airline Fastjet , operating in Africa. This was after they exchanged their stake in Fly 540 for shares in Rubicon Diversified Investments plc, which was renamed Fastjet in August 2012. In 2013, Lonrho plc was delisted from the LSE , JSE and OTCQX after agreeing to a £174.5 million takeover by FS Africa, a bid vehicle controlled by Swiss billionaire Thomas Schmidheiny and Rainer-Marc Frey . London London
10403-406: Was repeated with the establishment of regional health authorities in 1974. In each case the regions extended into the home counties. The teaching hospitals, of which a majority were in London, were not integrated into the regional structure until 1974 but reported directly to the minister. To fulfil their teaching responsibilities the 12 undergraduate teaching hospitals needed access to virtually all
10506-459: Was supervised by polymath Robert Hooke . In 1710, Christopher Wren 's masterpiece, St Paul's Cathedral , was completed, replacing its medieval predecessor that burned in the Great Fire of 1666. The dome of St Paul's dominated the London skyline for centuries, inspiring the artworks and writing of William Blake , with his 1789 poem " Holy Thursday " referring to 'the high dome of Pauls'. During
10609-516: Was unveiled on the same day, and is the focal point for the National Service of Remembrance held annually on Remembrance Sunday , the closest Sunday to 11 November. The 1948 Summer Olympics were held at the original Wembley Stadium , while London was still recovering from the war. From the 1940s, London became home to many immigrants, primarily from Commonwealth countries such as Jamaica, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, making London one of
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