1.
Lord Mayor of London
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The Lord Mayor of London is the City of Londons mayor and leader of the City of London Corporation. This office differs from the Mayor of London, which is an elected position. However, the legal and commonly used title remains Lord Mayor of London, the Lord Mayor is elected at Common Hall each year on Michaelmas, and takes office on the Friday before the second Saturday in November, at The Silent Ceremony. One of the worlds oldest continuously elected civic offices, the Lord Mayors main role nowadays is to represent, support and promote the businesses and residents in the City of London. As leader of the Corporation of the City of London, the Lord Mayor serves as the key spokesman for the local authority, all Lord Mayors of London are apolitical. The Lord Mayor of London typically delivers dozens of speeches and addresses per year, many incumbents of the office make overseas visits while Lord Mayor of London. Currently serving is the 689th Lord Mayor Dr Andrew Parmley Of the 69 cities in the United Kingdom, the City of London is among the 30 that have Lord Mayors. The Lord Mayor is entitled to the style The Right Honourable, the same privilege extends only to the Lord Mayors of York, Cardiff and Belfast, the latter prefix applies only to Privy Counsellors. A woman who holds the office is known as a Lord Mayor. The wife of a male Lord Mayor is styled as Lady Mayoress, a female Lord Mayor or an unmarried male Lord Mayor may appoint a female consort, usually a fellow member of the corporation, to the role of Lady Mayoress. In speech, a Lord Mayor is referred to as My Lord Mayor, and it was once customary for Lord Mayors to be appointed knights upon taking office and baronets upon retirement, unless they already held such a title. This custom was followed with a few inconsistencies from the 16th until the 19th centuries, however, from 1964 onwards, the regular creation of hereditary titles such as baronetcies was phased out, so subsequent Lord Mayors were offered knighthoods. Furthermore, foreign Heads of State visiting the City of London on a UK State Visit, for example, in 2001, Sir David Howard was created a Grand Cordon of the Order of Independence of Jordan by King Abdullah II. Recently Lord Mayors have been appointed at the beginning of their term of office Knights or Dames of St John, as a mark of respect, by HM The Queen, Sovereign Head of the Order of St John. The office of Lord Mayor was instituted in 1189, the first holder of the office being Henry Fitz-Ailwin de Londonestone. The Mayor of the City of London has been elected by the City, rather than appointed by the Sovereign, the title Lord Mayor came to be used after 1354, when it was granted to Thomas Legge by King Edward III. Lord Mayors are elected for terms, by custom, they do not now serve more than one consecutive term. Almost 700 people have served as Lord Mayor, Dame Mary Donaldson, elected in 1983, and Dame Fiona Woolf, elected in 2013, are the only women to have held the office
2.
Sadiq Khan
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Sadiq Aman Khan PC is a British politician and the current Mayor of London since 2016. He was the Member of Parliament for Tooting from 2005 to 2016, a member of the Labour Party, he is situated on the partys soft left and has been ideologically characterised as a social democrat. Born in Tooting, South London to a working-class British Pakistani family and he subsequently worked as a solicitor specialising in human rights, and chaired Liberty for three years. Joining Labour, Khan was a Councillor for the London Borough of Wandsworth from 1994 to 2006 before being elected MP for Tooting in 2005. Under the Labour government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown he was appointed Minister of State for Communities in 2008, later becoming Minister of State for Transport. A key ally of Labour leader Ed Miliband, he served in Milibands Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, Shadow Lord Chancellor, Khan was elected Mayor of London in the May 2016 mayoral election, succeeding Conservative Party Mayor Boris Johnson. He immediately resigned as MP for Tooting and his election as Mayor of London made him the citys first ethnic minority mayor, and the first Muslim to become mayor of a major Western capital. Khan held the largest personal mandate of any politician in the history of the United Kingdom, as mayor he introduced reforms to limit charges on Londons public transport, backed airport expansion, and focused on uniting the citys varied communities. He was a supporter of the unsuccessful Britain Stronger in Europe campaign to retain UK membership of the European Union. His work to improve relations between Muslim communities and wider British society has seen him receive security threats from both Islamist and far-right activists. Khan was born at St Georges Hospital in Tooting, South London and his grandparents migrated from Bombay Presidency, British India to Pakistan following the partition of India in 1947, and his parents migrated to England from Pakistan shortly before Khan was born. His late father, Amanullah Khan, worked as a bus driver for over 25 years, his mother, Khan and his siblings grew up in a three-bedroom council flat on the Henry Prince Estate in Earlsfield. He attended Fircroft Primary School and then Ernest Bevin School, a local comprehensive, Khan studied science and mathematics at A-level, in the hope of eventually qualifying as a dentist. A teacher recommended that he read law, as he had an argumentative personality, the teachers suggestion, along with the American television programme L. A. Law, inspired Khan to do so. He entered the University of North London to study law, from his earliest years, Khan worked, I was surrounded by my mum and dad working all the time, so as soon as I could get a job, I got a job. I got a round, a Saturday job—some summers I laboured on a building site. The family continues to send money to relatives in Pakistan, because were blessed being in this country. ”He and his family often encountered racism, which led to him and his brothers taking up boxing at the Earlsfield Amateur Boxing Club. While studying for his degree, from the age of 18 to 21, before entering the House of Commons in 2005, Khan practised as a solicitor
3.
Deputy Mayor of London
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The Deputy Mayor of London is a member of the London Assembly appointed by the Mayor of London in accordance with the Greater London Authority Act 1999. No particular duties are specified by the Act, except to be available as temporary Mayor during a vacancy or temporary incapacity of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayors salary in 2007–08 is £90,954. The 2000 London mayoral election was won by Ken Livingstone, who ran as an independent after being expelled from the Labour Party and he announced that he would rotate the position of deputy mayor equally between the four parties represented in the London Assembly. He offered the role to Nicky Gavron of the Labour Party for the first year, after some political manoeuvring, she accepted. However, in 2001, Ken Livingstone decided not to offer the role to the Conservatives, claiming it would be disruptive, in 2002 the Liberal Democrats were asked to nominate a candidate but declined, saying that it would be better to scrutinise the mayor from an independent position. In 2003, the Greens accepted an offer to nominate a deputy mayor and selected Jenny Jones, Nicky Gavron was originally chosen as the Labour candidate for the 2004 London mayoral election but she stepped aside when Ken Livingstone was invited to rejoin the party. They then ran on a joint ticket as Labours candidates for the posts of mayor and she served as Ken Livingstones deputy for the duration of his second term. In his first term, Ken Livingstone came under fire for delegating his powers to his Chief of Staff, after Boris Johnson became Mayor in May 2008, he appointed Richard Barnes as his statutory Deputy Mayor, with the specific responsibility for community cohesion and regeneration. However, he gave the title of Deputy Mayor to several other people, each with a specific role, Ian Clement, Kit Malthouse. Sir Simon Milton, a councillor, served as Deputy Mayor of Policy and Planning. Sir Edward Lister was then appointed Deputy Mayor of Policy and Planning, Richard Barnes ceased to be Deputy Mayor on 4 May 2012, when he lost his seat in the Assembly. Victoria Borwick succeeded him in the post, Borwick resigned in May 2015, following her election as Member of Parliament for Kensington, being succeeded by Roger Evans. The 2016 London mayoral election was won by Sadiq Khan, a member of the Labour Party, following the election, he made Joanne McCartney Statutory Deputy Mayor. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has appointed Rajesh Agrawal as his deputy mayor for business
4.
