List of heads of London government

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This is a list of the various heads of local government organisations that have served London, England.

Contents

Summary of London-wide heads of government

The Metropolitan Board of Works, created in 1855, was the first elected authority covering the whole metropolis of London, including the suburbs outside the ancient boundaries of the City of London. The area of the Metropolitan Board of Works became the County of London in 1889, which was enlarged to become the county of Greater London in 1965. The leaders of these bodies were:

FromToNamePartyRole
22 Dec 18558 Aug 1870 John Thwaites Chairman of Metropolitan Board of Works
18 Nov 187020 Mar 1889 James McGarel-Hogg
21 Mar 188927 Mar 1890 Thomas Farrer Progressive Leader of London County Council
27 Mar 18909 Mar 1892 James Stuart Progressive
9 Mar 189210 Mar 1898 Charles Harrison Progressive
10 Mar 18988 Mar 1907 Thomas McKinnon Wood Progressive
8 Mar 190711 Mar 1908 Richard Robinson Municipal Reform
11 Mar 19088 Mar 1910 William Wellesley Peel Municipal Reform
8 Mar 191019 Dec 1911 William Hayes Fisher Municipal Reform
19 Dec 191116 Mar 1915 Cyril Jackson Municipal Reform
16 Mar 19151 Mar 1918 Ronald Collet Norman Municipal Reform
1 Mar 191811 Mar 1925 George Hume Municipal Reform
11 Mar 19259 Mar 1934 William Ray Municipal Reform
9 Mar 193427 May 1940 Herbert Morrison Labour
27 May 194029 Jul 1947 Charles Latham Labour
29 Jul 194731 Mar 1965 Isaac Hayward Labour
1 Apr 196514 Apr 1967 Bill Fiske Labour Leader of Greater London Council
14 Apr 196713 Apr 1973 Desmond Plummer Conservative
13 Apr 19736 May 1977 Reg Goodwin Labour
6 May 19778 May 1981 Horace Cutler Conservative
8 May 19812 Aug 1984 Ken Livingstone Labour
2 Aug 198421 Sep 1984 John Wilson Labour
21 Sep 198431 Mar 1986 Ken Livingstone Labour
1 Apr 19863 May 2000No London-wide elected authority
4 May 2000Dec 2003 Ken Livingstone Independent Mayor of London
Dec 20033 May 2008 Labour
4 May 20088 May 2016 Boris Johnson Conservative
9 May 2016Incumbent Sadiq Khan Labour

City of London

Lord Mayor of London

The Lord Mayor of the City of London is an ancient office and is the chief position of the Corporation of London.

The Metropolis

Chairmen of the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers

The Metropolitan Commission of Sewers was an ad hoc body formed in 1849 to bring London's sewerage and drainage under the control of a single public body. In 1856 it was abolished with its powers passing to the Metropolitan Board of Works. [1]

Chairmen of the Metropolitan Board of works

The Metropolitan Board of Works was a general purpose authority for the metropolitan area of London from 1855 to 1889.

Chairmen of the London School Board

The London School Board was an ad hoc authority. The functions were eventually absorbed by the London County Council.

Chairmen of the Metropolitan Asylums Board

The Metropolitan Asylums Board was an ad hoc authority. The functions were eventually absorbed by the London County Council.

County of London

The London County Council was a county council covering the County of London.

Chairmen of the London County Council

The chairmanship and vice chairmanship of the London County Council were statutory offices created in 1889 and abolished in 1965. The positions were largely ceremonial, similar to the office of mayor in a borough. The council's standing orders also provided for the post of deputy chairman. Each of these offices were held for a one-year term of office.

Leaders of the London County Council

The post of Leader was only officially recognised in 1933. This table gives the Leaders of the majority parties on the council before this time, although in the first term this had little relevance in terms of the leadership of the Council.

Greater London

Leaders of the Greater London Council

The Greater London Council was the county council for Greater London from 1965 to 1986.

Leaders of the Inner London Education Authority

Although Inner London Education Authority was created in 1964 and came into its powers in 1965, the post of Leader did not exist until April 1967. For the period 1964–67 the de facto Leadership was shared between the Chairman of the Education Committee, James Young, and the Chairmen of the Authority, Harold Shearman (from 1964–1965) and Ashley Bramall (1965–1967).

Chairman of the London Residuary Body

The London Residuary Body was responsible for disposing of the assets of the Greater London Council.

Mayor of London

The Mayor of London is the executive of the Greater London Authority. The role has existed since 2000.

Timeline for leaders of London-wide government

Timeline
Sadiq KhanBoris JohnsonKen LivingstoneKen LivingstoneHorace CutlerReg GoodwinDesmond PlummerBill Fiske, Baron FiskeList of heads of London government

References

  1. Augustin Sayer (1857). Metropolitan and town sewage, their nature, value, and disposal [&c.]. pp. 60–70.