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Welcome


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.

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