London Assembly
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The assembly was established in 2000 and meets at City Hall on the south bank of the River Thames, close to Tower Bridge. The assembly is also able to investigate issues of importance to Londoners, publish its findings and recommendations. The assembly comprises 25 members elected using the Additional Member System of proportional representation, elections take place every four years – at the same time as for the Mayor. A party must win at least 5% of the party list vote in order to win any seats, members of the assembly have the post-nominal title AM. The annual salary for a London Assembly member is approximately £55,000, one assembly member, Jenny Jones, was appointed to the House of Lords as the first life peer for the Green Party, and sat in the assembly until May 2016. Sally Hamwee, Graham Tope and Toby Harris were life peers elected to the assembly, while Lynne Featherstone, andrew Dismore, Graham Tope, and Richard Tracey are all former MPs who were later elected to the assembly. One assembly member – John Biggs, former AM for City and he is currently serving as the Mayor. Note that these maps only show constituency results and not list results, London Assembly London Assembly publications City Hall Labour Conservatives in the London Assembly London Assembly Liberal Democrats
5.
Southwark
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Southwark is a district of Central London and part of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated 1.5 miles east of Charing Cross, it one of the oldest parts of London. It historically formed an ancient borough in the county of Surrey, made up of a number of parishes, as an inner district of London, Southwark experienced rapid depopulation during the late-19th and early-20th centuries. It is now at a stage of regeneration and is the county town of Greater London which is the location of the City Hall offices of the Greater London Authority. Southwark had a population of 30,119 in 2011, Southwark is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Sudweca. The name means southern defensive work and is formed from the Old English sūth, the southern location is in reference to the City of London to the north, Southwark being at the southern end of London Bridge. The ancient borough of Southwark was also simply as The Borough—or Borough—and this name. Southwark was also referred to as the Ward of Bridge Without when administered by the City. Southwark is on a marshy area south of the River Thames. Recent excavation has revealed prehistoric activity including evidence of ploughing, burial mounds. The area was originally a series of islands in the River Thames and this formed the best place to bridge the Thames and the area became an important part of Londinium owing its importance to its position as the endpoint of the Roman London Bridge. Two Roman roads, Stane Street and Watling Street, met at Southwark in what is now Borough High Street, archaeological work at Tabard Street in 2004 discovered a plaque with the earliest reference to London from the Roman period on it. Londinium was abandoned at the end of the Roman occupation in the fifth century. Archaeologically, evidence of settlement is replaced by a largely featureless soil called the Dark Earth which probably represents an urban area abandoned, Southwark appears to recover only during the time of King Alfred and his successors. Sometime about 886 AD, the burh of Southwark was created and it was probably fortified to defend the bridge and hence the re-emerging City of London to the north. He failed to force the bridge during the Norman conquest of England, Southwark appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as held by several Surrey manors. Southwarks value to the King was £16, much of Southwark was originally owned by the church—the greatest reminder of monastic London is Southwark Cathedral, originally the priory of St Mary Overie. During the early Middle Ages, Southwark developed and was one of the four Surrey towns which returned Members of Parliament for the first commons assembly in 1295
6.
Greater London
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London, or Greater London, is a region of England which forms the administrative boundaries of London. It is organised into 33 local government districts, the 32 London boroughs, the Greater London Authority, based in Southwark, is responsible for strategic local government across the region and consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The county of Greater London was created on 1 April 1965 through the London Government Act 1963, administratively, Greater London was first established as a sui generis council area under the Greater London Council between 1963 and 1986. The area was re-established as a region in 1994, and the Greater London Authority formed in 2000, the region covers 1,572 km2 and had a population of 8,174,000 at the 2011 census. In 2012, it had the highest GVA per capita in the United Kingdom at £37,232, the Greater London Built-up Area—used in some national statistics—is a measure of the continuous urban area of London, and therefore includes areas outside of the administrative region. The term Greater London has been and still is used to different areas in governance, statistics, history. In terms of ceremonial counties, London is divided into the small City of London, outside the limited boundaries of the City, a variety of arrangements has governed the wider area since 1855, culminating in the creation of the Greater London administrative area in 1965. The Greater London Arterial Road Programme was devised between 1913 and 1916, one of the larger early forms was the Greater London Planning Region, devised in 1927, which occupied 1,856 square miles and included 9 million people. The LCC pressed for an alteration in its boundaries soon after the end of the First World War, noting that within the Metropolitan, a Royal Commission on London Government was set up to consider 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 LCCs scheme, two minority reports favoured change beyond the amalgamation of smaller urban districts, including both smaller borough councils and a central authority for strategic functions. The London Traffic Act 1924 was a result of the Commission, Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council sharing power with the City of London Corporation and the 32 London Borough councils. The GLC was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its functions were devolved to the City Corporation and the London Boroughs, with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards. Greater London was used to form the London region of England in 1994, a referendum held in 1998 established a public will to recreate an upper tier of government to cover the region. The Greater London Authority, London Assembly and 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, the 2008 and 2012 elections were won by Boris Johnson. The 2016 election was won by Sadiq Khan, Greater London continues to include the most closely associated parts of the Greater London Urban Area and their historic buffers. Thus it includes, in five boroughs, significant parts of the Metropolitan Green Belt which protects designated greenfield land in a way to the citys parks
7.
Term of office
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A term of office is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject to re-election. Some jurisdictions exercise term limits, setting a number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office. Being the origin of the Westminster system, aspects of the United Kingdoms system of government are replicated in other countries. The monarch serves as head of state until his or her death or abdication, in the United Kingdom Members of Parliament in the House of Commons are elected for the duration of the parliament. Following dissolution of the Parliament, an election is held which consists of simultaneous elections for all seats. For most MPs this means that their terms of office are identical to the duration of the Parliament, an MP elected in a by-election mid-way through a Parliament, regardless of how long they have occupied the seat, is not exempt from facing re-election at the next general election. The Septennial Act 1715 provided that a Parliament expired seven years after it had been summoned, prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 parliaments had no minimum duration. Parliaments could be dissolved early by the monarch at the Prime Ministers request, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 mandated that Parliaments should last their full five years. Early dissolution is possible, but under much more limited circumstances. Hereditary peers and life peers retain membership of the House of Lords for life, Lords Spiritual hold membership of the House of Lords until the end of their time as bishops, though a senior bishop may be made a life peer upon the end of their bishopric. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are variations on the system of government used at Westminster, the office of the leader of the devolved administrations has no numeric term limit imposed upon it. However, in the case of the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government there are fixed terms for which the legislatures can sit and this is imposed at four years. Elections may be held before this time but only if no administration can be formed, offices of local government other regional elected officials follow similar rules to the national offices discussed above, with persons elected to fixed terms of a few years. Federal judges have different terms in office, however, the majority of the federal judiciary, Article III judges, such as those of the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and federal district courts, serve for life. The terms of office for officials in state governments according to the provisions of state constitutions. The term for state governors is four years in all states but Vermont and New Hampshire, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported in January 2007 that among state legislatures,44 states had terms of office for the lower house of the state legislature at two years. Five had terms of office at four years,37 states had terms of office for the upper house of the state legislature at four years
8.
