Further information:

The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Twelve of these plus the City of London constitute Inner London, while twenty others constitute Outer London.

Map

City of London † City of Westminster Kensington and Chelsea Hammersmith and Fulham Wandsworth Lambeth Southwark Tower Hamlets Hackney Islington Camden Brent Ealing Hounslow Richmond upon Thames Kingston upon Thames Merton		Sutton Croydon Bromley Lewisham Greenwich Bexley Havering Barking and Dagenham Redbridge Newham Waltham Forest† Haringey Enfield Barnet Harrow Hillingdon
† not a London borough

Functions

The London boroughs are administered by London Borough Councils which are elected every four years. There are three councils which do not use the term "London Borough of" in their names. Westminster has city status; its council is termed Westminster City Council and the borough is termed City of Westminster. Kingston upon Thames and Kensington and Chelsea are "Royal Boroughs", and use this designation in their official names.

The London boroughs are the most important unit of local government in London, and are responsible for running most local services in their areas, 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 the Association of London Government, which recently changed its name to London Councils. Some London borough councils also group together for such services as waste collection and disposal, e.g. the West London Waste Authority.

The London boroughs are local government districts and have similar functions to metropolitan boroughs. Each London borough is a Local Education Authority. Until 1990 the Inner London boroughs were served by a shared LEA, the Inner London Education Authority.

History

The present London boroughs were created by the London Government Act 1963. They came into existence on April 1 1965 with the creation of Greater London. The first London Borough elections had been held in 1964 with the newly elected London Borough Councils acting as "shadow" authorities before coming into power the following year.

They had wider authority than the inner London metropolitan boroughs and neighbouring urban districts and municipal boroughs which they mostly replaced, but less power than the three county boroughs of Croydon, West Ham and East Ham, which ceased to exist at the same time.

Between 1965 and 1986 the London boroughs were part of a two-tier system of government, and shared power with the Greater London Council (GLC). However on 1 April 1986, the GLC was abolished, the London boroughs inherited most of its powers and became in effect unitary authorities (combining both county and borough functions). Since the creation in 2000 of a new Greater London Authority, covering the former GLC area but with more limited powers, the boroughs now have powers intermediate between those of English unitary authorities and non-metropolitan districts within shire counties.

The City of London is administered by its own distinct body, the Corporation of London, which predates the London boroughs.

The word borough has cognates in virtually every Germanic language, as well as other Indo-European languages. For a fuller explanation, see under borough.

Inner London boroughs

London Borough	Former metropolitan boroughs
Camden	Hampstead, Holborn, St Pancras
Greenwich	Greenwich, most of Woolwich
Hackney	Hackney, Shoreditch, Stoke Newington
Hammersmith and Fulham	Hammersmith, Fulham
Islington	Islington, Finsbury
Kensington and Chelsea	Kensington, Chelsea
Lambeth	Lambeth (and Streatham and Clapham from Wandsworth)
Lewisham	Lewisham, Deptford
Southwark	Bermondsey, Camberwell, Southwark
Tower Hamlets	Bethnal Green, Poplar, Stepney
Wandsworth	Battersea, Wandsworth (except Streatham and Clapham)
Westminster	Paddington, St Marylebone, Westminster

Outer London boroughs

London Borough	Former boroughs and districts
Barking and Dagenham	Municipal Borough of Barking and Municipal Borough of Dagenham from Essex
Barnet	Barnet Urban District and East Barnet Urban District from Hertfordshire Municipal Borough of Finchley, Municipal Borough of Hendon and Friern Barnet Urban District from Middlesex
Bexley	Municipal Borough of Bexley, Municipal Borough of Erith, Crayford Urban District and Sidcup from Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District from Kent
Brent	Municipal Borough of Wembley and Municipal Borough of Willesden from Middlesex
Bromley	Municipal Borough of Bromley, Municipal Borough of Beckenham, Orpington Urban District, Penge Urban District and Chislehurst from Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District from Kent
Croydon	County Borough of Croydon and Coulsdon and Purley Urban District from Surrey
Ealing	Municipal Borough of Acton, Municipal Borough of Ealing and Municipal Borough of Southall from Middlesex
Enfield	Municipal Borough of Edmonton, Municipal Borough of Enfield and Municipal Borough of Southgate from Middlesex
Haringey	Municipal Borough of Hornsey, Municipal Borough of Tottenham and Municipal Borough of Wood Green from Middlesex
Harrow	Municipal Borough of Harrow from Middlesex
Havering	Municipal Borough of Romford and Hornchurch Urban District from Essex
Hillingdon	Hayes and Harlington Urban District, Ruislip Northwood Urban District, Municipal Borough of Uxbridge and Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District from Middlesex
Hounslow	Municipal Borough of Brentford and Chiswick, Feltham Urban District and Municipal Borough of Heston and Isleworth from Middlesex
Kingston upon Thames	Municipal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Municipal Borough of Malden and Coombe and Municipal Borough of Surbiton from Surrey
Merton	Municipal Borough of Mitcham, Merton and Morden Urban District and Municipal Borough of Wimbledon from Surrey
Newham	County Borough of East Ham, County Borough of West Ham and part of Municipal Borough of Barking from Essex North Woolwich from Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich in County of London
Redbridge	Municipal Borough of Ilford, Municipal Borough of Wanstead and Woodford and part of Municipal Borough of Dagenham and part of Chigwell Urban District from Essex
Richmond upon Thames	Municipal Borough of Barnes and Municipal Borough of Richmond upon Thames from Surrey Municipal Borough of Twickenham from Middlesex
Sutton	Municipal Borough of Beddington, Carshalton Urban District and Municipal Borough of Sutton and Cheam from Surrey
Waltham Forest	Municipal Borough of Chingford, Municipal Borough of Leyton and Municipal Borough of Walthamstow from Essex

See also: List of places in London

See also

• The Five Boroughs (New York City)

External links

• London Borough of Hackney Council's map page
• London Borough of Islington council map page with clickable map linking to each borough's web site.

•  • [ e] Greater London • London • City of London

London boroughs: 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 • Lambeth • Lewisham • Merton • Newham • Redbridge • Richmond • Southwark • Sutton • Tower Hamlets • Waltham Forest • Wandsworth • Westminster Sui generis: City of London (Enclaves: Inner Temple • Middle Temple) See also: Greater London Authority • London Assembly • Mayor of London

Structure of English administrative divisions (since 1995)

Region level:	Region	Region	Region	Region
County level:	Metropolitan county	Shire county	Unitary authority	Greater London
District level:	Metropolitan district	Shire district	n/a	London borough
Parish level:	(Civil parish)	(Civil parish)	(Civil parish)	n/a