London is one of the most important cities in the world, with more than two thousand years of history. So it may seem strange that until this century London had never had an elected mayor! This is because Britain is one of the most centralised countries in the world. The British Parliament is the centre of power and politics.
Another Mayor
Actually, since the 12th century there has been one type of mayor in London, although not the sort of mayor that you can typically find in an Italian or Spanish city. The Lord Mayor of the City of London is elected annually by voters in London’s financial district, called ‘the City’. The Lord Mayor is a ceremonial figure and supports the financial and business services of the City.
Born in 1999
London’s residents elected the first Mayor in 2000. The Mayor is responsible for transport, the police, economic and social development, the environment, and housing and health. The ex-Labour Party politician, Ken Livingstone, was London’s first mayor. He was a controversial mayor, famous for the ‘congestion charge’. This is money that drivers have to pay if they want to enter the city centre. The idea was to reduce traffic. Livingstone raised London's profile around the world. Boris Johnson was London’s second mayor, from 2008 to 2016. He supported the 2012 London Olympics, prohibited people from drinking alcohol on public transport, and put five thousand ‘Boris bikes’ on the streets for public use. He is a famous cyclist.
First Muslim Mayor
London’s mayor now is ex-Labour Party politician Sadiq Khan, elected in 2016. From a British-Pakistani family, he is the first Muslim to be mayor of a major Western capital. Khan wants to help London’s young homeless, reduce pollution from cars, and stop foreign investors inflating property prices in London.
![Sadiq Khan](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 800 450"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Radical Change
London did not have a mayor for most of its history. Now its mayors are famous around the world. The creation of an elected mayor for London is changing politics in England. There are now more than twenty elected mayors in the country. This is changing the traditional concept of centralised power in England. Voters voted for a ‘Metro Mayor’ in six of England’s biggest city regions, including the country’s second and third cities, Birmingham and Manchester. Power is moving from Parliament to the people.