London boroughs

The 32 London boroughs and the City Corporation run most of the day-to-day services across the capital.

Each council is made up of elected councillors (usually around 60) representing wards within the borough. They set the Council Tax levels which, along with extra funding from central government, allows each borough to provide services such as education, housing, social services, street cleaning, waste disposal, roads, local planning and many arts and leisure services. The boroughs do not run police or health services.

The Association of London Government

The Asociation of London Government (ALG) is the collective voice of London's local authorities. Its role is fighting for more resources for London and getting the best possible deal for London’s 33 councils. Part think-tank and part lobbying organisation, the ALG also runs a range of services designed to make life better for Londoners.

London borough elections

The London borough elections are held every four years. They are ‘all-out’ elections, when all 1,861 seats are contested. The next elections are due to be held in May 2006.

The elections for the Corporation of London are not operated on the same system as the 32 boroughs. Members of the Corporation's governing bodies are elected by the City's residents and business voters.

The City of London (Ward Elections) Act 2002 reformed the voting system, which had been unchanged since the 1850s. Under the new system, any incorporated or unincorporated body can appoint one or more representatives to vote on its behalf as long as it physically occupies premises within the City. As a result, the 'business vote' is increased by 16,000 to 32,000. The number of voters per organisation depends on the size of the workforce at the premises concerned.

Further information

The ALG website provides

key links for each London borough's website - these include the home page, press releases, job vacancies, list of councillors and a list of MPs.
a list of town hall addresses

The Government Office for London’s (GOL) Borough Information Finder provides direct links to key information and statistics about your borough supplied by government departments and the Office for National Statistics. These include census information, performance indicators and school performance statistics.

City government

Who does what

History

Central Government

GLA Group, Mayor & Assembly

Freedom of information

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