Greater London Authority | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
| Founded | 3 July 2000 |
| Preceded by | Greater London Council (1965–1986) |
| Leadership | |
| Executive | |
| Mayor of London | Sadiq Khan,Labour Since 9 May 2016 |
| Statutory Deputy Mayor | Joanne McCartney, Labour Since 9 May 2016 |
| Mayoral Cabinet | since 9th May 2016 |
| London Assembly | |
| Chair | Len Duvall,Labour Since 6 May 2025 |
| Deputy Chair | Andrew Boff, Conservative Party Since 6 May 2025 |
| Mayoral group leader | Len Duvall, Labour Since 9 May 2016 |
| Paid Service | |
| Chief Officer | Mary Harpley Since 29 May 2018 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 1 mayor and 25 assembly members (AMs) |
Length of term | Four years |
| Elections | |
Mayor of Londonvoting system | First past the post |
London Assemblyvoting system | Additional member |
Last Mayor of London election | 2 May 2024 |
Last London Assembly election | 2 May 2024 |
Next Mayor of London election | 4 May 2028 |
Next London Assembly election | 4 May 2028 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way,London, E16 1ZE | |
| Website | |
london | |
TheGreater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by themetonymCity Hall, is thedevolvedregional governance body ofGreater London, England. It consists of two political branches: an executiveMayor (currentlySadiq Khan) and the 25-memberLondon Assembly, which serves as a means ofchecks and balances on the Mayor. The authority was established in 2000, following alocal referendum, and derives most of its powers from theGreater London Authority Act 1999 and theGreater London Authority Act 2007.
It is a strategic regional authority, with powers over transport, policing, economic development, and fire and emergency planning. Three functional bodies –Transport for London, theMayor's Office for Policing and Crime, and theLondon Fire Commissioner – are responsible for delivery of services in these areas. The planning policies of the Mayor of London are detailed in a statutoryLondon Plan which is regularly updated and published.
The Greater London Authority is mostly funded by direct government grant and it is also aprecepting authority, with some money collected with localCouncil Tax. The GLA is unique in the British devolved and local government system, in terms of structure (it uses apresidential system-esque model), elections and selection of powers. The authority was established to replace a range of joint boards andquangos and provided an elected upper tier of local government in Greater London for the first time since the abolition of theGreater London Council in 1986.
Since May 2016, both branches have been under the control of theLondon Labour Party.
The GLA is responsible for the strategic administration of the 1,579 km2 (610 sq mi) ofGreater London. It shares local government powers with the councils of 32London boroughs and theCity of London Corporation. It was created to improve the co-ordination between the local authorities in Greater London, while theMayor of London's role is to provide a single representative for the capital. The Mayor proposes policy and the GLA's budget, and makes appointments to the capital's strategic executive such asTransport for London.
The London Assembly serves as a watchdog for the city and holds the mayor accountable.[1] The assembly must also accept or amend the mayor's budget on an annual basis.[2] The GLA is based atCity Hall in theLondon Borough of Newham, situated next to the redevelopedRoyal Victoria Dock inCanning Town. The GLA moved to this building from the previousCity Hall, inSouthwark, in January 2022.
The GLA is different from the corporation of theCity of London with its largely ceremonial lord mayors, which controls only the square mile of the city, London's chief financial centre.
In 1986, theGreater London Council was abolished by theConservative government ofMargaret Thatcher. Many people have surmised that the decision to abolish the GLC was made because of the existence of a high-spending left-wingLabour administration underKen Livingstone, although pressure for the abolition of the GLC had arisen before Livingstone took over, and was largely driven by the belief among the outerLondon borough councils that they could perform the functions of the GLC just as well.
On abolition, the strategic functions of the GLC were transferred to bodies controlled by central government or joint boards nominated by theLondon borough councils. Some of the service delivery functions were transferred down to the councils themselves. For the next 14 years there was no single elected body for the whole of London. The Labour Party never supported the abolition of the GLC and made it a policy to re-establish some form of citywide elected authority.
The Labour Party advocated a government structure comprising a single, directly elected mayor (a policy first suggested byTony Banks in 1990), together with an elected deliberative assembly to scrutinise them. This model was based on themayor–council government of many American and Canadian cities rather than the parliamentary-style GLC. Indeed, it was partly aimed at making sure the new body resembled the erstwhile GLC as little as possible. After Labour won the1997 general election, the policy was outlined in awhite paper entitledA Mayor and Assembly for London (March 1998).
