London County Council
Coat of arms
Type
Type	County council for theCounty of London
History
Established	21 March 1889
Disbanded	1 April 1965
Preceded by	Metropolitan Board of Works
Succeeded by	Greater London Council
Leadership
Leader	List of leaders since 1933
Chairman	List of chairmen since 1889
Structure
Seats	1889–1919: 118 councillors; 19 aldermen 1919–1949: 124 councillors; 20 aldermen 1949–1955: 129 councillors; 21 aldermen 1955–1965: 126 councillors; 21 aldermen
Constituencies	Electoral divisions
Elections
Voting system	Bloc vote
Last election	1961
Meeting place
County Hall,Lambeth

TheLondon County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for theCounty of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known asInner London and was replaced by theGreater London Council. The LCC was the largest, most significant and most ambitious English municipal authority of its day.^[1]

By the 19th century, theCity of London Corporation covered only a small fraction of the metropolis. From 1855, theMetropolitan Board of Works (MBW) had certain powers across what is now Inner London, but it was appointed rather than elected. Many powers remained in the hands of traditional bodies such as parishes and the counties ofMiddlesex,Surrey, andKent. TheLocal Government Act 1888 created a newCounty of London, with effect from 1889, and the Englishcounty councils, of which LCC was one. This followed a succession of scandals involving the MBW - which was abolished on LCC's creation - and was also prompted by a general desire to create a competent government for the metropolitan area, capable of delivering strategic services effectively.^[2] TheConservative government of the day would have preferred not to create a single body covering the whole of the new County of London, but its electoral pact with theLiberal Unionists led it to this policy. LCC was established as a provisional council on 31 January 1889 and came into its powers on 21 March 1889.^[3]

In the first elections to the LCC, in January 1889, theProgressive Party, closely allied to the Liberal Party, won seventy of the 118 seats. It lost power in 1907 to theMunicipal Reform Party (a Conservative organisation) underRichard Robinson.^[3]

The LCC provided very few services within the ancientCity of London, where the existing Corporation had a near-monopoly of local governance.^[4] Shortly after its creation, aRoyal Commission on the Amalgamation of the City and County of London considered the means for amalgamating the two. Although this was not achieved, it led to the creation of 28metropolitan boroughs as lower tier authorities, replacing the various local vestries and boards in 1900; these boroughs also assumed some powers of the LCC and shared others.

The LCC inherited the powers of its predecessor the MBW, but had wider authority over matters such as education,city planning andcouncil housing. It took over the functions of theLondon School Board in 1903, and DrC W Kimmins was appointed chief inspector of the education department in 1904.

From 1899, the Council progressively acquired and operated the tramways in the county, which it electrified from 1903. By 1933, when theLCC Tramways were taken over by theLondon Passenger Transport Board, it was the largest tram operator in the United Kingdom, with more than 167 miles (269 km) of route and over 1,700 tramcars.

Under theLocal Government Act 1929, the LCC assumed responsibility on 1st April 1930 for thePoor Law Boards of Guardians' general hospitals and theMetropolitan Asylums Board's hospitals for infectious diseases , the mentally disordered and feeble minded, children's hospitals, pathology laboratories and ambulance stations.^[5]

One of the LCC's most important roles during the late 19th and early 20th century, was in the management of the expanding city and the re-development of its growing slums.^[6] In the Victorian era, new housing had been intentionally urban and large-scale tenement buildings dominated. Beginning in the 1930s, the LCC incentivised an increase in more suburban housing styles. A less-dense style of development, focusing on single family homes, was popular among London housing developers because it was believed that this would satisfy the working classes and provide insurance, "against Bolshevism," to quote one parliamentary secretary. The LCC set the standard for new construction at 12 houses per acre of land at a time when some London areas had as many as 80 housing units per acre. The passage of theHousing of the Working Classes Act in 1885 gave the LCC the power to compel the sale of land for housing development, a power that was vital to the systematic rehousing that began under the council's earlyProgressive Party leadership.^[6]