Ken Livingstone
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He also served as the Member of Parliament for Brent East from 1987 to 2001. A suspended member of the Labour Party, he was on the hard left. Livingstone was heavily criticised in the media for supporting controversial issues like republicanism, LGBT rights, and a United Ireland. Livingstone was an opponent of the Conservative Party government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Elected as MP for Brent East in 1987, he closely associated with anti-racist campaigns. He unsuccessfully stood for Labour Party leader on a leftist platform in 1992 and 1994, after failing to become Labours candidate in the 2000 London mayoral election, Livingstone successfully contested the election as an independent candidate. In his first term as Mayor of London, he introduced the congestion charge, Oyster card, and articulated buses and he stood unsuccessfully as Labour candidate in Londons mayoral elections of 2008 and 2012, losing both to the Conservative candidate Boris Johnson. Characterised as the truly successful Left-wing British politician of modern times. Livingstone was born in his grandmothers house in Lambeth, south London, on 17 June 1945. His family was working class, his mother, Ethel Ada, had born in Southwark before training as an acrobatic dancer. Kens Scottish father, Robert Bob Moffat Livingstone, had born in Dunoon before joining the Merchant Navy in 1932. Having first met in April 1940 at a hall in Workington. After the war the couple moved in with Ethels aggressive mother, Zona Ann, Livingstones sister Lin was born 2 1⁄2 years later. Livingstones parents were working class Tories, and unlike many Conservative voters at the time did not hold to socially conservative views on race and sexuality, opposing racism, the family was nominally Anglican, although Livingstone abandoned Christianity when he was 11, becoming an atheist. In 1957, his family purchased their own property at 66 Wolfington Road, rather shy at school, he was bullied, and got into trouble for truancy. One year, his master was Philip Hobsbaum, who encouraged his pupils to debate current events. He related that he became an argumentative cocky little brat at home and his interest in politics was furthered by the 1958 Papal election of Pope John XXIII – a man who had a strong impact on Livingstone – and the United States presidential election,1960. At school he attained four O-levels in English Literature, English Language, Geography and Art and he started work rather than stay on for the non-compulsory sixth form, which required six O-levels
9.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
10.
Greater London Authority
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The Greater London Authority is a top-tier administrative body for Greater London, England. It consists of an elected executive Mayor of London, currently Sadiq Khan. The authority was established in 2000, following a referendum, and derives most of its powers from the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It is a regional authority, with powers over transport, policing, economic development. Three functional bodies — Transport for London, the Mayors Office for Policing and Crime, the planning policies of the Mayor of London are detailed in a statutory London Plan that is regularly updated and published. The Greater London Authority is mostly funded by government grant and it is also a precepting authority. The GLA is unique in the British local government system, in terms of structure, elections, the GLA is responsible for the strategic administration of the 1579 km² of Greater London. It shares local government powers with the councils of 32 London boroughs and it was created to improve the co-ordination between the local authorities in Greater London, and the Mayor of Londons role is to give London a single person to represent it. The Mayor proposes policy and the GLAs budget, and makes appointments to the capitals strategic executive such as Transport for London, the primary purpose of the London Assembly is to hold the Mayor of London to account by scrutiny of his or her actions and decisions. The assembly must also accept or amend the Mayors budget on an annual basis, the GLA is based at City Hall, a new building on the south bank of the River Thames, next to Tower Bridge. The GLA is different from the Corporation of the City of London with its largely ceremonial Lord Mayors, in 1986, the Greater London Council was abolished by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher. On abolition, the functions of the GLC were transferred to bodies controlled by central government or joint boards nominated by the London Borough councils. Some of the service functions were transferred down to the councils themselves. For the next 14 years there was no single elected body for the whole of London, the Labour Party never supported the abolition of the GLC and made it a policy to re-establish some form of citywide elected authority. After the Labour party won the 1997 general election, the policy was outlined in a White paper entitled A Mayor and Assembly for London. Simultaneously with the elections to the London Borough councils, a referendum was held on the establishment of the GLA in May 1998, the Greater London Authority Act 1999 passed through Parliament, receiving the Royal Assent in October 1999. In a controversial campaign, the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, attempted to block Livingstones nomination. In reaction, Livingstone stood as an independent candidate, resulting in his expulsion from the Labour Party, following an interim period in which the Mayor and Assembly had been elected but had no powers, the GLA was formally established on 3 July 2000
11.
London mayoral elections
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The London mayoral election for the office of Mayor of London takes place quadrennially. The first election was in held May 2000, and four subsequent elections have taken place, the latest mayoral election took place in 2016. As with most elected posts in the United Kingdom a candidate must pay a deposit to run in the election, the current deposit a candidate must pay is £10,000 which is returned if the candidates wins at least 5 percent of the first preference votes cast. The Winner is elected for a term of four years. The 2016 London mayoral election was held on 5 May 2016, the results were announced on 7 May at 00,30 despite British TV news channel Sky News announcing Sadiq Khan as the winner hours earlier. Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson was reelected to a term in office. Livingstone announced his retirement from politics in his concession speech, the incumbent Labour Mayor, Ken Livingstone was defeated by Conservative candidate Boris Johnson who became Londons 2nd Mayor. In 2004, the election was held. After being re-admitted to the Labour Party, Ken Livingstone was their official candidate and he won re-election after second preference votes were counted, with Steve Norris again coming second. The eventual winner, Ken Livingstone, reneged on a pledge not to run as an independent after losing the Labour nomination to Frank Dobson. The Conservative Party candidate, Jeffrey Archer, was replaced by Steven Norris after Archer was charged with perjury, elections in the United Kingdom http, //www. londonelects. org. uk, official website
12.
London Assembly election, 2016
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The 2016 London Assembly election was an election held on 5 May 2016 to elect the members of the London Assembly. It took place on the day as the London mayoral election. The election system used is called the Additional Member System, there are 14 constituencies that elect one member each to the Assembly. These seats have been won only by the Labour Party or the Conservative Party, the remaining 11 seats are distributed by a second vote, by a modified DHondt method of closed-list voting, with a 5% minimum threshold. These seats have been won by other parties too, namely the Green Party, the Liberal Democrats and UKIP, the overall result is an attempted compromise between constituency representation and London-wide proportional representation. Those who were eligible had to be registered to vote before 19 April 2016 in order to part in this election. Labour received the largest ever number of votes for a party in a London Assembly election, the Conservative Party won just 8 Assembly seats, its worst-ever performance in a London Assembly election. The Green Party once again elected 2 Assembly members, and UKIP returned to the London Assembly for the first time since the election of 2004, the Liberal Democrats elected just 1 Assembly member, their worst-ever result. The Womens Equality Party, standing for the first time, attracted 91,772 votes on the regional list, no other party polled above 2%. Source, Rejected Ballots 29,733 Total Votes 2,645,409 Note that party descriptions can be used as alternatives to the party name
13.
Transport for London
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Transport for London is a local government body responsible for the transport system in Greater London, England. Its head office is in Windsor House in the City of Westminster, the underlying services are provided by a mixture of wholly owned subsidiary companies, by private sector franchisees and by licensees. In 2015-16, TfL had a budget of £11.5 billion, the rest comes from government funding, borrowing, other income and Crossrail funding. On 21 January 2016, it was announced that the responsibility for franchising all of Londons inner suburban services would be transferred from the DfT to TfL. This transfer will take place as current franchises fall due for renewal, TfL was created in 2000 as part of the Greater London Authority by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It gained most of its functions from its predecessor London Regional Transport in 2000, the first Commissioner of TfL was Bob Kiley. The first Chair was then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, and the first Deputy Chair was Dave Wetzel, Livingstone and Wetzel remained in office until the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor in 2008. Johnson took over as Chairman, and in February 2009 fellow-Conservative Daniel Moylan was appointed as his Deputy, TfL did not take over responsibility for the London Underground until 2003, after the controversial Public-private partnership contract for maintenance had been agreed. Management of the Public Carriage Office had previously been a function of the Metropolitan Police, Transport for London Group Archives holds business records for TfL and its predecessor bodies and transport companies. Some early records are held on behalf of TfL Group Archives at the London Metropolitan Archives. After the bombings on the underground and bus systems on 7 July 2005 and they helped survivors out, removed bodies, and got the transport system up and running, to get the millions of commuters back out of London at the end of the work day. Those mentioned include Peter Hendy, who was at the time Head of Surface Transport division, and Tim OToole, head of the Underground division, carrying open containers of alcohol was also banned on public transport operated by TfL. The Mayor of London and TfL announced the ban with the intention of providing a safer, there were Last Round on the Underground parties on the night before the ban came into force. Passengers refusing to observe the ban may be refused travel and asked to leave the premises, the Greater London Authority reported in 2011 that assaults on London Underground staff had fallen by 15% since the introduction of the ban. In an effort to reduce sexual offences and increase reporting, TfL—in conjunction with the British Transport Police, Metropolitan Police Service, TfL is controlled by a board whose members are appointed by the Mayor of London, a position held by Sadiq Khan since May 2016. The Commissioner of Transport for London reports to the Board and leads a management team with individual functional responsibilities, the body is organised in three main directorates and corporate services, each with responsibility for different aspects and modes of transport. This network is sub-divided into three service units, BCV, Bakerloo, Central, Victoria and Waterloo & City lines. JNP, Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines, SSL, Metropolitan, District, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines
14.
