Lizzie Morgan, External Affairs and Operations Officer, provides an overview on how our systems of government work in the capital.
I became a dual citizen over a decade ago, but London intrigued me long before then. I acknowledge wholeheartedly that the capital has countless facets and a complicated history – but my associations with it still lean toward structure, irony, and a certain cosiness. Which now as a bright-eyed Londoner – living in the north and often commuting east, south, and every so often west – leads me to wonder: how does it all come together?
This is not a simple question to answer. London’s government structure is both rooted in the past and shaped by the demands of the present – structures which often feel very distant to an urbanite on their cycle to work, an overdue trip to the doctors, or after luckless months spent flat hunting. To make sense of London today, we need to untangle the layers of government that shape it.
Parliament (National Level)
On the National level we have the UK Parliament, which meets in the Palace of Westminster and holds supreme legislative control over the UK and Northern Ireland. It has three parts: the sovereign, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The structure is a parliamentary democracy, where the party who can command a majority in Parliament forms a Government led by their chosen Prime Minister, usually the leader of the party. For example, the current PM, Sir Kier Starmer, is the leader of the Labour Party.
Members of Parliament represent local areas in the House of Commons and are responsible for voting on national issues including foreign policy, defence, taxation, and laws that affect the whole of the UK. Each MP is elected by their constituents and represents one of the 650 constituencies across the UK – 75 of which are in London.
National government is funded primarily by tax (income tax, VAT, corporation tax, etc). Budgets are allocated to specific departments, funding services like health, education, and defence. From schools to hospitals – London’s services rely on these national settlements, which are then delivered to local areas. The NHS is an example of a service whose funding, policy direction, and overall structure are set by national government but delivered locally by NHS London – and education policy works in a similar way.
The split between national decision-making and local needs can create tensions. Can an official in Whitehall meaningfully understand what a person in Warrington needs, with so much space between them? On one hand, responsibility sitting with a local politician over a national one can provide many potential benefits, including tailored delivery and better democratic accountability. In turn, this can lead to better quality, more cost effective and more trusted local services. On the other hand, there are systems which are best managed at the national level – transport policy, for example, requires national coordination as well as regional and local planning. Centralization can also reduce duplication or ‘reinvention of the wheel’ of key public services. It’s a balancing act, where some services function best delivered from the centre, and some benefit most from proximity to the people
The next general election to vote for your local Member of Parliament will be no later than August 21st, 2029. While there isn’t a vote for the Prime Minister directly, MPs are elected every five years unless called for sooner.
The GLA (Regional Level)
Following the abolition of the Greater London Council by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government in 1986, London was without a regional governing body for over a decade. The absence was keenly felt. Throughout the 1990s, campaigns pushed for clear strategic authority; from Labour’s New Leadership for London proposals, to sustained advocacy by the London Planning Advisory Committee (LPAC). In 1998, the Labour Government held a London-wide referendum, allowing the opportunity to redesign city governance. Londoners overwhelming voted ‘Yes’, and so a two-tier system was born: strategic direction from the Mayor of London scrutinised by the London Assembly, these branches still forming what we know as regional governance today – the Greater London Authority.
The GLA’s funding comes from a combination of government grants, retained business rates (retaining 37% of rates collected in London), and council tax. A precept determines how much of Londoners’ council tax goes directly to the GLA and increases yearly, primarily used to support transport policing, and fire services. The London Assembly does not raise its own funds; its running costs are drawn from the wider GLA budget and the amount decided by the Mayor.
The Mayor
Sadiq Khan is serving his third successive term – a decade in office, arguably making him one of the most established political figures in London’s recent history. He governs from City Hall, now placed in easterly Newham. With 6.1 million citizens eligible to vote, London’s Mayor has a powerful democratic backing – the largest direct electoral mandate in the UK.
This mandate gives the Mayor responsibility for many of London’s most contested issues: transport, housing and crime. Via Transport for London, the Mayor has responsibility for enormous transport networks – including the Underground, busses, and roads. The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) sets strategy and holds the Metropolitan Police to account, shaping London’s foundation for public safety and ensuring sexual assault and violence are responded to. Housing is also part of the Mayor’s remit – including planning, building targets and major developments. On the environmental side, the Mayor holds executive powers to improve London’s air quality, parks, and planning for the city’s climate resilience. The economy is another central responsibility – from supporting business and creating jobs to investing in skills, all to maintain London’s place as a global city.
The London Assembly
As the regional scrutiny body, the London Assembly’s responsibility is to hold the mayor accountable by publishing reports, participating in monthly Mayor’s Question Time sessions, and scrutinising the mayor’s budget if ever necessary. The Assembly is made up of 25 elected members: 14 are elected by constituencies (several boroughs grouped together), while 11 are chosen from party lists (to reflect the overall share of votes across London). They sit alongside the Mayor and together they form the GLA. The Assembly is an important asset when it comes to the checks and balances of regional government – but one that often flies under the radar. Yet what happens here affects every Londoner, from tube fares to clean air policies.
