The City of London (also known as 'the Square Mile') is often
described as 'unique'. It is different in many ways from the
typical London borough. In the City, the local population of
approximately 9,000 residents is swelled by in excess of 300,000
workers who commute to the City every working day.
The City is divided for electoral purposes into Wards. The City
of London has 25 Wards, each of which is represented in the City of
London Corporation by an Alderman and between two and 10 Common
Councilmen.
The City Corporation provides local authority and other services
to the residents and workers it serves. It (principally through the
Lord Mayor and Chairman of Policy and Resources) speaks up
internationally for UK based financial and professional services
businesses. It manages thousands of acres of open space within the
City and beyond (eg Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, Burnham
Beeches) as well as three markets (Smithfield for meat,
Billingsgate for fish and New Spitalfields for fruit and veg). The
City Corporation also manages the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre
as well as the Barbican Centre and the Guildhall School of Music
& Drama, as well as running its own police force, the leading
national police force for dealing with economic crime.
A Ward Boundary Review was undertaken in 2003, and as part of
that process the City of London reduced the number of elected
Members. The electoral changes required an Act of Parliament, in
the course of which the City of London gave a number of
parliamentary undertakings to secure wider electoral reform than
was provided for in the City of London (Ward Elections) Act. These
included a commitment to review the boundaries of the four
residential wards to preserve the residential character of those
wards and a further pledge to review the boundaries of the
remaining wards.
A new Boundary Review was held this year (2010) and the Boundary
Review Panel put its recommendations to the City of London
Corporation's Policy and Resources Committee in May. Further
details on the outcome can be found on our Issues page.