The London boroughs are 32 of the districts that make up the administrative area of Greater London, England. The current London boroughs were all created on 1 April 1965, at the same time as Greater London, by merging groups of former local government units. Twelve were designated as Inner London boroughs and twenty as Outer London boroughs. The London boroughs have populations of between 150,000 and 400,000. Inner London boroughs tend to be smaller, in both population and area, and more densely populated than Outer London boroughs. Minor adjustments have been made to borough boundaries and two have changed their names. The City of London, at the historic core of London, is the 33rd area for local government and is not a London borough.
The London borough councils are 32 of the local authorities in London. Each council is a municipal corporation and they are a form of unitary authority. They provide the majority of local government services, such as schools, waste management, social services and libraries. The councils were first elected in 1964, and acted as shadow authorities until 1 April 1965. Each borough is divided into electoral wards, subject to periodic review, for the purpose of electing councillors. Council elections take place every four years, with the most recent elections in 2026. Traditionally, the political make-up of London borough councils was dominated by the major parties, but following the 2026 election nine were under no overall control, with smaller parties controlling eight councils. Five councils are led by directly elected mayors. The City of London has its own local government.
List
There are four boroughs that do not have "London borough" in their official names: the city of Westminster, and the royal boroughs of Kingston upon Thames, Kensington and Chelsea, and Greenwich.
History Background From the mid-1930s, the Greater London area comprised four types of local government authorities. There were county boroughs, municipal boroughs, urban districts and metropolitan boroughs. The large county boroughs provided all local government services and held the powers usually invested in county councils. The municipal borough and urban district authorities had fewer powers. The situation was made more complex because county councils could delegate functions such as elementary education and library provision to the municipal borough and district councils, and this was implemented piecemeal. Reform of London local government sought to regularise this arrangement.
Creation The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London was established in 1957 and the report was published on 19 October 1960. It proposed 52 "Greater London Boroughs" with a population range of 100,000 to 250,000. This was made up of a mixture of whole existing units, mergers of two or three areas, and two boroughs formed as the result of a split. In December 1961 the government proposed that there would be 34 boroughs rather than 52, and detailed their boundaries. The proposed number was further reduced to 32 in 1962.
On 1 April 1965, the 32 London boroughs and Greater London were created by the London Government Act 1963. Twelve boroughs in the former County of London area were designated Inner London boroughs and the 20 others were designated Outer London boroughs. Outer London borough councils were local education authorities, but Inner London borough councils were not, with those powers held by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). The City of London continued to be administered by the City of London Corporation, and the Inner and Middle Temples continued to govern their own areas.
The first elections were held on 7 May 1964, with the new councils acting as shadow authorities before coming into their powers the following year. The new London boroughs were incorporated using the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act 1882.
Former authorities The 32 London boroughs were created as follows.
London borough Designation Former areas Camden Inner Hampstead (11a) St Pancras (11b) Holborn (11c) Greenwich Inner Greenwich (22a) Woolwich (part) (22b) Hackney Inner Hackney (9a) Shoreditch (9b) Stoke Newington (9c) Hammersmith Inner Hammersmith (4a) Fulham (4b) Islington Inner Islington (10a) Finsbury (10b) Kensington and Chelsea Inner Kensington (3a) Chelsea (3b) Lambeth Inner Lambeth (6a) Wandsworth (part) (6b) Lewisham Inner Lewisham (21a) Deptford (21b) Southwark Inner Bermondsey (7b) Camberwell (7c) Southwark (7a) Tower Hamlets Inner Bethnal Green (8a) Poplar (8c) Stepney (8b) Wandsworth Inner Battersea (5b) Wandsworth (part) (5a) Westminster Inner Paddington (2c) St Marylebone (2b) Westminster (2a) Barking Outer Barking (part) (25a) Dagenham (part) (25b) Barnet OuterBarnet (31a) East Barnet (31b) Finchley (31d)Hendon (31c) Friern Barnet (31e)Bexley OuterBexley (23b) Erith (23a) Crayford (23c) Chislehurst and Sidcup (part) (23d) Brent OuterWembley (12a) Willesden (12b) Bromley OuterBromley (20c) Beckenham (20b) Orpington (20e) Penge (20a) Chislehurst and Sidcup (part) (20d)Croydon OuterCroydon (19a) Coulsdon and Purley (19b) Ealing OuterActon (13b) Ealing (13a) Southall (13c) Enfield OuterEdmonton (30c) Enfield (30a) Southgate (30b) Haringey OuterHornsey (29b) Tottenham (29c) Wood Green (29a) Harrow OuterHarrow (32) Havering OuterRomford (24a) Hornchurch (24b) Hillingdon OuterHayes and Harlington (33c) Ruislip Northwood (33b) Uxbridge (33a) Yiewsley and West Drayton (33d) Hounslow OuterBrentford and Chiswick (14c) Feltham (14a) Heston and Isleworth (14b) Kingston upon Thames OuterKingston upon Thames (16a) Malden and Coombe (16b) Surbiton (16c) Merton OuterMitcham (17c) Merton and Morden (17b) Wimbledon (17a) Newham OuterWest Ham (27a) East Ham (27b) Barking (part) (27c) Woolwich (part) (27d) Redbridge OuterIlford (26a) Wanstead and Woodford (26b) Dagenham (part) (26c) Chigwell (part) (26d) Richmond upon Thames OuterBarnes (15a) Richmond (15b) Twickenham (15c) Sutton OuterBeddington (18c) Carshalton (18b) Sutton and Cheam (18a) Waltham Forest OuterChingford (28a) Leyton (28c) Walthamstow (28b)
