Greater London Authority

Greater London Authority
Logo
Type
Type	Devolved regional governance body of London
Term limits	None
History
Founded	3 July 2000
Preceded by	Greater London Council (1965–1986)
Leadership
Labour Since 9 May 2016
Statutory Deputy Mayor	Joanne McCartney, Labour Since 9 May 2016
Mayoral Cabinet	since 9th May 2016
London Assembly
Chair	Andrew Boff, Conservative Party Since May 2023
Deputy Chair	Len Duvall, Labour Since May 2024
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 London 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
www.london.gov.uk

This article is part of Politics of London

Greater London Authority list ) Sadiq Khan (L) Statutory Deputy Mayor L/Co ) Mayoral cabinet Mayoral elections 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2021 2024 London Assembly Chair Constituencies Elections 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2021 2024 London budget Transport for London London Fire Commissioner GLA Land and Property London Legacy Development Corporation London Climate Change Agency Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation Foreign relations Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime London Plan 1998 referendum 1999 Act 2007 Act Political parties

London Councils City of London Corporation Lord Mayor Peter Estlin Court of Aldermen Court of Common Council Elections 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2022 Freemen Livery Sheriffs Wards London boroughs (list) Wards Council make-up Barking and Dagenham Barnet Bexley Brent Bromley Camden Croydon Ealing Enfield Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith and Fulham Haringey Harrow Havering Hillingdon Hounslow Islington Kensington and Chelsea Kingston upon Thames Lambeth Lewisham Merton Newham Redbridge Richmond upon Thames Southwark Sutton Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Wandsworth Westminster Elections 1900 1903 1906 1909 1912 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1945 1949 1953 1956 1959 1962 1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022

London and the United Kingdom Minister for London Vacant Parliamentary constituencies London Government Act 1963 Lord-Lieutenant Ken Olisa London as a metonym for the Politics of the United Kingdom Members of Parliament Conservative Labour Liberal Democrat London independence

London Politics

v t e

The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym City Hall, is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London, England. It consists of two political branches: an executive Mayor (currently Sadiq Khan) and the 25-member London Assembly, which serves as a means of checks and balances on the Mayor. The authority was established in 2000, following a local referendum, and derives most of its powers from the Greater London Authority Act 1999 and the Greater 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, the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime, and the London Fire Commissioner— are responsible for delivery of services in these areas. The planning policies of the Mayor of London are detailed in a statutory London Plan which is regularly updated and published.

The Greater London Authority is mostly funded by direct government grant and it is also a precepting authority, with some money collected with local Council Tax. The GLA is unique in the British devolved and local government system, in terms of structure (it uses a presidential system-esque model), elections and selection of powers. The authority was established to replace a range of joint boards and quangos and provided an elected upper tier of local government in Greater London for the first time since the abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986.

Since May 2016, both branches have been under the control of the

The GLA is responsible for the strategic administration of the 1,579 km² (610 sq mi) of Greater London. It shares local government powers with the councils of 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation. It was created to improve the co-ordination between the local authorities in Greater London, while the Mayor 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 as Transport 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 at City Hall in the London Borough of Newham, situated next to the redeveloped Royal Victoria Dock in Canning Town. The GLA moved to this building from the previous City Hall, in Southwark, in January 2022.

The GLA is different from the corporation of the City of London with its largely ceremonial lord mayors, which controls only the square mile of the city, London's chief financial centre.

In 1986, the

On abolition, the strategic functions of the GLC were transferred to bodies controlled by central government or joint boards nominated by the

The Labour Party advocated a government structure comprising a single, directly elected mayor (a policy first suggested by Tony Banks in 1990), together with an elected deliberative assembly to scrutinise them. This model was based on the mayor–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 the 1997 general election, the policy was outlined in a white paper entitled A Mayor and Assembly for London (March 1998).

Simultaneously with the elections to the London Borough councils, a

For the first two years of its existence, the Greater London Authority was based at Romney House, 47 Marsham Street in Westminster.^[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 as City Hall in Southwark, on the banks of the River Thames, close to Tower Bridge. City Hall was designed by Norman Foster and constructed at a cost of £43 million^[5] on a site formerly occupied by wharves serving the Pool of London. This building did not belong to the GLA but was leased under a 25-year rental agreement from the Kuwait Investment Authority.^[6]

In November 2020, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced plans to vacate City Hall at the end of 2021 and relocate to

In addition to City Hall, staff of the Greater London Authority are also based at Palestra House on Blackfriars Road and at the London Fire Brigade headquarters on Union Street, both in Southwark.^[15]

The predecessors of the Greater London Authority, the Greater London Council and the London County Council, had their headquarters at County Hall, upstream on the South 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:

• Transport for London (TfL) – Responsible for managing most aspects of London's transport system, including public transport, main roads, and traffic management, and administering the London congestion charge.
• Metropolitan Police Service, which provides policing throughout Greater London. Replaced the Metropolitan Police Authority in January 2012 under the provisions of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.^[18]
• The London Fire Commissioner – Administers the London Fire Brigade and co-ordinates emergency planning. Until April 2017 this was the responsibility of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA).
• The London Legacy Development Corporation and Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, which are Mayoral development corporations. Before April 2012 the London Development Agency (LDA) was responsible for development across London but was wound up following the Localism Act 2011. The London Legacy Development Corporation and Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation were set up using powers in the Localism Act to create Mayoral development corporations.

In November 2005, the government published a consultation document reviewing the powers of the GLA, making proposals for additional powers, including

A range of back 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-ordinating

The Mayor of London is a member of the Mayoral Council for England and the Council 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 the 2024 elections, Labour has the largest representation on the GLA with the mayor as well as eleven assembly members, followed by eight from the Conservatives, three Greens, two from the Liberal Democrats, and one from Reform UK.^[28]

• 2000 London Assembly election
  • 2000 London mayoral election
• 2004 London Assembly election
  • 2004 London mayoral election
• 2008 London Assembly election
  • 2008 London mayoral election
• 2012 London Assembly election
  • 2012 London mayoral election
• 2016 London Assembly election
  • 2016 London mayoral election
• 2021 London Assembly election
  • 2021 London mayoral election
• 2024 London Assembly election
  • 2024 London mayoral election

• History of local government in London
• Scotland Yard
• Lord Mayor of the City of London
• City of London Corporation
• London boroughs
• Foreign relations of the Mayor of London
• Boundary map