TheTotterdown Fields development atTooting was the first large suburban-style development to be built under LCC authority, in 1903, and was quickly followed by developments atRoehampton,Bellingham, andBecontree. By 1938, 76,877 units of housing had been built under the auspices of the LCC in the city and its periphery, an astonishing number given the previous pace of development.^[7] Many of these new housing developments were genuinely working-class, though the poorest could rarely afford even subsidised rents. They relied on an expandingLondon Underground network that ferried workers en masse to places of employment in central London. These housing developments were broadly successful, and they resisted the slummification that blighted so many Victorian tenement developments. The success of these commuter developments constructed by the LCC in the periphery of the city is, "one of the more remarkable achievements in London government, and contributed much to the marked improvement of conditions between the wars for the capital's working classes."^[6]

The LCC also built overspill estates outside London (some after World War II)^[8] includingDebden in Essex,Merstham andSheerwater in Surrey, andEdenbridge in Kent.

The MBW, and the LCC undertook between 1857 and 1945 to standardise and clarify street names across London. Many streets in different areas of the city had similar or identical names, and the rise of the car as a primary mode of transportation in the city sometimes made the duplication of names challenging. In an extreme case, there were over 60 streets called "Cross Street" spread across London when the LCC began its process of systematic renaming. These were given names from an approved list that was maintained by the LCC, containing only "suitably English" names. If street names were deemed un-English, they were also slated for change; Zulu Crescent inBattersea, for instance, became Rowena Crescent in 1912.^[9]

By 1939, the council had the following powers and duties:^[10]

†Denotes a power administered by the City of London Corporation within the City.

The LCC initially used theSpring Gardens headquarters inherited from the Metropolitan Board of Works. The building had been designed byFrederick Marrable, the MBW's superintending architect, and dated from 1860.^[11] Opinions on the merits of the building varied: theSurvey of London described it as "well balanced" while the architectural correspondent ofThe Times was less enthusiastic. He summarised the building as "of thePalladian type of four storeys with two orders,Ionic above andCorinthian below as if its designer had looked rather hastily atthe banqueting house ofInigo Jones."^[11][12] The most impressive feature was the curving or elliptical spiral staircase leading to the principal floor. The original board room was too small to accommodate meetings of the new council, and it was soon replaced by a horseshoe-shaped council chamber.^[11][12]

By 1893, it was clear that the Spring Gardens building was too small for the increased work of the LCC. Seven additional buildings within a quarter of a mile of the County Hall had been acquired, and it was estimated that they would need to take over an average of two more houses annually.^[13] TheChancellor of the Exchequer, SirWilliam Harcourt, offered the council a site at Parliament Street,Westminster for three-quarters of a million pounds. Another site subsequently became available betweenThe Strand andThe Embankment, when theOfficial Receiver took over the partially completed premises of the failedLiberator Building Society.^[14] The council's Establishment Committee recommended the purchase of the Parliament Street lot, as it would be a prominent site opposite thePalace of Westminster and next to the principal government offices.^[13] Following a debate of the whole council, the committee's recommendation was rejected on financial grounds and as it was felt that the headquarters should not be in the privilegedWest End.^[13]

The matter remained unresolved, and in 1900 a special committee was formed by the council to seek out a suitable site. In July 1902, they presented their report, recommending a 3.35-acre (13,600 m²) site in theAdelphi. Entry roads to the proposed county hall would be made from The Strand and The Embankment.^[15] The council rejected the recommendations in October 1902, and a suggestion was made that the committee seek a site south of the Thames, adjacent toWestminster Bridge.^[16]

In April 1905, the council finally agreed to seek powers to buy three adjoining plots of land on the eastern side of Westminster Bridge as a site for a single headquarters. The debate in the council chamber was somewhat heated with one councillor objecting to the purchase as it was "on the wrong side of the river ... in a very squalid neighbourhood ... and quite unworthy of the dignity of a body like the council". Leading member of the council,John Burns countered that it "would brighten up a dull place, sweeten a sour spot and for the first time bring the south of London into a dignified and beautiful frontage on the River Thames."^[17]

The necessary powers were obtained under the London County Council (Money) Act 1906, and a competition to design the new building was organised.^[18]There were approximately 100 entries, and the winner was the 29-year-oldRalph Knott. Construction began in 1911, and the first section was opened in 1922, with the original building completed in 1933. Extensions continued to be made throughout the council's existence.^[12][19]

The county was divided intoelectoral divisions, co-terminous with parliamentary constituencies. Initially, each returned two councillors, save for theCity of London, which returned four.^[20] Under theRepresentation of the People Act 1948 this was altered, to three each.^[21] Elections of all councillors were held every three years save that none were held in theFirst andSecond World Wars.

