The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm Saturday and Sunday.
City Hall is a building in Southwark, London which previously served as the headquarters of the Greater London Authority (GLA) between July 2002 and December 2021. It is located in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames near Tower Bridge. In June 2020, the Greater London Authority started a consultation on proposals to vacate City Hall and move to The Crystal, a GLA owned property in Newham, at the end of 2021. The decision was confirmed on 3 November 2020 and the GLA vacated City Hall on 2 December 2021. The Southwark location is ultimately owned by the government of Kuwait.
Jennifer Helen Jones, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, is a British politician who served as Deputy Mayor of London from 2003 to 2004. A member of the Green Party of England and Wales, she was until September 2019 the sole Green Party member in the House of Lords.
The 2004 election to the post of Mayor of London took place on 10 June 2004. It was being held on the same day as other local elections and the UK part of the 2004 European Parliament elections, so Londoners had a total of five votes on three ballot papers. Polling opened at 07:00 local time, and closed at 22:00. See: 2004 UK elections. The Supplementary Vote system was used.
A Deputy Mayor is a member of the London Mayoral cabinet, in the executive arm of the Greater London Authority. They serve as political advisors with responsibilities and powers corresponding to portfolios delegated by the Mayor. One of them must be designated as the Statutory Deputy Mayor, a member of the London Assembly who serves as the temporary Mayor during a vacancy or temporary incapacity of the Mayor.
The Garden Bridge project was an unsuccessful private proposal for a pedestrian bridge over the River Thames in London, England. Originally an idea of Joanna Lumley, and strongly supported by then-Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the designer Thomas Heatherwick worked with Arup Group on a proposal by Transport for London (TfL) for a new bridge across the Thames between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge. The proposed concrete, steel, cupronickel clad structure was intended to carry pedestrians, with no cycles or other vehicles. It was to have been located some 200 metres (660 ft) from Waterloo Bridge and 300 m (980 ft) from Blackfriars Bridge, and have included some areas of planting. The project was to include a commercial building, built on former green space at the southern end of the bridge. The bridge was intended to be funded by raising over £140 million of private money and £60 million of promised public money, of which £30m was from Transport for London and £30m from the Department for Transport, adding up to projected funding of over £200m. In January 2017, the trustees of the prospective owner of the bridge, the Garden Bridge Trust, stated that costs would "substantially exceed" an earlier revised total of £185m and, in April 2017, a report by Margaret Hodge MP concluded, on the basis of the Garden Bridge Trust's own evidence, that the cost would be over £200m.
The 2008 London mayoral election for the office of Mayor of London, England, was held on 1 May 2008. Conservative candidate Boris Johnson defeated incumbent Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone. It was the third London mayoral election, the previous elections being the first election in May 2000 and the second election in June 2004.
The Thames Gateway Water Treatment Works or Beckton Desalination Plant is a desalination plant in Beckton, London, adjacent to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. The plant takes brackish water from the River Thames and converts it into drinkable water through a reverse osmosis process. The first of its kind in the UK, it was built for Thames Water by a consortium of Interserve, Atkins Water and Acciona Agua. It was opened by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on 2 June 2010. It was planned to provide up to 150 million litres of drinking water each day – enough for 900,000 Londoners.
Cycling in London is a popular mode of transport and leisure activity within the capital city of the United Kingdom. Following a national decline in the 1960s of levels of utility cycling, cycling as a mode of everyday transport within London began a slow regrowth in the 1970s. This continued until the beginning of the 21st century, when levels began to increase significantly - during the period from 2000 to 2012, the number of daily journeys made by bicycle in Greater London doubled to 580,000. The growth in cycling can partly be attributed to the launch in 2010 by Transport for London (TfL) of a cycle hire system throughout the city's centre. By 2013, the scheme was attracting a monthly ridership of approximately 500,000, peaking at a million rides in July of that year. Health impact analyses have shown that London would benefit more from increased cycling and cycling infrastructure than other European cities.
The foreign relations of the Mayor of London are carried out as part of his responsibility to promote Greater London's global links on behalf of the British capital. In addition to work done as part of the 2012 London Olympics, the Greater London Authority (GLA) estimates that 700,000 jobs in London depend on foreign companies and the tourist industry.
The 2012 London mayoral election was an election held on Thursday 3 May 2012, to elect the Mayor of London. It was held on the same day as the London Assembly election, and used a supplementary vote system.
The London mayoral election for the office of Mayor of London takes place every four years. The first election was held in May 2000, and five subsequent elections have taken place. The latest mayoral election took place in 2021, it was initially going to be held in 2020 but was postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kenneth Robert Livingstone is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office in 2000 until 2008. He also served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent East from 1987 to 2001. A former member of the Labour Party, he was on the party's hard left, ideologically identifying as a socialist.
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and as Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. Johnson has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015, having previously been MP for Henley from 2001 to 2008.
Santander Cycles is a public bicycle hire scheme in London in the United Kingdom. The scheme's bicycles are popularly known as Boris Bikes, after Boris Johnson who was Mayor of London when the scheme began operating.
Victoria Lorne Peta Borwick, Baroness Borwick is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as the Member of Parliament for Kensington from 2015 to 2017, losing her seat and becoming the first sitting MP for Kensington to lose the seat to an opposition candidate.
Ken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone is a 2008 biography of Ken Livingstone by British journalist and author Andrew Hosken. First published on 8 April 2008, the book's provisional title had been Ken: The Fall and Rise of Ken Livingstone.
Boris Johnson has declared his position on many political issues through his public comments. Johnson's political positions have changed throughout his political career. His policies, views and voting record have been the subject of commentary during Johnson's tenure in various positions, including as Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016 and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022.
Boris Johnson served as mayor of London from 1 May 2008 until 5 May 2016, being elected in 2008 and reelected in 2012.