Boundary changes
The London boroughs were created by combining whole existing units of local government and it was realised that this might provide arbitrary boundaries in some places. The London Government Act 1963 provided a mechanism for communities on the edge of Greater London to petition for transfer from London boroughs to a neighbouring county district.London Government Act 1963 Section 6 (4) This was used in 1969 in the transfers of Knockholt in Bromley to Kent, and of Farleigh and Hooley in Croydon to Surrey. The act also provided for transfers between London boroughs and neighbouring counties where there was consensus for the change between all the relevant local authorities. This provision was used to exchange two islands on the River Thames between Richmond upon Thames and Surrey.
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England was established by the Local Government Act 1972 to review periodically the boundaries of Greater London and the London boroughs. The first review of boundaries commenced on 1 April 1987 and reported in 1992. Following the review a series of relatively minor adjustments were made to borough boundaries, for example uniting the whole of the Becontree estate in Barking and Dagenham. The commission noted that many of its recommendations were strongly opposed and were not implemented. The boundary of the City of London with adjacent boroughs was adjusted to remove some anomalies.
Londonwide authorities Between 1965 and 1986 the boroughs were part of a two-tier system of government and shared power with the Greater London Council (GLC). The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the London borough councils responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. Several London borough councils and the GLC were involved in the rate-capping rebellion of 1985. On 1 April 1986 the GLC was abolished and the borough councils gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. ILEA continued to exist as an authority. In 1990 it was abolished and the Inner London borough councils also became local education authorities. In 2000 the Greater London Authority was created, comprising the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. As a strategic authority, it absorbed only limited powers, such as major highways and planning strategy, from the borough councils.
London borough councils
The London boroughs are administered by London borough councils (LBCs). They are a form of unitary authority. They are the principal local authorities in London and are municipal corporations. The legal entity is not the council, as elsewhere in the country, but the inhabitants incorporated by royal charter.
Names The official legal title of the borough councils is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of X" (or "The Lord Mayor and Citizens of the City of Westminster"). The Local Government Act 1972 provided a mechanism for councils to change their names and that of their boroughs. This was used by the London Borough of Hammersmith (changed to Hammersmith and Fulham) on 1 April 1979 and the London Borough of Barking (changed to Barking and Dagenham) on 1 January 1980. Borough names formed by combining two locality names had been discouraged when the boroughs were created.
Services London borough councils are responsible for running most local services, such as schools, social services, waste collection and roads. Some London-wide services are run by the Greater London Authority, and some services and lobbying of government are pooled within London Councils. Some councils group together for services such as waste collection and disposal. The boroughs are local government districts and have similar functions to metropolitan boroughs. Each borough council is a local education authority and local planning authority.
Shared services Shared services are borough council services shared between two or more boroughs. Shared services were previously resisted due to councils guarding their authority. However, as the need for budget cuts in the late 2000s became apparent some councils have sought service mergers.Jane Dudman (20 October 2010). "Public sector cuts will not hit 'back office' hardest", The Guardian. Westminster and Hammersmith & Fulham were due to merge their education services, including school admissions and transport, by 2011.Jaimie Kaffash (7 July 2010). "London boroughs to share education services", Public Finance. In October 2010, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster announced plans to merge all their services to create a "super-council". Each would retain its own political identity, leadership and councillors but staff and budgets would be combined for cost savings./"Pickles backs plan to merge Tory councils", BBC News, 22 October 2010. Lambeth and Southwark likewise expressed an interest in sharing services.
Elections