Modern Britain

While the administrative and other bodies of the City of London date back to the Middle Ages, they covered only the area known as the Square Mile.

London steadily expanded thereafter. It incorporated the City of Westminster – based around the abbey and the palace, which served as a home for Parliament once it settled rather than followed the king, and when outbreaks of plague did not drive it to meet elsewhere – and many villages on its borders. Unlike other major cities there was no unitary governing body with jurisdiction over even a fraction of the larger whole: such administration as existed was handled by a complex mix of overlapping authorities, mostly with limited geographical jurisdiction and limited authorities, many based on the civil parishes and vestries, with there being many exclusions at different times.

The Poor Laws from the end of the eighteenth century allowed for the formation of unions of parishes, and subsequently other bodies, such as the Metropolitan Police were set up. However, London was excluded from the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act (which followed the 1832 Reform Act), and various attempts were made thereafter to create a unitary entity.

Some advance was made with the establishment of the Metropolitan Building Office and the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers, established in 1845 and 1848 respectively and dealing with a limited geographical area in what would now be regarded as Central London.

These were replaced, in 1855, by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which had a mainly practical remit, dealing with such areas as the health, the housing of the working classes, and building of a sewer system (largely arising from the effects of the Great Stink). In a notable example of coordination the Embankments were constructed to incorporate part of the main sewer drainage system and also part of what is now the District and Circle Lines – though the private company experienced financial problems which caused delays. Whatever its practical achievements, the MBW became associated with corruption and other scandals – including one involving the official accountant.

Other legislation followed: in 1861 there was a House of Commons Select Committee investigation into London Government: the 1870 Education Act led to the establishment of School Boards (abolished and absorbed into local government in 1904) and in 1871 the Local Government Board was established.

Following the establishment of county councils under an Act on local government of 1888 it was decided to replace the MBW by the London County Council, which happened in 1889. (It should be noted that suitably qualified women had the franchise and opportunity to be elected and otherwise involved with School Boards and the LCC – this participation in lower level government and administration was to feed into the Parliamentary franchise movement, but is less frequently covered than the latter.)

The London Government Act of 1899 led to the replacement of the existing system of parishes by a system of 28 boroughs (which were considerably smaller than the present equivalents), each of which had its own administrative organisation.

The London County Council

The LCC moved from the building formerly occupied by the MBW, in Spring Gardens, to County Hall, opposite the Houses of Parliament, in the early twentieth century. Its functions were also significantly orientated towards the practical – although parties, linked to, but in some cases differently named from, national parties emerged.

There could be some conflict between the LCC and the borough councils – for example the inequality of rates raised, and the needs of the local population could lead to conflicts of interest, with the Poplar Rates Rebellion (lead by the politician George Lansbury – grandfather of the actress Angela Lansbury – and others) being the most well known instance.

The LCC was, in turn, replaced by the Greater London Council, covering a much wider geographical area, in 1965, and with a wider remit. It was based in County Hall and had, initially, a three year term of office which was changed to four.

There was another rearrangement of boroughs, which led to the disappearance of the County of Middlesex, with some areas being transferred to neighbouring counties. The LCC's educational functions were transferred to the Inner London Education Authority (the Outer London Boroughs retaining that function). This new body was the product of the changing structure of the London region – and was also due to the LCC being of a different political complexion to the central government.

This latter reason was to contribute to the GLC's abolition in turn, under Margaret Thatcher (along with a number of other metropolitan councils). The London Residuary Body was created to deal with remaining functions, and to deal with the GLC's staff, and other matters, from Hampstead Heath to the management of the Thamesmead area. (It was also to deal with the ILEA when that too was wound up).

For the next few years London was the only capital city without a local government body to manage it – although in 1994 the Government Office for London was established. A number of quangos and other bodies were set up with various functions – the most successful probably being the London Docklands Development Corporation – the redevelopment of the area being on the initiative of Michael Heseltine, then Minister of the Environment.

Establishment of the Greater London Authority

General Assembly political parties participating

London mayoral elections

The name of the winner of each election is shown in bold type.

Footnote

A number of physical survivals relating to several of the bodies persist: the MBW's initials can be seen on several buildings, and also lighting fixtures on the Embankments; while a number of late Victorian school buildings bear the name of the board responsible for them.

The LCC is most prominent for its housing construction – and a tram shed in Brixton Hill: various street signs in London still retain the pre-1965 borough names. The GLC has left a few traces, including a notice in Covent Garden, a sign put up by the LRB persisted near the London Eye until the first years of the new millennium.

In contrast, apart from the building in which it meets and the web site, the GLA is associated with few visible monuments – red routes and congestion signs are included in general traffic-related street furniture, and posters tend to be associated with the Mayor of London.

Main References

Access to Archives - web site

Keesings Contemporary Archives - some information collected at the time – and several sequences of newspapers. The GLA produces various publications, but there is, however, no book currently in print on the subject

London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) History Pages

The National Archives - a number of files relating to the various bodies and pieces of legislation

Wikipedia - London mayoral election, 2000/2004/2008 (details of mayoral candidates' programmes on the relevant pages)

Further Reading

Edwards, Giles & Isaby, Jonathan - Boris v Ken: How Boris Johnson Won London, London 2008

Text copyright © Jackie Speel. An original feature for the History Files.