London Fire Brigade
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The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for London. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act of 1865 under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. Dany Cotton is the Commissioner for Fire and Emergency Planning, which includes the position of Chief Fire Officer, statutory responsibility for the running of the brigade lies with the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. In 2013/14 the LFB handled 171,067999 emergency calls, of the calls it actually mobilised to,20,934 were fires, including 10,992 that were of a serious nature, making it one of the busiest fire brigades in the world. In the same 12-month period, it received 3,172 hoax calls, the highest number of any UK fire service, in 2015/16 the LFB received 171,488 emergency calls. These consisted of,20,773 fires,30,066 special service callouts and it also conducts emergency planning and performs fire safety inspections and education. He introduced a uniform that, for the first time, included personal protection from the hazards of firefighting. With 80 firefighters and 13 fire stations, the unit was still a private enterprise, funded by the insurance companies, in 1904 it was renamed as the London Fire Brigade. The LFB moved into a new headquarters built by Higgs and Hill on the Albert Embankment in Lambeth in 1937, during the Second World War the countrys brigades were amalgamated into a single National Fire Service. The separate London Fire Brigade for the County of London was re-established in 1948, in 1986 the Greater London Council was disbanded and a new statutory authority, the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority, was formed to take responsibility for the LFB. The LFCDA was replaced in 2000 by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, at the same time, the Greater London Authority was established to administer the LFEPA and coordinate emergency planning for London. Consisting of the Mayor of London and other elected members, the GLA also takes responsibility for the Metropolitan Police Authority, Transport for London, in 2007 the LFB vacated its Lambeth headquarters and moved to a site in Union Street, Southwark. In the same year, the Department for Communities and Local Government announced that LFB Commissioner Ken Knight had been appointed as the first Chief Fire, Knight was succeeded as Commissioner at that time by Ron Dobson, who served for almost ten years. Dany Cotton took over in 2017, becoming the brigades first female commissioner, dany Cotton is the current commissioner, having taken up the role on 1 January 2017. She holds the Queens Fire Service Medal, frank Jackson, CBE1938 to 1941, Cdr. Sir Aylmer Firebrace, CBE1933 to 1938, Maj. Cyril Morris 1918 to 1933, Arthur Reginald Dyer 1909 to 1918, sir Sampson Sladen 1903 to 1909, RAdm. James de Courcy Hamilton 1896 to 1903, Capt, lionel de Latour Wells 1891 to 1896, James Sexton Simmonds 1861 to 1891, Capt. Both divisions were divided into three districts, each under a Superintendent with his headquarters at a superintendent station, the superintendent stations themselves were commanded by District Officers, with the other stations under Station Officers
15.
London Plan
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The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Greater London area in the United Kingdom that is written by the Mayor of London and published by the Greater London Authority. The regional planning document was first published in form on 10 February 2004. In addition to minor alterations, it was revised and republished in February 2008. The London Plan published in July 2011 is currently in effect and has 2031 as an end date. As of June 2012 minor alterations are being made to the plan to comply with the National Planning Policy Framework, the plan replaced the previous strategic planning guidance for London issued by the Secretary of State and known as RPG3. It is a requirement of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that the document is produced, the Act also requires that the London Plan includes in its scope, the health of Londoners, equality of opportunity, contribution to sustainable development in the United Kingdom. The plan is a development strategy for the Greater London area and has six objectives. The opportunity areas will be able to accommodate around 5,000 jobs each or about 2,500 homes, or a mixture of the two. The opportunity areas will mostly be town centres as opposed to suburban developments in the boroughs, although those are mentioned as important in terms of job growth, by definition, an Opportunity Area is brownfield land with significant capacity for development. This contrasts with an Intensification Area that can be developed to higher than existing densities with more modest economic change, for the purposes of the plan, London is divided into five sub regions. From 2004 to 2008 the sub regions were initially the same as the Learning, within this scheme there was a separate Central sub region and four others around it. The London part of the Thames Gateway zone was entirely contained within the East London sub region, the 2004—2008 sub regions each had a Sub-Regional Development Framework. The sub regions were revised in February 2008 as part of the Further Alterations to the London Plan and these sub regions each radiated from the centre to combine inner and outer London boroughs. The 2008—2011 sub regions, each had its own Sub Regional Implementation Framework, in 2011 the sub regions were revised again, reintroducing a smaller Central sub region and returning all of the London part of the Thames Gateway to be within the East sub region. The 2011 sub regions are to be used for monitoring, engagement. Throughout these revisions has been a separately defined Central Activities Zone which includes areas with a high concentration of metropolitan activities. All activity centres are categorised into,2 international centres, the West End, over 1,200 smaller neighbourhood and local centres are also identified in the plan. There have been a number of amendments to the London Plan which have incorporated into the current version that was published in February 2008
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Greater London Authority referendum, 1998
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Voter turnout for the referendum was 34. 1%. The question that appeared on ballot papers in the referendum before the electorate was, the Yes vote won in every London Borough. There was generally more support in the Inner London Boroughs than the Outer London ones, the lowest support figures were 60. 5% in Havering and 57. 1% in Bromley, the greatest were 83. 8% in Haringey and 81. 8% in Lambeth. The government passed the Greater London Authority Act 1999, creating the Greater London Authority, elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly were held in May 2000
17.
London Councils
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London Councils is the local government association for Greater London, England. It is a cross-party organisation that represents London’s 32 borough councils and it was formed in 1995 as a merger of the London Boroughs Association and the Association of London Authorities. In April 2000 it gained further functions as strategic local government in London was reorganised, London Councils is a think tank and lobbying organisation, and also provides some services directly through legislation that allows multiple local authorities to pool responsibility and funding. London Councils is based at 59½ Southwark Street, the Association of London Government came out of a merger between the London Boroughs Association and the Association of London Authorities in 1995. The ALA consisted of many, mainly Labour, councils which had left the LBA in the 1980s, in October 2006 it changed its name from the Association of London Government to London Councils in order to avoid confusion with the Greater London Authority and the Local Government Association. The GLA was a member of the ALG for a period, before Mayor Ken Livingstone fell out with leading councillors, the two organisations coordinate their work. It also develops policy, lobbies government and others, and runs a range of services designed to make life better for Londoners. London Councils represents London local government to government, European institutions, business and other bodies, lobbying for investment. The direct services it provides on behalf of the boroughs, include the Freedom Pass providing more than a 1, the Chairman of London Councils is Mayor Jules Pipe CBE of the Hackney London Borough Council, since the Labour Party regained control in 2010. The committee is supported by a cross-party executive of eleven senior members which acts as a forum for detailed policy development, each member of the executive holds a specific policy area portfolio. Politically, the Executive comprises councillors in proportion to the party representation on London councils, London Boroughs Grants Committee Transport and Environment Committee took over Freedom Pass from Transport Committee for London. London Housing Unit Committee was a joint committee and not all London borough councils were members. In 2008, a new directorate of London Councils was formed and this was formed from the merger of the previous London Centre of Excellence, London Connects and Londons regional improvement and efficiency partnership, Capital Ambition. Capital Ambition is now closed to new applications for funding although funding for existing projects will continue until 2015. List of electoral wards in Greater London Local Government Association London Councils Capital Ambition Freedom Pass PATAS Taxicard London Care Placements NOTIFY
18.
