London boroughs

History

Background

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 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.

Creation

The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London 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 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 not, with those powers held by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). 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.

The first elections were held on 7 May 1964, with the new councils acting as shadow authorities before coming into their powers the following year. The new London boroughs were incorporated using the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act 1882.

Former authorities

The 32 London boroughs were created as follows.

Boundary changes

The London boroughs were created by combining whole existing units of local government and it 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 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.

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 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.

Londonwide authorities

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 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 the borough councils gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. ILEA continued to exist as an ad hoc authority. In 1990 it was abolished and the Inner London borough councils also became local education authorities. 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.

London borough councils

The London boroughs are administered by London borough councils (LBCs). They are a form of unitary authority. They are the principal local authorities in London and are municipal corporations. The legal entity is not the council, as elsewhere in the country, but the inhabitants incorporated by royal charter.

Names

The official legal title of the borough councils is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of X" (or "The Lord Mayor and Citizens of the City of Westminster"). The Local Government Act 1972 provided a mechanism for councils to change their names and that of their boroughs. 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.

Services

London borough councils 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 is a local education authority and local planning authority.

Shared services

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 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.

Elections

The first elections to the new borough councils were held on 7 May 1964. The councillors were elected for a three-year term, acting in a shadow capacity until the London boroughs were created on 1 April 1965. The terms of members due to go out in 1967 were extended by one year to prevent the elections taking place in the same year as the 1967 Greater London Council election. Councillors were elected for three-year terms in 1968, 1971 and 1974 with the terms due to end in 1977 extended by a year to end in 1978. Aldermanic elections were held following the council elections in 1964, with half of the alderman due to retire in 1967 (later extended to 1968) and the other half in 1970 (extended to 1971). Aldermanic elections for six-year terms were held in 1968 and 1971. Aldermen were elected in 1974 for a three-year term. The aldermen elected in 1971 and 1974 later had their terms extended, to all end in 1978. Elections of councillors have been held on a four-year cycle since 1978.

Executives

Twenty-eight councils follow the leader and cabinet model of executive governance. Five councils are led by directly elected mayors. They are the mayors of Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets. Borough mayors are elected every four years at the same time as councillors.

Political control

Traditionally, the political make-up of London borough councils was dominated by the Conservative and Labour parties, but following the 2026 election nine were under no overall control, with the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Reform all controlling councils.