London Councils is the collective of local government in

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

, England. It is a cross-party organisation that represents London's 32 borough councils and the City of London. It was formed in 1995 as a merger of the London Boroughs Association and the Association of London Authorities. In April 2000 it gained further functions as strategic local government in London was reorganised. London Councils is a

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

and

lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

organisation, and also provides some services directly through legislation that allows multiple local authorities to pool responsibility and funding, such as

Freedom Pass Freedom Pass is a concessionary travel scheme, which began in 1973, to provide free travel to residents of Greater London, England, for people with a disability or over the progressively increasing state pension age (60 for women in 2010, inc ...

. London Councils is based at 59½

Southwark Street Southwark Street is a major street in Bankside in the London Borough of Southwark, in London England, just south of the River Thames. It runs between Blackfriars Road to the west and Borough High Street to the east. It also connects the acces ...

. It is due to move to 12 Arthur Street in the City of London in 2024.

History

The Association of London Government (ALG) came out of a merger between the London Boroughs Association and the

Association of London Authorities Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

in 1995. The ALA consisted of many, mainly Labour, councils which had left the LBA in the 1980s. To coincide with the creation of the

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the Metonymy, metonym City Hall, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved Regions of England, regional governance body of Greater London, England. It consists of two political ...

, the ALG merged with the London Boroughs Grants Committee, the Greater London Employers Association, the London Housing Unit and the Transport Committee for London on 1 April 2000. In October 2006 it changed its name from the Association of London Government to London Councils to avoid confusion with the

(GLA) and the

Local Government Association The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local government in England, local authorities in England and Wales. Its core membership is made up of 317 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the ...

(LGA).

Membership

The membership of London Councils comprises the 32

London borough councils The London boroughs are the current 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were ...

, the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

, the

London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) was a functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA) from 2000 to 2018. It was established with the Greater London Authority by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It replaced the ...

and the

Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) is a functional body of the Greater London Authority responsible for oversight of the Metropolitan Police. It came into being on 16 January 2012 at midnight, replacing the Metropolitan Police Auth ...

. The GLA was a member of the ALG for a period, before Mayor

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...

fell out with leading councillors and withdrew. The two organisations co-ordinate their work.

Executive and lead members

The members of the Executive Committee of London Councils is as follows:

Group whips

* Clyde Loakes, Labour,

Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is an outer London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of the municipal boroughs of Leyton, Walthamstow and Chingford. The borough's administrative headquarters are at Waltham Forest Town Hall, wh ...

* Paul Osborn, Conservative,

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

* Andreas Kirsch, Liberal Democrat,

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Purpose

London Councils is the collective of London local government, the 32 boroughs and the

. They come together through London Councils to work in collaboration to deliver their shared ambitions for London and Londoners. A Cross-party organisation, London Councils shared ambitions are agreed by the Leaders' Committee, comprising the leaders and directly elected mayors of the boroughs, and the Chair of the Policy and Resources Committee at the City of London Corporation. It supports collaboration between boroughs as well as working as a trusted partner with central government, the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

, the voluntary and business sectors, and public sector partners such as the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

, to achieve a better future for London and Londoners. Its services include the

, Taxicard, Health Emergency Badge and a grants programme for voluntary sector organisations in London on behalf of members and supports London Tribunals. London Councils is represented on the

Local Government Leaders' Council The Local Government Leaders' Council or simply the Leaders' Council is a forum in the United Kingdom that brings together the deputy prime minister, other ministers in the UK government, and leaders of representative bodies of local government. ...

by its chair.

Leadership

Chair

The current Chair of London Councils is Cllr Claire Holland, Leader of

Lambeth Council Lambeth London Borough Council, which styles itself Lambeth Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of the 32 in London. The council has been under Labour ...

. She replaced the previous chair,

Georgia Gould Georgia Gould (born January 5, 1980) is an American professional mountain bike and cyclocross competitor, and Olympian (2008, 2012). She has earned five career national championships – four in cross-country mountain bike in 2006, 2010, 2011 ...

in July 2024. Previous chairs were: *

, Camden, 2020-2024 * Peter John OBE, Southwark, 2018 – 2020 * Claire Kober, Haringey, Labour, 2016-2018 *Mayor

Jules Pipe Julian Benjamin Pipe (born May 1965) is a British politician who currently serves as the Deputy Mayor of London for Planning, Regeneration and Skills. Pipe was the first directly elected mayor of the London Borough of Hackney between his ele ...

, Hackney, Labour, 2010–2016 *

Merrick Cockell Sir Merrick Richard Cockell (born 16 June 1957) is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom, former Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and former chairman of the Local Government Association. He was made a Knight Bachelo ...

, Kensington and Chelsea,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

, 2006–2010 *Mayor Sir

Robin Wales Sir Robert Andrew "Robin" Wales (born 18 January 1955) is a British Labour Party politician who served as Mayor of Newham from 2002 to 2018. Prior to taking up that newly created role, he was leader of Newham council since 1995, having been a ...

, Newham, Labour, 2000–2006 * Toby Harris, Haringey, Labour, 1995–2000

Leaders' Committee

London Councils is run by a committee made up of all the leaders of London's borough councils and meet each month (except August) to discuss and agree policy issues of importance to Londoners and their councils. The committee is supported by a cross-party executive of twelve senior members which acts as a forum for detailed policy development. Each member of the executive holds a specific policy area portfolio. Politically, the Executive comprises councillors in proportion to the party representation on London councils.

Other committees

*London Boroughs Grants Committee (from 1 April 2000) *Transport and Environment Committee (from 1 April 2000) took over

from Transport Committee for London. *London Housing Unit Committee (from 1 April 2000 until 31 March 2008) was a "sectoral joint committee" and not all London borough councils were members.

London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI)

The London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) was established in July 2019. Originally formed of 15 boroughs, LOTI's membership has grown to include 27 boroughs, the Greater London Authority and London Councils. The LOTI community is supported by a team hosted at London Councils. Its operations are funded by through an annual subscription from borough councils and grants from the GLA, London Councils and other partners. In order to represent the best interests of its members, LOTI is technology and supplier agnostic. It does not favour or endorse the products and services of any one company. Nor does it procure technology on behalf of London boroughs. Its purpose is to help ensure local government staff are good, informed and demanding customers of the best innovation the market can provide.

References

{{Authority control 1995 establishments in England Local government in London Local Government Association Organisations based in the London Borough of Southwark Organizations established in 1995 Regional employers organisations