London Government Act 1899 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
London Government Act 1899

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make better provision for Local Government in London.
Citation	62 & 63 Vict. c. 14
Introduced by	Arthur Balfour
Territorial extent	England and Wales
Dates
Royal assent	13 July 1899
Commencement	1 November 1900
Other legislation
Repealed by	London Government Act 1939
Status: Repealed

The London Government Act 1899 was an important law passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom that changed how London was run. This Act divided the County of London into 28 new areas called metropolitan boroughs. These new boroughs replaced 41 older local councils, which were known as parish vestries and District Boards of Works.

The new law also moved some powers from the main London County Council to these new boroughs. It also fixed some confusing boundary lines. The first elections for these new boroughs happened on 1 November 1900.

Why London Needed New Rules

Before 1899, London's local government was a bit messy. A big council called the London County Council had been created in 1888 to manage the whole area. But below that, local services were still handled by older groups called "elective vestries" and "District Boards of Works." These groups were set up way back in 1855. Also, some parts of London didn't have any local council looking after them at all!

In 1893, a special group was formed to look into how London was governed. They suggested that the main London County Council should have more power over the smaller local groups. But the local groups wanted to be stronger themselves and have more respect. Some areas, like Paddington and Kensington, even asked to become proper "municipal boroughs," which are like towns with their own councils.

A group called the London Municipal Society also pushed for changes. They wanted London's local areas to have their own proper town councils, with more dignity and power. Many local councils agreed and asked the government to make a new law.

The Plan for New Boroughs

The new law, called the London Government Bill, was introduced to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on 1 March 1899. Arthur Balfour, a leading politician at the time, presented it.

The plan was to divide almost all of London (except the very old City of London) into new metropolitan boroughs. Each new borough would have its own council, led by a mayor, and also include "aldermen" and "councillors." The total number of people on a borough council couldn't be more than 72.

The Bill named 16 areas that would definitely become boroughs, like Battersea, Chelsea, and Islington. The other boroughs would be created by combining existing areas. These combined areas needed to have a certain amount of wealth or a population between 100,000 and 400,000 people.

Discussions in Parliament

When the new law was discussed in Parliament, there were three main points of debate:

• Where the exact borders of the new boroughs would be.
• Whether the councils should have "aldermen."
• Whether women should be allowed to be members of the new councils.

Setting the Boundaries

Some politicians were worried that the borders for the new boroughs weren't clearly defined in the Bill. They wanted Parliament to have more say in how the boundaries were drawn. The rules for creating boroughs were changed a bit. This allowed for smaller boroughs to be created if their population was less than 100,000.

There were also discussions about specific areas. For example, some thought the proposed borough of Wandsworth was too big and should be split into two. Others felt the area for Westminster was too large. But these ideas to split boroughs were mostly voted down.

About Aldermen

An "alderman" is usually an experienced member of a council. Some politicians wanted to remove aldermen from the new borough councils completely. They felt that creating so many new aldermen (hundreds of them) would make the idea seem silly. However, this idea was not supported by most members of Parliament.

Women on Councils

This was a big debate! Women had been allowed to be members and even leaders of the older local councils (vestries and district boards). So, it seemed natural they would be on the new borough councils.

However, one politician, Edmund Boulnois, tried to stop women from being mayors, aldermen, or councillors in the new boroughs. He thought the work would be "distasteful to women" and that it would be wrong to "drag women into the turmoil of an election." He even warned that if women could sit on these councils, they might soon demand the right to vote in national elections and even sit in Parliament!

His idea to ban women was first approved by a majority of 102 votes. But later, during another stage of the law-making process, an amendment was passed that did allow women to be councillors or aldermen (but not mayors). Sadly, this was overturned by the House of Lords, the upper house of Parliament. In the end, the Lords' decision to exclude women from the new councils was accepted by the House of Commons.

The Bill finally became law on 13 July 1899.

The New Metropolitan Boroughs

The Act stated that the entire administrative county of London (except the City of London) would be divided into metropolitan boroughs. Each borough was then divided into smaller areas called "wards," with three councillors for each ward. There would also be one alderman for every six councillors. This was similar to how the main London County Council worked.

The first election for councillors in these new boroughs was set for 1 November 1900. A third of the councillors would leave office each year, meaning new elections would happen regularly. The leader of each council would be called the "mayor."

Unlike other towns that became boroughs by getting a special "charter," these metropolitan boroughs were created directly by this new law.

Powers of the New Boroughs

The new law meant that all the old local councils (vestries and district boards) in London would stop existing. Their powers, properties, and responsibilities were all transferred to the new metropolitan boroughs.

The boroughs also took over some smaller jobs from the main London County Council. These included things like licensing dairies, removing illegal signs, and licensing wooden structures. The boroughs could also share some powers with the county council, such as demolishing buildings, regulating water companies, buying land, and helping with housing.

The Act also made the boroughs responsible for all the main roads within their own areas.

The law even allowed the London County Council and the new boroughs to transfer powers back and forth between each other if they both agreed.

Other Changes

The Act also fixed some odd boundary situations:

• Any part of a parish that was completely separate from the main part of that parish was joined to a nearby borough.
• Any part of another county that was surrounded by London was transferred to London and became part of a metropolitan borough.
• Similarly, any part of London surrounded by another county was transferred to that county.

For example, South Hornsey, which was in Middlesex but surrounded by London, became part of the new borough of Stoke Newington. Also, Alexandra Park, which was part of Clerkenwell (in London) but located in Middlesex, was transferred to Hornsey in Middlesex.

The Act also dissolved a unique local council in Woolwich and transferred its powers to the new metropolitan borough of Woolwich.

A place called Penge was a detached part of Battersea, miles away from its main parish. The Act allowed Penge to either join the boroughs of Lewisham or Camberwell, or become its own "urban district" in Surrey or Kent. In the end, Penge became an urban district in Kent.

Kensington Palace was also moved from the borough of Westminster to the borough of Kensington by this Act. This change later helped Kensington become known as a "royal" borough.

The historic areas of Inner Temple and Middle Temple were treated as part of the City of London for the purposes of this law.

The 28 Metropolitan Boroughs

The Act listed the areas for each of the 28 new boroughs. It didn't always give them names right away. If a borough was just one parish or followed a parliamentary area, it would take that name. Otherwise, a suitable name would be chosen later.

Images for kids

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  A map showing the Metropolitan Boroughs of London in 1961, created by the London Government Act 1899.