City of London Corporation
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In 2006 the name was changed from Corporation of London to avoid confusion with the wider London local government, the Greater London Authority. The Corporation is probably the worlds oldest continuously-elected local government authority, the corporations structure includes the Lord Mayor, the Court of Aldermen, the Court of Common Council, and the Freemen and Livery of the City. In Anglo-Saxon times, consultation between the Citys rulers and its citizens took place at the Folkmoot, administration and judicial processes were conducted at the Court of Husting and the non-legal part of the courts work evolved into the Court of Aldermen. Numerous subsequent Royal Charters over the centuries confirmed and extended the citizens rights, around 1189, the City gained the right to have its own mayor, later being advanced to the degree and style of Lord Mayor of London. The individual commissioners were nominated by the Corporation, but it was a separate body. Local government legislation often makes special provision for the City to be treated as a London borough, the Chief Executive of the administrative side of the Corporation holds the ancient office of Town Clerk of London. The Chamberlain, the City Treasurer and Finance Officer, the City Remembrancer, who is responsible for protocol, ceremonial, security issues as well as legislative matters that may affect the Corporation and is legally qualified. The Comptroller and City Solicitor, legal officer. e, former Lord Mayors, and the junior Aldermen. The Common Serjeant, the senior judge at the Central Criminal Court Old Bailey. C) The Ward Beadles, responsible to a specific Ward from which they are elected, largely ceremonial support to their respective Aldermen, and also perform a formal role at Ward Motes. In 1801, the City had a population of about 130,000 and it has risen slightly to around 9,000 since, largely due to the development of the Barbican Estate. As it has not been affected by other municipal legislation over the period of time since then, therefore, the non-residential vote, abolished in the rest of the country in 1969, became an increasingly large part of the electorate. The non-residential vote system used disfavoured incorporated companies, the City of London Act 2002 greatly increased the business franchise, allowing many more businesses to be represented. In 2009, the vote was about 24,000. Each body or organisation, whether unincorporated or incorporated, whose premises are within the City of London may appoint a number of based on the number of workers it employs. Limited liability partnerships fall into this category, though workers count as part of a workforce regardless of nationality, only certain individuals may be appointed as voters. The City of London is divided into twenty-five Wards, each of which is a division, electing one Alderman. The numbers below reflect the changes caused by the City of London Act, there are over one hundred livery companies in London
19.
Court of Aldermen
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The Court of Aldermen is an elected body forming part of the City of London Corporation. The Court of Aldermen is made up of the twenty five aldermen of the City of London, the court was originally responsible for the entire administration of the City, but most of its responsibilities were subsumed by the Court of Common Council in the fourteenth century. The Court of Aldermen meets nine times a year in the Aldermens Court Room at Guildhall, although it is customary for them to retire at age 70 there is no legal compulsion to do so. They must submit themselves for re-election every six years, alderman Wards of the City of London - the aldermanries How the City of London works
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Court of Common Council
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In 2006 the name was changed from Corporation of London to avoid confusion with the wider London local government, the Greater London Authority. The Corporation is probably the worlds oldest continuously-elected local government authority, the corporations structure includes the Lord Mayor, the Court of Aldermen, the Court of Common Council, and the Freemen and Livery of the City. In Anglo-Saxon times, consultation between the Citys rulers and its citizens took place at the Folkmoot, administration and judicial processes were conducted at the Court of Husting and the non-legal part of the courts work evolved into the Court of Aldermen. Numerous subsequent Royal Charters over the centuries confirmed and extended the citizens rights, around 1189, the City gained the right to have its own mayor, later being advanced to the degree and style of Lord Mayor of London. The individual commissioners were nominated by the Corporation, but it was a separate body. Local government legislation often makes special provision for the City to be treated as a London borough, the Chief Executive of the administrative side of the Corporation holds the ancient office of Town Clerk of London. The Chamberlain, the City Treasurer and Finance Officer, the City Remembrancer, who is responsible for protocol, ceremonial, security issues as well as legislative matters that may affect the Corporation and is legally qualified. The Comptroller and City Solicitor, legal officer. e, former Lord Mayors, and the junior Aldermen. The Common Serjeant, the senior judge at the Central Criminal Court Old Bailey. C) The Ward Beadles, responsible to a specific Ward from which they are elected, largely ceremonial support to their respective Aldermen, and also perform a formal role at Ward Motes. In 1801, the City had a population of about 130,000 and it has risen slightly to around 9,000 since, largely due to the development of the Barbican Estate. As it has not been affected by other municipal legislation over the period of time since then, therefore, the non-residential vote, abolished in the rest of the country in 1969, became an increasingly large part of the electorate. The non-residential vote system used disfavoured incorporated companies, the City of London Act 2002 greatly increased the business franchise, allowing many more businesses to be represented. In 2009, the vote was about 24,000. Each body or organisation, whether unincorporated or incorporated, whose premises are within the City of London may appoint a number of based on the number of workers it employs. Limited liability partnerships fall into this category, though workers count as part of a workforce regardless of nationality, only certain individuals may be appointed as voters. The City of London is divided into twenty-five Wards, each of which is a division, electing one Alderman. The numbers below reflect the changes caused by the City of London Act, there are over one hundred livery companies in London
21.
Freedom of the City
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The Freedom of the City is an honor bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. The Freedom of the City can also be granted by municipal authorities to military units which have earned the citys trust, in this context and this allows them the freedom to parade through the city, and is an affirmation of the bond between the regiment and the citizenry. The honor was sometimes accompanied by a box, a small gold box inscribed to record the occasion. In some countries, such as the United States, esteemed residents and visitors may instead be presented with the Key to the City, other cities award Honorary Citizenship, with just a certificate. Freedom of the City is an ancient honor granted to martial organisations, allowing them the privilege to march into the city with drums beating, colours flying and this honor dates back to ancient Rome which regarded the pomerium, the boundary of the city, as sacred. Promagistrates and generals were forbidden from entering it, and resigned their imperium immediately upon crossing it, an exception was made for victory celebrations, during which the victorious general would be permitted to enter for one day only. Under the Republic, soldiers also lost their status when entering, becoming citizens, weapons were also banned inside the pomerium for religious and traditional reasons. Similar laws were passed by other European cities throughout the Medieval era, to public security and civic rights. As a result, soldiers would be forced to camp outside the walls of the city during the winter months. The Freedom of the City was an honor granted only to troops which had earned the trust of the local populace, either through some valiant action or simply by being a familiar presence. Today, martial freedom of the city is an entirely ceremonial honor, usually bestowed upon a unit with historic ties to the area, as a token of appreciation for their long, the awarding of the Freedom is often accompanied by a celebratory parade through the city. A slightly more freedom of the city is connected to the medieval concept of free status. As such, freemen actually pre-date boroughs, early freedom of the boroughs ceremonies had great importance in affirming that the recipient enjoyed privileges such as the right to trade and own property, and protection within the town. Before parliamentary reform in 1832, freedom of the city or town conferred the right to vote in the boroughs for the MPs. Until the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 the freemen were the electorate for the boroughs. These two acts together curtailed the power of the freemen and extended the franchise to all householders, the private property belonging to the freemen collectively was retained. The freemen of York, Oxford and Newcastle upon Tyne still own considerable areas within their towns, the Local Government Act 1972 specifically preserved freemens rights. The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 removed any restrictions entitling only men to be freemen, today, the grant of honorary freedom in the United Kingdom is governed by the Local Government Act 1972
22.