Simultaneously with the elections to the London Borough councils, areferendum was held on the establishment of the GLA in May 1998, which was approved with 72% of the vote. TheGreater London Authority Act 1999 passed through Parliament, receivingroyal assent in October 1999. Most polling showed that Livingstone, the last leader of the GLC, would easily win the mayoral election. However, in a controversial election campaign, the then prime minister,Tony Blair, attempted to block the nomination of Livingstone, a factional rival, and imposed his own candidate. In reaction, Livingstone stood as an independent candidate, resulting in his expulsion from the Labour Party. In March 2000,he was elected as Mayor of London, pushing Labour's candidate into third place. Following an interim period in which the mayor and assembly had been elected but had no powers, the GLA was formally established on 3 July 2000.
For the first two years of its existence, the Greater London Authority was based at Romney House, 47Marsham Street inWestminster.[3] Meetings of the London Assembly took place at Emmanuel Centre, also on Marsham Street.[4]
Between July 2002 and December 2021, the Greater London Authority was based at a building known asCity Hall inSouthwark, on the banks of theRiver Thames, close toTower Bridge. City Hall was designed by Norman Foster and constructed at a cost of £43 million[5] on a site formerly occupied bywharves serving thePool of London. This building did not belong to the GLA but was leased under a 25-year rental agreement from theKuwait Investment Authority.[6]
In November 2020, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced plans to vacate City Hall at the end of 2021 and relocate toThe Crystal in theCanning Town area ofEast London. The Crystal building is owned by the Greater London Authority and is currently under-occupied. City Hall was not owned by the authority itself and the proposed move would save the Greater London Authority £12.6 million a year in rental costs.[7][8][9] The decision was confirmed on 3 November 2020. Newham Borough Council gave permission for a change of use for the building in December 2020.[10][11] The authority vacated City Hall on 2 December 2021 and the move is due to completed in the first week of January 2022.[9][12] The Crystal was renamed "City Hall" in December 2021.[13][14]
In addition to City Hall, staff of the Greater London Authority are also based at Palestra House onBlackfriars Road and at the London Fire Brigade headquarters onUnion Street, both inSouthwark.[15]
The predecessors of the Greater London Authority, theGreater London Council and theLondon County Council, had their headquarters atCounty Hall, upstream on theSouth Bank. Although County Hall's old council chamber is still intact, the building is unavailable for use by the GLA because of its conversion into, among other things, a luxury hotel, amusement arcade and aquarium.[16]
Areas which the GLA has responsibility for include transport, policing, fire and rescue, development and strategic planning. The GLA does not directly provide any services itself. Instead, its work is carried out by functional bodies which, together with the GLA itself, form the GLA Group[17] and work under the policy direction of the mayor and assembly. These functional bodies (defined in section 424 (1) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999) are:
In November 2005, the government published a consultation document reviewing the powers of the GLA, making proposals for additional powers, includingwaste management, planning, housing, and learning and skills.[19][20] The result of the consultation and final proposals were published by theDepartment for Communities and Local Government on 13 July 2006.[21]
A range ofback office services for the GLA and its functional bodies are provided collectively by the GLA Group using the common provision powers of section 401A of the 1999 Act.[22] The most senior member of staff within the GLA Group is the GLA Head of Paid Service.[23]
The GLA is responsible for co-ordinatingland use planning inGreater London. The mayor produces a strategic plan, the "London Plan". The individualLondon Borough councils are legally bound to comply with the plan. The mayor has the power to over-ride planning decisions made by the London Boroughs if they are believed to be against the interests of London as a whole.[citation needed]
As of 2006, London generates 42 million tonnes ofcarbon emissions per year, 7% of the UK's total. 44% of this comes from housing, 28% from commercial premises, 21% from transport, and 7% from industry.[24]
The Mayor's energy strategy[25] planned to cut carbon emission levels by 20% by 2010 and 60% by 2050 (although achieving the first of these targets is unlikely).[needs update] Measures taken to achieve this have included the creation of theLondon Climate Change Agency, the London Energy Partnership[26] and the founding of the internationalLarge Cities Climate Leadership Group.
The London Sustainable Development Commission[27] has calculated that for housing to meet the 60% target, all new developments would have to be constructed to be carbon-neutral with immediate effect (usingzero energy building techniques), in addition to cutting energy used in existing housing by 40%.
The Mayor of London is a member of theMayoral Council for England and theCouncil of the Nations and Regions.
| Service | Greater London Authority | London borough councils |
|---|---|---|
| Education |  Y | |
| Housing | Y | Y |
| Planning applications | Y | |
| Strategic planning | Y | Y |
| Transport planning | Y | Y |
| Passenger transport | Y | |
| Highways | Y | Y |
| Police | Y | |
| Fire | Y | |
| Social services | Y | |
| Libraries | Y | |
| Leisure and recreation | Y | |
| Waste collection | Y | |
| Waste disposal | Y | |
| Environmental health | Y | |
| Revenue collection | Y |
After the2024 elections,Labour has the largest representation on the GLA with the mayor as well as eleven assembly members, followed by eight from theConservatives, threeGreens, two from theLiberal Democrats, and one fromReform UK.[28]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |