The GLA and Whitehall

Abstract

The structure and strategy of the GLA (Greater London Authority) to date are a novel, if partial, solution to the classic problems of Whitehall–local government relations. The GLA is unlike classic English local government in the range of resources it deploys – substantial authority and political profile but little by way of organisation. The history of GLA–Whitehall relations show the importance of this profile. The personalism and ad hoc nature of London local government is no bad thing if underpinned by a degree of symmetry in intergovernmental relations – and the GLA's high profile creates that.