Livery company
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The livery companies of the City of London, currently 110 in number, comprise Londons ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the Worshipful Company of. Their respective craft, trade or profession, Londons livery companies play a significant part in City life, not least by providing charitable-giving and networking opportunities. Liverymen retain voting rights for the civic offices, such as the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs and City of London Corporation. The term livery originated in the form of dress worn to retainers of a nobleman. Most livery companies retain their religious associations, although nowadays members are free to follow any faith or none. Most livery companies still maintain contacts with their trade, craft or professional roles. Some still exercise powers of regulation, inspection and enforcement, while others are awarding bodies for professional qualifications, several companies restrict membership only to those holding relevant professional qualifications, eg. the City of London Solicitors Company and the Worshipful Company of Engineers. Other companies, whose trade died out long ago, such as the Longbow Makers Company, have evolved into being primarily charitable foundations, after the Carmen received City livery status in 1746 no new companies were established in London for 180 years until the Master Mariners in 1926. Post-1926 creations are known as livery companies. The Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars, the newest, was granted status on 11 February 2014. The Honourable Company of Air Pilots is exceptional among Londons livery companies in having active overseas committees in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand and North America. Livery companies are governed by a Master, a number of Wardens, the Clerk to the Company is invariably its most senior permanent member of staff, who as chief executive officer runs its day-to-day activities. Membership generally falls into two categories, freemen and liverymen, most livery companies reserve the right to admit distinguished people, particularly in their sphere of influence, as honorary freemen. Freemen may advance to become liverymen, after obtaining the freedom of the City of London, only liverymen are eligible to vote in the annual election of the Lord Mayor of London, the Sheriffs and various other City civic offices, including the Ale Conners and Bridge Masters. The livery companies elect a majority of the members of the Livery Committee, the Committee oversees the elections of Sheriffs and the Lord Mayor, educates liverymen regarding the City and its activities, represents the livery companies in communications with the City. A liveryman is a member of their respective Company. When a Freeman becomes a liveryman, the candidate is said to be enclothed, indeed, thereafter only the master, wardens and assistants in companies are seen wearing these at company events. The masters wear them at the Citys formal events, e. g. the two Common Halls and the United Guilds Service, and Lord Mayors Show, wherever they may participate
23.
Wards of the City of London
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The City of London is divided into 25 wards. Unlike other modern-day English local authorities, the City of London Corporation has two bodies, the now largely ceremonial Court of Aldermen and the Court of Common Council. The wards are a survival of the governmental system that allowed very small areas to exist as self-governing units within the wider city. They are both electoral/political sub-divisions and permanent ceremonial, geographic and administrative entities within the City and they had their boundaries changed in 2003, and to a lesser extent in 2013, though the number of wards and their names did not change. Each ward, or aldermanry, has its own alderman, who is the most senior official or representative in the ward, the aldermen traditionally held office for life but in the modern era put themselves up for re-election at least every six years. They also now customarily retire at 70, the retirement age as a justice of the peace. Each ward returns one alderman to the Court of Aldermen, one of the aldermen is elected as Lord Mayor of London for a period of one year. The Lord Mayor performs many functions and holds many ancient positions, the City of London is the only remaining local authority in Great Britain to have aldermen, since their general abolition in England and Wales in 1974 and the London boroughs in 1978. Wards continue to have beadles, with most having just one and these should not be confused with the Beadles of the Livery Companies of the City, who are employees of them. The wards alderman presides over the wardmote and appoints one of the councillors of the ward as a deputy for the year ahead. Wardmotes at which an alderman is to be elected are presided over by the Lord Mayor, there are twenty two of these. Confusingly, there is also a United Wards Club which was formed many of the others as a joint association and is now additional to them. In recent times the ward clerk is a permanent position held by an official at the Corporation, the ward clerk is a separate office to that of the Town Clerk of London, who is the chief executive of the Corporation. Boundary changes in 2003 removed some of these places from their wards, but that boundary review. The Common Council as we know it today, as a body of the wards, was realised in 1384 when the Citys guilds no longer elected members. The number of members of the Common Council grew to 240 by the mid-nineteenth century, each ward was divided into precincts, each of which elected one common councilman. As the number of precincts grew over time, the number of councilmen elected therefore also increased, the precincts have now been abolished. The wards are ancient and their number has changed three times since their creation in time immemorial
24.
London boroughs
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London boroughs are 32 of the 33 local authority districts of the Greater London administrative area and are each governed by a London borough council. The London boroughs were all created at the time as Greater London on 1 April 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 and are a type of local government district. Twelve were designated as Inner London boroughs and twenty as Outer London boroughs, London boroughs have populations of around 150,000 to 300,000. Inner London boroughs tend to be smaller, in population and area, and more densely populated than Outer London boroughs. The London boroughs were created by combining groups of local government units. A review undertaken between 1987 and 1992 led to a number of small alterations in borough boundaries. London borough councils provide the majority of government services, in contrast to the strategic Greater London Authority. The councils were first elected in 1964 and acted as shadow authorities until 1 April 1965, each borough is divided into electoral wards, subject to periodic review, for the purpose of electing councillors. Council elections take place four years, with the most recent elections in 2014. The political make-up of London borough councils is dominated by the Conservative, Labour, twenty-eight councils follow the leader and cabinet model of executive governance, with directly elected mayors in Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, and Tower Hamlets. The City of London is instead governed by the City of London Corporation, 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, reform of London local government sought to regularise this arrangement. The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London was established in 1957 and it proposed 52 Greater London Boroughs with a population range of 100,000 to 250,000. This was made up of a mixture of existing units. In December 1961 the government proposed that there would be 34 boroughs rather than 52, 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 1963,12 boroughs in the former County of London area were designated Inner London boroughs and the 20 others were designated Outer London boroughs. The City of London continued to be administered by the City of London Corporation, elections were held on 7 May 1964, with the new councils acting as shadow authorities before coming into their powers the following year
25.
London local elections, 2018
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Local government elections will take place in London on 3 May 2018. All London borough councillor seats are up for election, mayoral contests will also be held in Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets. The previous London borough elections were in 2014, after the 2014 election, Tower Hamlets Council was in No Overall control. However, following a court decision and special election, Labour gained control of the council. Elections to the Corporation of London were held in 2017
26.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
27.
European Union
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The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
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Minister for London
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The Minister for London is a United Kingdom Government ministerial post in the Department for Communities and Local Government. The Minister is responsible for relating to London including informing Members of Parliament in the House of Commons on the activities of the Greater London Authority. The incumbent Minister is Gavin Barwell, London had been under the authority of the London County Council and then the Greater London Council, but Margaret Thatcher abolished the GLC in 1986 after clashes with its leader, Ken Livingstone. Most of the powers were then devolved to the 32 individual boroughs. Under John Major, however, the need for more centralised organisation was addressed by a series of moves, John Gummer was appointed Minister of London concurrently with his tenure as Secretary of State for Environment, and in 1994 the Government Office for London was established. After Tony Blair entered office, the Labour government set up an elected Mayor of London and this office, along with a reconstituted Greater London Authority, worked with the Minister and the Government Office. The post was scrapped by David Cameron after he came to office in 2010, in 2016 however, the post was revived by Theresa May and was assigned to Gavin Barwell. Colour key, Conservative Labour The position of Shadow Minister for London was retained by Labour under the leadership of Ed Miliband, however, since Khans nomination as Labours candidate for Mayor of London and Jeremy Corbyns leadership, the office has remained vacant
29.
