Greenwich London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Greenwich

London Borough of Greenwich

The London Borough of Greenwich is an Inner London borough in south-east London, England. Taking its name from the historic town of Greenwich, the present borough was formed in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich with part of the Metropolitan...

 in Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Greenwich is divided into 17 wards, each electing three councillors. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced two local authorities: Greenwich Metropolitan Borough Council and Woolwich Metropolitan Borough Council.

History

There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the Greenwich area. The current local authority was first elected in 1964, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the London Borough of Greenwich

London Borough of Greenwich

The London Borough of Greenwich is an Inner London borough in south-east London, England. Taking its name from the historic town of Greenwich, the present borough was formed in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich with part of the Metropolitan...

 on 1 April 1965. Greenwich London Borough Council replaced Greenwich Metropolitan Borough Council and Woolwich Metropolitan Borough Council.

It was envisaged through the London Government Act 1963

London Government Act 1963

The London Government Act 1963 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which recognised officially the conurbation known as Greater London and created a new local government structure for the capital. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the area,...

 that Greenwich as a London local authority would share power with the Greater London Council

Greater London Council

The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...

. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the local authorities responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Greenwich London Borough Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. Greenwich became an education authority

Local Education Authority

A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...

 in 1990. Since 2000 the Greater London Authority

Greater London Authority

The Greater London Authority is the top-tier administrative body for Greater London, England. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of London, currently Boris Johnson, and an elected 25-member London Assembly with scrutiny powers...

 has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.

Summary results of elections

	Overall control	Labour	Conservative	Lib Dem Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...	SDP Social Democratic Party (UK, 1990) The Social Democratic Party is a small political party in the United Kingdom. It traces its origin to the Social Democratic Party that was formed in 1981 by a group of dissident Labour Party politicians, all Members of Parliament or former MPs: Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley...
2010	Labour	40	11	-	-
2006	Labour	36	13	2	-
2002	Labour	38	9	4	-
1998 Greenwich Council election, 1998 The 1998 Greenwich Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Greenwich Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council....	Labour	52	8	2	-
1994	Labour	47	8	3	4
1990	Labour	44	12	2	4
1986	Labour	44	12	2	4
1982	Labour	43	16	2	1
1978	Labour	45	17	-	-
1974	Labour	52	8	-	-
1971	Labour	55	5	-	-
1968	Conservative	22	38	-	-
1964	Labour	49	11	-	-