The history of local government in London, England, spans a number of periods.
Timeline from 1851
1850s
1860s
1870s
1880s
1890s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
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1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
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Metropolis
County of London
Greater London
Metropolitan Board of Works
London County Council
Greater London Council
Greater London Authority
Districts and parishes
Districts and civil parishes
Metropolitan boroughs
Inner and Outer London boroughs
District boards of works and parish vestries
Borough councils
London borough councils
From
Legislation
System
1835
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
The small, ancient and self-governing City of London is unreformed by legislation covering the other major city corporations and does not expand into the growing metropolitan area surrounding it. The area that is currently Greater London is administered by parishes and hundreds in the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire, with very little co-ordination between them.[1] Special areas such as the Liberty of Westminster are exempt from county administration. In other areas ad-hoc single-purpose boards are set up. Commentators consider it to be a system 'in chaos'.[1]
1855
Metropolis Management Act 1855
The Metropolitan Board of Works is created to provide the infrastructure needed in the area now known as Inner London, its members are nominated by the vestries and boards.[2]
1889
Local Government Act 1888
The County of London is created from the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works.[3] A London County Council shares power with the boards and vestries. The City of London is outside of its scope. Croydon and West Ham (and later East Ham) become county boroughs outside the County of London but also outside the control of the newly formed Surrey and Essex county councils.
1894
Local Government Act 1894
The rest of England, including the area around the County of London and the county boroughs (but not within it), is divided into urban districts and rural districts. In the Greater London area they become consolidated over the next 70 years into municipal boroughs and urban districts with no rural districts remaining. Many districts later become populous enough to apply for county boroughs status, but are rejected. A Royal Commission on the Amalgamation of the City and County of London attempts to facilitate the merger of the City and County of London, but fails.
1900
London Government Act 1899
Metropolitan boroughs are created within the County of London and functions are shared with the London County Council. The vestries, boards and liberties in the area are abolished.
1965
London Government Act 1963
An enlarged Greater London replaces the County of London, Middlesex County Council, the county boroughs and all local government districts within around a 12-mile radius. The mostly strategic Greater London Council shares power with the 32 London boroughs and the City of London.[4]
1986
Local Government Act 1985
The Greater London Council is abolished and the London boroughs work as unitary authorities with strategic functions organised by joint boards and quangos.[5] A residual Inner London Education Authority remains for the inner area, but is abolished during a national reform of education.
2000
Greater London Authority Act 1999
The regional Greater London Authority, consisting of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly assume a strategic function, sharing power with the London boroughs and the City of London.[6]
^ abBarlow, I., Metropolitan Government, (1991)
^Saint, A., Politics and the people of London: the London County Council (1889-1965), (1989)
^Thomson, D., England in the Nineteenth Century (1815-1914), (1978)
^Redcliffe-Maud & Wood, B., English Local Government Reformed, (1974)
^Kingdom, J., Local Government and Politics in Britain, (1991)
^Jones, B. et al., Politics UK, (2004)
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