Jo Johnson
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Joseph Edmund Johnson is a Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Orpington since the election in May 2010. From April 2013 to May 2015, he was the Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit, following the May 2015 general election, he became the Minister for Universities and Science. He is the brother of Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary and the former Mayor of London, Rachel, a writer and journalist, and Leo. He began his schooling in Brussels, at the European School in Uccle, before attending The Hall School in Hampstead, London, Ashdown House School in East Sussex, in 1991, he went to Balliol College, Oxford to read Modern History. He was a Scholar at Balliol, edited Isis, the Oxford University student magazine, while at Oxford, he was a member of the Bullingdon Club together with Harry Mount, Nat Rothschild and George Osborne, with whom he remains a close friend. Johnson then became an Associate Editor of the Financial Times and Head of the Lex Column, Johnson left the Lex column in April 2010. In April 2009, Johnson was named Foreign Journalist of the Year in Indias leading media awards, the Indian Express Excellence in Journalism Awards. His books include the co-authored The Man Who Tried To Buy the World, a regular commentator on radio and television, he frequently speaks in public on the rise of India and the new world order, as well as on the UK political economy and financial affairs. Most recently he has co-edited, with Dr Rajiv Kumar Reconnecting Britain and India, on 12 December 2009, Johnson was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for the constituency of Orpington from a shortlist of six contenders. He won the seat, tripling the Conservative majority to over 17,000, between January 2012 and September 2012 Johnson served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Mark Prisk, Minister of State for Business and Enterprise. He was appointed as an Assistant Government Whip in September 2012, on 25 April 2013, he was appointed by David Cameron as Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office to help develop the next elections 2015 Tory manifesto with Minister for Policy Oliver Letwin. His appointment to head up the unit was seen as somewhat surprising as he was perceived as being more pro-European. On 20 June 2013, he was reselected as the Conservative candidate for Orpington at the 2015 General Election and he was re-elected with a 57% share of the vote. On 11 May 2015, it was announced that Johnson had been appointed Minister for Universities and Science at the Department for Business, Innovation, Universities UK has pointed out that British higher education institutions benefit from around £1.2 billion in European research funding each year. In 2016, the Natural Environment Research Council asked the public to vote on names for a new research ship. The online poll was active from 17 March to 16 April 2016 with the name Boaty McBoatface garnering 124,109 votes, roughly four times more than the runner up Poppy Mai. Despite huge popular demand, Johnson oversaw the decision to name the vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough, causing Guardian columnist, Stuart Heritage, to lament, tyrants have crushed the peoples will
30.
London (European Parliament constituency)
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London is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 8 MEPs using the method of party-list proportional representation. The constituency corresponds to the Greater London region of England, in the south east of the United Kingdom, prior to 1999, London was represented by a number of single-member constituencies. The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 reduced this to a constituency returning a number of MEPs. Below are all the members since the creation of the London constituency, the number of seats allocated to London has been reduced from 10 to 8 between 1999 and 2009 due to EU enlargement. Members elected in 1999 who previously represented a London constituency were Pauline Green, elected candidates are shown in bold. Brackets indicate the number of votes per seat won, the 2014 results were delayed by Tower Hamlets, where there were recounts needed for six local election wards
31.
London Government Act 1963
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The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the area, resulting in local authorities responsible for larger areas and populations. The upper tier of government was reformed to cover the whole of the Greater London area and with a more strategic role. The Act classified the boroughs into inner and outer London groups, the City of London and its corporation were essentially unreformed by the legislation. Subsequent amendments to the Act have significantly amended the upper tier arrangements, with the Greater London Council abolished in 1986, and the Greater London Authority introduced in 2000. As of 2016, the London boroughs are more or less identical to those created in 1965, although with some enhanced powers over services such as waste management and education. The Act set up a local government system, with powers divided between the newly formed Greater London Council,32 new London borough councils and the existing City of London. The provisions of the Act came into effect on 1 April 1965, twelve of the boroughs, corresponding to the former County of London, were designated Inner London boroughs. The remaining twenty boroughs were designated Outer London boroughs, none of the boroughs were given names in the Act. Section 2 declared that the area comprising the areas of the London boroughs, the City, an elected Greater London Council was to govern the new area. No part of Greater London was to part of any administrative county, county district or parish. Three Middlesex urban districts not included in Greater London were transferred to other counties, Potters Bar to Hertfordshire, the Act also established the Inner London Education Authority to administer schools and colleges in the 12 inner London boroughs. The remaining 20 outer boroughs became local education authorities in their own right, the London Traffic Area and the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee, set up in 1924, were abolished, with the GLC gaining powers to regulate road traffic. An alteration was made to the Metropolitan Police District to include the whole of Greater London. The composition of the London boroughs was given in Schedule 1 of the Act, The metropolitan boroughs of Westminster, Paddington, the metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn and St Pancras. The metropolitan boroughs of Finsbury and Islington, the metropolitan boroughs of Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington. The metropolitan boroughs of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney, the metropolitan borough of Greenwich and so much of the metropolitan borough of Woolwich as lay south of the centre of the navigable channel of the River Thames at low water. The metropolitan boroughs of Deptford and Lewisham, the metropolitan boroughs of Bermondsey, Camberwell and Southwark. The metropolitan borough of Battersea and the remainder of the borough of Wandsworth not included in borough 9
32.
Boris Johnson
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He had previously been an MP for the Henley constituency from 2001 to 2008 and was later Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. Johnson was formerly a historian and journalist. A member of the Conservative Party, Johnson identifies as a conservative and has been associated with both economically and socially liberal policies. Born in New York City to wealthy upper-middle class English parents, Johnson was educated at the European School of Brussels, Ashdown House School and he studied Classics at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was elected president of the Oxford Union in 1986. He was assistant editor from 1994 to 1999 before taking the editorship of The Spectator from 1999 to 2005, joining the Conservatives, he was elected MP for Henley in 2001, and under Michael Howard and David Cameron he was in the Shadow Cabinet. Mostly adhering to the Conservatives party line, he adopted a more socially liberal stance on issues like LGBT rights in parliamentary votes. Making regular television appearances, writing books, and remaining active in journalism, selected as Conservative candidate for the London mayoral election of 2008, Johnson defeated Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone and resigned his seat in parliament. In 2012, he was re-elected mayor, again defeating Livingstone, in 2015 he was elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, stepping down as mayor the following year. In 2016, Johnson became a prominent figure in the successful Vote Leave campaign to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union, Johnson is a controversial figure in British politics and journalism. Supporters have praised him as an entertaining, humorous, and popular figure with appeal beyond traditional Conservative voters, conversely, he has been criticised by figures on both the left and right, accused of elitism, cronyism and laziness, and using racist language. Johnson is the subject of biographies and a number of fictionalised portrayals. Johnson was born on 19 June 1964 at a hospital on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City and his birth was registered with both the US authorities and the citys British Consulate and he was granted both American and British citizenship. His father, Stanley Johnson, was studying economics at Columbia University. Stanleys paternal grandfather was Circassian–Turkish journalist Ali Kemal, while his other ancestry is English and French, Stanley had married Johnsons mother, Charlotte Johnson Wahl, in 1963, before they moved to the United States, she was an artist from a family of liberal intellectuals. She was the granddaughter of Americans Elias Avery Lowe, a palaeographer of Russian Jewish descent, and Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter, in reference to his varied ancestry, Johnson has described himself as a one-man melting pot – with a combination of Muslims, Jews, and Christians as great-grandparents. Johnson was given his name of Boris after a Russian émigré the couple had once met in Mexico. Johnsons parents were living in an apartment opposite the Chelsea Hotel, although they soon embarked on a tour of Canada. In September 1964, they returned to Britain, enabling Charlotte to study for a degree at the University of Oxford and she lived with her son in Summertown, Oxford and gave birth to a daughter, Rachel, in 1965
33.