Complementing the elected councillors and of equal power but longer tenure the council appointed one countyalderman for every six councillors. These were electedby halves (as to half of their number) by the council for a six-year term at the first meeting after each election.

Initially, it had been hoped by many that elections to the LCC would be conducted on a non-partisan basis, but in the council two political groups formed. The majority group in 1889 was theProgressives,^[22] who were unofficially allied with theLiberal Party in national politics. Those who allied with the Conservative Party formed the Moderate group. In 1906, the Moderates became known as theMunicipal Reform Party.

The LCC was elected every three years. The Progressives were in control continuously from 1889 until 1907, when they lost power to the Municipal Reformers. Municipal Reform control lasted until 1934 when Labour won power, which they kept until the LCC was abolished.

Council composition:^[23]

The post ofleader of the council was only officially recognised in 1933. This table gives the leaders of the majority parties on the council before this time.

The county council was required by statute to appoint a chairman and a vice chairman at its annual meeting. Both of these positions were generally filled by members of the majority party. The chairman chaired meetings of the council, and was the county's civic leader, filling a similar role to the mayor of a borough or city. The vice chairman performed these functions in his absence. The first chairman was theEarl of Rosebery, and the last chairman wasArthur Wicks.

The chairmanship was a prestigious office, second only to that oflord lieutenant. The incumbent chairmen were honoured withknighthoods on the occasions of the coronations ofEdward VII andElizabeth II, and the laying of the foundation stone of County Hall.^[24][25][26] As part of the celebrations of theSilver Jubilee of George V in 1935 it was announced that the chairman would in future be entitled to use the style "right honourable", an honour already enjoyed by theLord Mayor of the City of London.^[27]

The council'sstanding orders also provided for the post of deputy chairman. Until 1895, the holder of this office was in charge of the organisation of the council's activities, and was paid a salary. This was seen as a conflict of interest by theRoyal Commission on the Amalgamation of the City and County of London when they reported in 1894, and in 1895 a county clerk was added to the council staff to perform these duties.^[28][29] The deputy chairmanship then became purely ceremonial, and was filled by nominees of the opposition party on the council.

AfterWorld War II, it became evident that the London County Council was too small to cope with the greater demands being placed on local government by the newWelfare State.^[30] In 1957, aRoyal Commission on Local Government in Greater London was set up under SirEdwin Herbert to examine the issues and make recommendations. The Commission deliberated for three years and in 1960 it recommended a major restructuring of local government in London. This included the abolition of all existing local authorities with the exception of theCity of London Corporation; aGreater London Council was to be established along with 32 new lower-tierLondon boroughs with populations of 100,000 to 250,000 each. The new boroughs would split the responsibility for government functions with the Greater London Council.^[31]

The Royal Commission's report led to the Bill for theLondon Government Act 1963,^[32] and when this was introduced into Parliament it initially faced considerable opposition.^[33][34][35] The Bill passed into law with some minor amendments. AnInner London Education Authority was set up for education to be overseen on a broad county level. The first elections for the new Greater London Council were held on 9 April 1964. The London County Council ran concurrently for a year with the new Greater London Council to ensure a seamless transition, and the LCC was finally abolished on 1 April 1965. The Royal Commission commented that "nobody studying London Government can fail to be deeply impressed with the achievements of the London County Council. It has given the Administrative County of London a strong and able form of government which makes its standing very high among the municipal governments of the world."^[31]

• History of local government in London
• Coat of arms of London County Council
• London County Council Staff Association
• London County Council Tramways
• List of members of London County Council 1889–1919
• List of members of London County Council 1919–1937
• List of members of London County Council 1937–1949
• London Metropolitan Archives

Media related toLondon County Council at Wikimedia Commons

• London County Council
• History of local government in London (1889–1965)
• Former county councils of England
• 1889 establishments in the United Kingdom
• Defunct organisations based in London
• Fire authorities in London
• Former local authorities in London

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