Elections for the Mayor and the London Assembly are held every four years, with voters getting two ballots: one for the mayor and one for the London Assembly. The next election will be in May 2028.
According to our Savanta polling, 39% of voters age 18-34 were either misinformed as to the timing, or entirely unaware of the Mayoral election in 2024.
The Boroughs & City of London (Local Level)
Local governance is made up of the 32 London Boroughs and the City of London – the latter running on a system first created in the Middle Ages. The City carries out many of the same functions as a Borough – reacting to daily challenges, albeit operating on a smaller scale with fewer residents, its centuries-old distinctions placing it uniquely within the system.
The 32 Boroughs
Chances are that like me, you live in one of these. From Lambeth to Chelsea, Hackney to Westminster, each borough has a local council responsible for a huge number of essential services. This tier handles the practical, on-the-ground needs like collecting waste, maintaining local roads, and running social services. Boroughs fund their services through council tax, business rates (which are also shared with central government), and government grants.
28 of the 32 boroughs follow a leader and cabinet model: the leader appointing a council with expertise and knowledge in specific areas. The other four operate under a committee system, where decisions are made collectively by councillors rather than a single leader and cabinet. The boroughs range in scale, Croydon’s 400k residents topping the population of Newcastle or Southampton – while Kensington and Chelsea remain the smallest with 147k inhabitants.
Councillors for the Boroughs are elected by residents every 4 years in local elections. The next Borough Council election is on May 7th, 2026.
The City of London Corporation
This body looks after what could be considered ancient London, due to its establishment in 1st century AD as a major settlement and thriving commercial hub since the Roman era. The City of London Corporation is headed by the Lord Mayor and a decision-making body called the Court of Common Councils.
Its government pre-dates Parliament, with elected officials known as Aldermen and Common Councilmen. The area is divided into 25 wards, some examples including Candlewick, Queenhithe, Tower, Cordwainer, and Vintry. Each ward elects two or more Councilmen, and one Alderman by public vote. The Lord Mayor is then drawn from the Aldermen, and the vote is endorsed by Livery Companies – medieval trade guilds which operate as the City’s philanthropic and fellowship groups.
For Common Councillors, elections are held every four years. Aldermen serve a term of six years, elections held as required. The Lord Mayor is elected annually during the Christian festival of Michaelmas, on the 29th of September.
The City is the centre from which the rest of the capital has grown over the centuries. It could be fairly defined as the oldest character in the story of London’s governance – historically rich, holding onto much of London’s world-renowned charm. Also known as the Square Mile, it’s London’s financial district but also hosts 8.6k residents, 678k daily commuters, and millions of tourists annually. The City is funded through three main sources: the City Fund, supported by business rates and council tax – covering policing, local authority, and port health; the City’s Cash, an endowment that covers schools, markets, and conservation; and the City Bridge Trust, administered by the City of London to maintain five bridges which cross the Thames into the Square Mile. In addition it serves a charitable purpose in the greater London area. The City Corporation provides local government services for residents and workers based within the Square Mile, even managing their own police force.
Subregional Partnerships
London is big; the borough of Hounslow’s economy alone is larger than the nation of Iceland’s. The sheer scale of London has created a growing need for groups that can manoeuvrer across boroughs, and between the councils and GLA. Funded by a mix of council subscription and government grants, these multi-borough collaborations are called subregional partnerships (SRPs), and began emerging in the early 2000s.
Though not mandatory, the GLA encourages boroughs join an SRP, the goal being greater collaboration and productivity.
London’s Subregional Partnerships today are:
- Central London Forward (CLF) – Covers the inner-city central boroughs
- Local London – A semi-circle area that spans mostly the East but includes some Northern and Southern boroughs
- South London Partnership (SLP) – Southern boroughs
- West London Alliance (WLA) – Western boroughs
Think of these partnerships as alliances, where contiguous boroughs share priorities and pooling resources. While not a formal tier of government, they are becoming increasingly influential, managing devolved employment services on behalf of boroughs such as the Work and Health Programme and Connect to Work and acting as convenors bringing together local authorities, businesses and communities at a sub-regional level on issues like local investment and infrastructure.
Despite these collaborative activities, there is significant diversity within these partnerships. Local London and West London Alliance, for example, bring together unusual bedfellows of both rural and inner-city boroughs, with leafy suburbs and dense central districts working together. There are geographical oddities too – Bexley and Newham may both be situated in the east, but sit on opposite sides of the river. The former has some of the lowest deprivation levels in the UK, while the latter has some of the highest.
Making Sense of London
My evolution as a Londoner is the awareness that down every street there is so much happening – so much creativity and opportunity. It’s a city full of inspiration, humour, and funky architecture.
The second part is a growing knowledge of London’s limitations and frustrations. But I feel lucky to be on a team who play an active part in overcoming these challenges. We will soon be launching our research pillar, Governing London, with partners aligned with our mission to strengthen the city’s democracy from the bottom up. Our events convene decision-makers, citizens, and campaigners to have fresh conversations about our place as a global city. It’s exciting work – from the first borough to the last, there’s nowhere quite like London.