Directly elected mayors in England and Wales
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Directly elected mayors are local government executive leaders who have been directly elected by the people who live in a local authority area. The first such political post was the Mayor of London, created as the executive of the Greater London Authority in 2000 as part of a reform of the government of Greater London. Since the Local Government Act 2000, all of the several hundred local councils in England. Most local authorities opt for the leader and cabinet model where the leader is selected from the councillors. Following a successful yes vote in a referendum, a directly elected mayor is established to replace the council leader. Since 2007, councils can adopt the elected mayoral model without a referendum, most authorities with elected mayors already had a ceremonial mayor and the two roles continue to exist concurrently. As of May 2015,16 council areas are using the mayor, the system of elected mayors had been considered by the Major ministry, and the former Environment Secretary Michael Heseltine had been a proponent of it. The 1997 Labour manifesto included a commitment to local government in London by introducing an elected mayor. The first directly elected mayor was introduced in Greater London in 2000 as part of the provisions of the Greater London Authority Act 1999. The position of the elected Mayor of London is a regional one. The work of the Mayor of London is scrutinised by the London Assembly, the Mayor of London cannot be removed from office by a referendum following a petition, as is the case for directly elected mayors elsewhere in England. The 2000 act ended the previous committee-based system, where functions were exercised by committees of the council, all of several hundred principal councils were required to review their executive arrangements under the 2000 legislation. Local authorities considering the option of a mayor were required to put the question to a local referendum. It is also possible for groups to trigger a local referendum with a signed petition. A number of areas with elected mayors also have civic mayors or Lord mayors, eleven mayors were established during 2002, covering metropolitan and non-metropolitan districts, unitary authorities and London boroughs. Three further mayoralties were created under this legislation, in 2005,2010, although Wales is included in the legislation, only one Welsh authority, Ceredigion, has held a referendum on such a proposal. The referendum, in May 2004, resulted in the proposal being rejected by over 70% of the voters, the elected cabinet option was not taken forward. The 2007 legislation required all local authorities to review their executive arrangements again, british Prime Minister David Cameron expressed support for the system, saying directly elected mayors are accountable and can galvanise action
34.
City of London
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The City of London is a city and county within London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, the City is now only a tiny part of the metropolis of London, though it remains a notable part of central London. Administratively, it one of the 33 local authority districts of Greater London, however, the City of London is not a London borough. The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City and is colloquially known as the Square Mile. Both of these terms are often used as metonyms for the United Kingdoms trading and financial services industries. The name London is now used for a far wider area than just the City. London most often denotes the sprawling London metropolis, or the 32 London boroughs and this wider usage of London is documented as far back as 1888, when the County of London was created. The local authority for the City, namely the City of London Corporation, is unique in the UK and has some unusual responsibilities for a local council and it is also unusual in having responsibilities and ownerships beyond its boundaries. The Corporation is headed by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, the current Lord Mayor, as of November 2016, is Andrew Parmley. The City is a business and financial centre. Throughout the 19th century, the City was the primary business centre. London came top in the Worldwide Centres of Commerce Index, published in 2008, the insurance industry is focused around the eastern side of the City, around Lloyds building. A secondary financial district exists outside of the City, at Canary Wharf,2.5 miles to the east, the City has a resident population of about 7,000 but over 300,000 people commute to and work there, mainly in the financial services sector. It used to be held that Londinium was first established by merchants as a trading port on the tidal Thames in around 47 AD. However, this date is only supposition, many historians now believe London was founded some time before the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD. They base this notion on evidence provided by both archaeology and Welsh literary legend, archaeologists have claimed that as much as half of the best British Iron Age art and metalwork discovered in Britain has been found in the London area. One of the most prominent examples is the famously horned Waterloo Helmet dredged from the Thames in the early 1860s and now exhibited at the British Museum. Also, according to an ancient Welsh legend, a king named Lud son of Heli substantially enlarged and improved a pre-existing settlement at London which afterwards came to be renamed after him, the same tradition relates how this Lud son of Heli was later buried at Ludgate
35.
Mayor of Tower Hamlets
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The directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets is a directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets London Borough Council in east London, England. The first election for this position occurred on 21 October 2010, a by-election was held on 11 June 2015. Respect and Islamic Forum Europe organised a petition to trigger a referendum for this change, Council officers stated that almost half the signatures were invalid, with entire pages bearing the same handwriting. The referendum was passed after an intensive campaign, gilligan also said that it raised concerns over the political power of radical Islam in the UK, because of candidate Luftur Rahmans connections with Islamic Forum Europe. The latter, along with business interests which had supported the petition and referendum to have a mayor. Labours former London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, also campaigned in support of Rahman, the first election took place on Thursday 21 October 2010, with a 25.6 per cent turn out. The new mayor officially took office on Monday 25 October 2010, in April 2015, this election was declared void by an election court. After the 2014 election was declared void, a new election was held on 11 June 2015, councillor Rabina Khan initially announced that she would stand as the Tower Hamlets First candidate. Khan subsequently said she would stand as an independent candidate, andy Erlam is a writer and film-maker who led the legal action against Rahman which resulted in the previous election being declared void. He previously stood as a Parliamentary candidate for Labour, liberal Democrat Elaine Bagshaw and UKIP candidate Nicholas McQueen both stood for their respective parties in Poplar and Limehouse at the 2015 general election
36.
Greater London Council
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The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its powers were devolved to the London boroughs, a new administrative body, known as the Greater London Authority, was established in 2000. It further recommended that the LCC be replaced by a strategic authority, with responsibility for public transport, road schemes, housing development. Most of the Commission’s recommendations were accepted, but the number of new boroughs was reduced to 32, other areas recommended for inclusion that were never part of Greater London included Epsom and Ewell, Caterham and Warlingham, Esher, and Weybridge. GLC councillors elected for areas within the former County of London became ex officio members of the new Inner London Education Authority, 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 the London boroughs for providing roads, housing, city planning and 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 transport from the London Transport Board until 1970. Under the 1963 Act, the GLC was required to produce a Greater London Development Plan, the plan included the comprehensive redevelopment of Covent Garden and creating a central London motorway loop. The plan 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. Each of the six GLC elections was won by the national opposition party. The first GLC election was on 9 April 1964, each of 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, at the next election in 1967 the unpopularity of the national Labour government produced a massive Conservative victory with 82 seats, to Labours 18. Desmond Plummer became 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, Labour fought the 1973 election on a strongly socialist platform and won with 57 seats to 33 for the Conservatives. The GLCs hopes under the Labour administration of Reg Goodwin were badly affected by the oil crisis of 1974, massive inflation which when combined with the GLCs £1.6 billion debt led to heavy rate increases and unpopular budget cuts. Some months before the 1977 elections the Labour Group began to split, a left group, including Ken Livingstone, denounced 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
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