London Regional Governance and the London Boroughs

Abstract

This article looks at the role of London boroughs in the governance of the London region, in particular their collective contribution. Since the end of the nineteenth century, some themes have been constant in the governance of London. These include the respective roles of the boroughs and of the regional tier of governance and the relations between boroughs and the regional tier. The abolition of the Greater London Council had required boroughs to cooperate to provide a range of pan-London services and functions as well as carrying out local responsibilities in their own boroughs. Some of these regional arrangements became part of the Greater London Authority. But the boroughs themselves and the Government saw the need for boroughs to continue to be organised on a regional basis: first, to carry on providing some London-wide services which were not to be the GLA's responsibility; second, to provide a strong collective voice when dealing with the Mayor of London. Borough cooperation and the concept of ‘pan-London but borough’ are likely to survive both any political change as a result of the 2006 London borough elections and any change in powers coming from the Government's current review of the Greater London Authority.