- published: 13 May 2016
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The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008. The position was previously held by Ken Livingstone from the creation of the role on 4 May 2000 until his succession by Johnson.
The role, created in 2000 after the London devolution referendum, was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The Mayor of London is the mayor of the entirety of Greater London, including the City of London, for which there is also the ceremonial Lord Mayor of the City of London. Each London Borough also has a ceremonial mayor or, in Hackney, Lewisham, Newham or Tower Hamlets, an elected mayor.
The Greater London Council, the elected governance for Greater London, was abolished in 1986 following the Local Government Act 1985. Strategic functions were split off to various joint arrangements. Londoners voted in a referendum in 1998 to create new governance structures for Greater London. The directly elected Mayor of London was created by the Greater London Authority Act 1999 in 2000 as part of the reforms.
London i/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. It was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-mile (2.9 km2) medieval boundaries and in 2011 had a resident population of 7,375, making it the smallest city in England. Since at least the 19th century, the term London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms Greater London, a region of England governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The conurbation also covers two English counties: the small district of the City of London and the county of Greater London. The latter constitutes the vast majority of London, though historically it was split between Middlesex (a now abolished county), Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire.