View source for London County Council

{{Short description|English local government body (1889–1965)}}
{{about|the council abolished in 1965|the council formed in 1965|Greater London Council}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox legislature
| name               = London County Council
| coa_pic            = Coat of Arms of London County Council.svg
| coa_res            = 120px
| coa_caption        = [[Coat of arms of London County Council|Coat of arms]]
| house_type         = [[County council#England|County council]] for the [[County of London]]
| established        = [[Local Government Act 1888|21 March 1889]]
| preceded_by        = [[Metropolitan Board of Works]]
| succeeded_by       = [[Greater London Council]]
| disbanded          = [[London Government Act 1963|1 April 1965]]
| leader1_type       = Leader
| leader1            = [[List of heads of London government#Leaders of the London County Council|List of leaders since 1933]]
| leader2_type       = Chairman
| leader2            = [[List of chairmen of the London County Council|List of chairmen since 1889]]
| members            = {{ubl|'''1889–1919:'''|118 councillors; 19 aldermen|'''1919–1949:'''|124 councillors; 20 aldermen|'''1949–1955:'''|129 councillors; 21 aldermen|'''1955–1965:'''|126 councillors; 21 aldermen}}
| seats1_title       = Constituencies
| seats1             = [[List of electoral divisions in the County of London|Electoral divisions]]
| voting_system1     = [[Plurality-at-large voting|Bloc vote]]
| last_election1     = 1961
| session_room       = County.hall.london.arp.jpg
| session_res        = 250px
| meeting_place      = [[County Hall, London|County Hall]], [[Lambeth]]
}}
The '''London County Council''' ('''LCC''') was the principal local government body for the [[County of London]] throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as [[Inner London]] and was replaced by the [[Greater London Council]]. The LCC was the largest, most significant and most ambitious English municipal authority of its day.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Saint, A. |title=Politics and the people of London: the London County Council (1889–1965) |year=1989}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:The First Meeting of the London County Council in the County Hall Spring Gardens, 1889 - Henry Jamyn Brooks.jpg|thumb|''The First Meeting of the London County Council in the County Hall Spring Gardens, 1889'' by [[Henry Jamyn Brooks]]]]

By the 19th century, the [[City of London Corporation]] covered only a small fraction of the metropolis. From 1855, the [[Metropolitan Board of Works]] (MBW) had certain powers across what is now Inner London, but it was appointed rather than elected. Many powers remained in the hands of traditional bodies such as parishes and the counties of [[Middlesex]], [[Surrey]], and [[Kent]]. The [[Local Government Act 1888]] created a new [[County of London]], with effect from 1889, and the English [[County council#England|county councils]], of which LCC was one. This followed a succession of scandals involving the MBW - which was abolished on LCC's creation - and was also prompted by a general desire to create a competent government for the metropolitan area, capable of delivering strategic services effectively.<ref name="historyandpolicy">{{cite web|url=http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-01.html|title=A central role for local government? The example of late Victorian Britain|last=Szreter|first=Simon|date=May 2002|work=History & Policy|access-date=9 December 2010|archive-date=17 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217221343/http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-01.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] government of the day would have preferred not to create a single body covering the whole of the new County of London, but its electoral pact with the [[Liberal Unionists]] led it to this policy. LCC was established as a provisional council on 31 January 1889 and came into its powers on 21 March 1889.<ref name=AED>{{cite book | author=Albert Emil Davies | title= The London County Council 1889–1931: A Historical Sketch | date= 1937 | publisher=[[Fabian Society]] }}</ref> 

In the first elections to the LCC, in January 1889, the [[Progressive Party (London)|Progressive Party]], closely allied to the Liberal Party, won seventy of the 118 seats. It lost power in 1907 to the [[Municipal Reform Party]] (a Conservative organisation) under [[Richard Robinson (Conservative politician)|Richard Robinson]].<ref name=AED/>

The LCC provided very few services within the ancient [[City of London]], where the existing Corporation had a near-monopoly of local governance.<ref name=robson_80>{{cite book |title =The government and misgovernment of London |last= Robson |first= William A. |year=1939 |publisher =Allen & Unwin |location =London |oclc= 504395625 |pages=80–92}}</ref> Shortly after its creation, a [[Royal Commission on the Amalgamation of the City and County of London]] considered the means for amalgamating the two. Although this was not achieved, it led to the creation of 28 [[metropolitan boroughs of the County of London|metropolitan borough]]s as lower tier authorities, replacing the various local vestries and boards in 1900; these boroughs also assumed some powers of the LCC and shared others.
[[File:Inner London (statutory).svg|thumb|The County of London, within the present-day [[Greater London]], and excluding the City of London]]

==Powers and duties==
The LCC inherited the powers of its predecessor the MBW, but had wider authority over matters such as education, [[city planning]] and [[council housing]]. It took over the functions of the [[London School Board]] in 1903, and Dr [[C W Kimmins]] was appointed chief inspector of the education department in 1904.

From 1899, the Council progressively acquired and operated the tramways in the county, which it electrified from 1903. By 1933, when the [[London County Council Tramways|LCC Tramways]] were taken over by the [[London Passenger Transport Board]], it was the largest tram operator in the United Kingdom, with more than {{convert|167|mi|km}} of route and over 1,700 tramcars.

Under the [[Local Government Act 1929]], the LCC assumed responsibility on 1st April 1930 for the [[Poor relief|Poor Law]] Boards of Guardians' general hospitals and the [[Metropolitan Asylums Board|Metropolitan Asylums Board's]] hospitals for infectious diseases , the mentally disordered and feeble minded, children's hospitals, pathology laboratories and ambulance stations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ayers |first=Gwendoline |title=England's first State Hospitals and the Metropolitan Asylums Board 1867-1930 |publisher=The Wellcome Institute of the History of Medicine |year=1971}}</ref> 

===Housing reform===
{{See also|London County Council cottage estate}}

One of the LCC's most important roles during the late 19th and early 20th century, was in the management of the expanding city and the re-development of its growing slums.<ref name="Roy Porter 1994">{{cite book | author=Roy Porter | title= London: A Social History | url=https://archive.org/details/londonsocialhist00port | url-access=registration | date=1994 | publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] | isbn= 978-0-674-53838-2 }}</ref> In the Victorian era, new housing had been intentionally urban and large-scale tenement buildings dominated. Beginning in the 1930s, the LCC incentivised an increase in more suburban housing styles. A less-dense style of development, focusing on single family homes, was popular among London housing developers because it was believed that this would satisfy the working classes and provide insurance, "against Bolshevism," to quote one parliamentary secretary. The LCC set the standard for new construction at 12 houses per acre of land at a time when some London areas had as many as 80 housing units per acre. The passage of the [[Housing of the Working Classes Act 1885|Housing of the Working Classes Act]] in 1885 gave the LCC the power to compel the sale of land for housing development, a power that was vital to the systematic rehousing that began under the council's early [[Progressive Party (London)|Progressive Party]] leadership.<ref name="Roy Porter 1994"/>

The [[Totterdown Fields]] development at [[Tooting]] was the first large suburban-style development to be built under LCC authority, in 1903, and was quickly followed by developments at [[Roehampton]], [[Bellingham, London|Bellingham]], and [[Becontree]]. By 1938, 76,877 units of housing had been built under the auspices of the LCC in the city and its periphery, an astonishing number given the previous pace of development.<ref>{{cite book | author=W. Ashworth | title=The Genesis of Modern British Town Planning: A Study in Economic and Social History of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries | date=1954 | publisher=[[Routledge]] }}</ref> Many of these new housing developments were genuinely working-class, though the poorest could rarely afford even subsidised rents. They relied on an expanding [[London Underground]] network that ferried workers en masse to places of employment in central London. These housing developments were broadly successful, and they resisted the slummification that blighted so many Victorian tenement developments. The success of these commuter developments constructed by the LCC in the periphery of the city is, "one of the more remarkable achievements in London government, and contributed much to the marked improvement of conditions between the wars for the capital's working classes."<ref name="Roy Porter 1994"/>

The LCC also built overspill estates outside London (some after World War II)<ref>[https://twitter.com/MunicipalDreams/status/1286701106278600710 Municipal Dreams]</ref> including [[Debden, Epping Forest|Debden]] in Essex, [[Merstham]] and [[Sheerwater]] in Surrey, and [[Edenbridge, Kent|Edenbridge]] in Kent.

===Street renaming===
The MBW, and the LCC undertook between 1857 and 1945 to standardise and clarify street names across London. Many streets in different areas of the city had similar or identical names, and the rise of the car as a primary mode of transportation in the city sometimes made the duplication of names challenging. In an extreme case, there were over 60 streets called "Cross Street" spread across London when the LCC began its process of systematic renaming. These were given names from an approved list that was maintained by the LCC, containing only "suitably English" names. If street names were deemed un-English, they were also slated for change; Zulu Crescent in [[Battersea]], for instance, became Rowena Crescent in 1912.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maps.thehunthouse.com/Streets/Old_to_New_Abolished_London_Street_Names.htm|title=Old and New Street Names|date=December 2015|work=History & Policy|publisher=The Hunt House London|access-date=7 December 2015}}</ref>

===Second World War era===
By 1939, the council had the following powers and duties:<ref>{{cite news |title=Powers and Duties of the L.C.C. |work=The Times |page=vi |date=21 March 1939}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Category
! Powers and duties
! Notes
!
|-
|width=150 valign=middle align=center|'''Public Assistance'''
| valign=middle align=left width=450|
*Adoption of children
*Welfare of blind persons
*Assistance with formation of building societies and co-operatives
*Assistance with emigration
*Domicilary and institutional relief
*Casual wards
*Training centres
*Provision of smallholdings
*Classes and relief works for the unemployed
*Appointment of old age pension committee
|valign=middle align=center width=250| ''Many of these powers were acquired in 1930 when the [[Local Government Act 1929]] abolished the [[Metropolitan Asylums Board]] and the [[English Poor Laws|Poor Law]] [[board of guardians|Boards of Guardians]].''
|align=center width=170 rowspan=6 valign=top|
<gallery widths="150px" mode="nolines" perrow="1">
Aldwych and LSE.jpg|[[Aldwych]], a broad, porticoed street with underpass to Waterloo Bridge, from a [[Slum clearance in the United Kingdom|slum clearance]] project in 1905
Lambeth Bridge upstream side1.jpg|[[Lambeth Bridge]], built by the LCC in 1932, its red colour being that of the nearby House of Lords
LFB Headquarters.JPG|The headquarters of the [[London Fire Brigade]] on [[Albert Embankment]], opened in 1937
Hampstead Ponds (171329664).jpg|A pond on [[Hampstead Heath]], the largest open space maintained by the council
Camberwell Art School.jpg|[[Camberwell College of Arts|Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts]] built by the LCC in 1898
Geffrye museum2.jpg|The [[Museum of the Home]]
Blackwall tunnel plaque.jpg|Plaque marking the opening of the [[Blackwall Tunnel]] in 1897
London County Council car number 106.jpg|LCC Tram Car No. 106
</gallery>
|-
|width=150 valign=middle align=center|'''Health Services, Housing and Sanitation'''
| valign=middle align=left width=450|
*By-laws and regulations†
*Prevention of spread of animal diseases†
*District medical service
*Main drainage
*[[List of Metropolitan Asylum Board Hospitals transferred to London County Council in 1930|Hospitals]] and ambulances
*[[London County Council cottage estates|Large housing schemes]] (inside and outside the county)†
*Redevelopment†
*School medical service
*Care of "mentally defective" and "mentally disordered"
*Midwives
*Registration and inspection of nursing homes†
*Open spaces†
*Overcrowding survey
*Prevention of river pollution
*Residential treatment of tuberculosis
*Clearance of unhealthy areas†
*Treatment of venereal disease†
|valign=middle align=center width=250| ''Medical and ambulance services passed to the [[National Health Service]] in 1948.''
|-
|width=150 valign=middle align=center|'''Regulation and Licensing'''
| valign=middle align=left width=450|
*Licensing of boxing matches
*Building regulation
*Dangerous and neglected structures†
*By-laws for good rule and government†
*Storage, registration and inspection of celluloid†
*Licensing of cinemas and theatres (other than those under the [[Lord Chamberlain]])
*Testing of gas and electricity meters†
*Registration of employment agencies†
*Safeguarding of children and young people in employment†
*Registration and inspection of explosives†
*Inspection of fertilisers and foodstuffs†
*Registration of land charges†
*Registration and inspection of massage establishments†
*Music and dancing licences
*Licensing and inspection of petroleum†
*Licensing of racecourses
*Clearance of unhealthy areas†
*Treatment of venereal disease†
*Shop hours and closing†
*Prevention of smoke nuisance†
*Registration of theatrical employers†
*Town planning†
*Registration of war and blind charities†
*Weights and measures†
*Protection of wild birds
|valign=middle align=center width=250|
|-
|width=150 valign=middle align=center|'''Protective Services'''
| valign=middle align=left width=450|
*Supervision of adoption
*Provision of ambulances (street accidents)†
*Protection of children†
*Costs of [[Old Bailey|Central Criminal Court]] and [[quarter sessions]]
*[[London Fire Brigade]]
*Fire regulations
*Coroners and inquests†
*Remand homes
*Thames flood prevention
|valign=middle align=center width=250|
|-
|width=150 valign=middle align=center|'''Education and Museums'''
| valign=middle align=left width=450|
*Protection of ancient monuments†
*Elementary schools
*Special schools
*Nursery schools
*Secondary schools
*Technical and art schools
*Training colleges
*Scholarships
*Grants to educational institutions
*Fleet Street Museum
*[[Geffrye Museum]] (Museum of the Home)
*[[Horniman Museum]]
|valign=middle align=center width=250| ''The council received powers to provide technical education in 1892. On the abolition of the [[London School Board]] the LCC became the [[local education authority]] with responsibility for elementary and secondary schools on 1 May 1904.''
|-
|width=150 valign=middle align=center|'''Transport'''
| valign=middle align=left width=450|
*Provision of aerodromes†
*Bridges†
*Maintenance of Thames Embankment
*River Ferries
*Motor vehicle registration
*Driver licensing
*Street improvements†
*Street naming and numbering
*Subways†
*Tunnels
|valign=middle align=center width=250|
''Until 1933 the council provided a network of tramway services in the county. This passed to the [[London Passenger Transport Board]].''
|}

† ''Denotes a power administered by the City of London Corporation within the City.''

==Headquarters==

===Spring Gardens===
[[File:Metropolitan Board of Works in Spring Gardens 1860 ILN.jpg|thumb|Spring Gardens]]
The LCC initially used the [[Spring Gardens]] headquarters inherited from the Metropolitan Board of Works. The building had been designed by [[Frederick Marrable]], the MBW's superintending architect, and dated from 1860.<ref name=oldhall>{{cite web |title=Old County Hall (including site of Berkeley House) |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=68414 |year=1940 |work=Survey of London: volume 20: St Martin-in-the-Fields, pt III: Trafalgar Square & Neighbourhood |publisher=British History Online |access-date=21 August 2009}}</ref> Opinions on the merits of the building varied: the [[Survey of London]] described it as "well balanced" while the architectural correspondent of ''[[The Times]]'' was less enthusiastic. He summarised the building as "of the [[Palladian]] type of four storeys with two orders, [[Ionic Order|Ionic]] above and [[Corinthian Order|Corinthian]] below as if its designer had looked rather hastily at [[Banqueting House, Whitehall|the banqueting house]] of [[Inigo Jones]]."<ref name=oldhall/><ref name=jubileehall>{{cite news |title=Homes of the Council. Spring Gardens and County Hall |work=The Times |page=vi |date=21 March 1939}}</ref> The most impressive feature was the curving or elliptical spiral staircase leading to the principal floor. The original board room was too small to accommodate meetings of the new council, and it was soon replaced by a horseshoe-shaped council chamber.<ref name=oldhall/><ref name=jubileehall/>

===Search for a new site===
By 1893, it was clear that the Spring Gardens building was too small for the increased work of the LCC. Seven additional buildings within a quarter of a mile of the County Hall had been acquired, and it was estimated that they would need to take over an average of two more houses annually.<ref name=lccjuly151893>{{cite news |title=The London County Council |work=The Times |pages=13–14 |date=15 July 1893}}</ref> The [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], Sir [[William Vernon Harcourt (politician)|William Harcourt]], offered the council a site at Parliament Street, [[Westminster, London|Westminster]] for three-quarters of a million pounds. Another site subsequently became available between [[The Strand, London|The Strand]] and [[Thames Embankment|The Embankment]], when the [[Official Receiver]] took over the partially completed premises of the failed [[Jabez Balfour|Liberator Building Society]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Proposed London County Council Buildings |work=The Times |page=4 |date=28 June 1893}}</ref> The council's Establishment Committee recommended the purchase of the Parliament Street lot, as it would be a prominent site opposite the [[Palace of Westminster]] and next to the principal government offices.<ref name=lccjuly151893/> Following a debate of the whole council, the committee's recommendation was rejected on financial grounds and as it was felt that the headquarters should not be in the privileged [[West End of London|West End]].<ref name=lccjuly151893/>

The matter remained unresolved, and in 1900 a special committee was formed by the council to seek out a suitable site. In July 1902, they presented their report, recommending a {{convert|3.35|acre|m2|adj=on}} site in the [[Adelphi, London|Adelphi]]. Entry roads to the proposed county hall would be made from The Strand and The Embankment.<ref>{{cite news |title=Proposed New London County Hall |work=The Times |page=3 |date=21 July 1902}}</ref> The council rejected the recommendations in October 1902, and a suggestion was made that the committee seek a site south of the Thames, adjacent to [[Westminster Bridge]].<ref>{{cite news |title=London County Hall |work=The Times |page=10 |date=22 October 1902}}</ref>

===County Hall, Lambeth===
[[File:county.hall.london.arp.jpg|thumb|[[County Hall, London|County Hall]] from the north bank of the Thames]]
{{main|County Hall, London}}
In April 1905, the council finally agreed to seek powers to buy three adjoining plots of land on the eastern side of Westminster Bridge as a site for a single headquarters. The debate in the council chamber was somewhat heated with one councillor objecting to the purchase as it was "on the wrong side of the river&nbsp;... in a very squalid neighbourhood&nbsp;... and quite unworthy of the dignity of a body like the council". Leading member of the council, [[John Burns]] countered that it "would brighten up a dull place, sweeten a sour spot and for the first time bring the south of London into a dignified and beautiful frontage on the River Thames."<ref>{{cite news |title=London County Council. The New County Hall |work=The Times |page=12 |date=19 April 1905}}</ref>

The necessary powers were obtained under the London County Council (Money) Act 1906, and a competition to design the new building was organised.<ref>{{cite web |title=London County Council (Money) Bill |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1906/jul/09/london-county-council-money-bill#S4V0160P0_19060709_HOL_48 |date=9 July 1906 |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |access-date=21 August 2009}}</ref>
There were approximately 100 entries, and the winner was the 29-year-old [[Ralph Knott]]. Construction began in 1911, and the first section was opened in 1922, with the original building completed in 1933. Extensions continued to be made throughout the council's existence.<ref name=jubileehall/><ref>{{cite book |title=London except the Cities of London and Westminster |last=Pevsner |first=Nikolaus |author-link=Nikolaus Pevsner |series=The Buildings of England |year=1952 |publisher=Penguin |page=274 }}</ref>

==Politics==
===Elections===
[[File:Citizens! Do Your Duty. Vote Progressive and Kill the Trusts. (22713412780).jpg|thumb|Electioneering poster, 1907]]
The county was divided into [[List of electoral divisions in the County of London|electoral divisions]], co-terminous with parliamentary constituencies. Initially, each returned two councillors, save for the [[City of London (UK Parliament constituency)|City of London]], which returned four.<ref>[[Local Government Act 1888]], S.40(4)</ref> Under the [[Representation of the People Act 1948]] this was altered, to three each.<ref>Representation of the People Act 1948, chapter (statute number) 65, section 59</ref> Elections of all councillors were held every three years save that none were held in the [[First World War|First]] and [[Second World War]]s.

Complementing the elected councillors and of equal power but longer tenure the council appointed one county [[alderman]] for every six councillors. These were elected ''by halves'' (as to half of their number) by the council for a six-year term at the first meeting after each election.

===Control===
Initially, it had been hoped by many that elections to the LCC would be conducted on a non-partisan basis, but in the council two political groups formed. The majority group in 1889 was the [[Progressive Party (London)|Progressives]],<ref>{{cite book |author1=Rodney Mace |title=British Trade Union Posters: An Illustrated History |date=1999 |publisher=[[Sutton Publishing]] |isbn=0750921587 |page=58}}</ref> who were unofficially allied with the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] in national politics. Those who allied with the Conservative Party formed the Moderate group. In 1906, the Moderates became known as the [[Municipal Reform Party]].

The LCC was elected every three years. The Progressives were in control continuously from 1889 until 1907, when they lost power to the Municipal Reformers. Municipal Reform control lasted until 1934 when Labour won power, which they kept until the LCC was abolished.

Council composition:<ref>{{cite book |title=Politics and the People of London: The London County Council, 1889–1965 |last=Saint |first=Andrew |year=1989 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |isbn=1-85285-029-9 |page=3 }}</ref>

{{hatnote|Number of councillors plus aldermen: 13 + 2 means 13 councillors and 2 aldermen}}
{| class=wikitable
!rowspan=2 | Election
!rowspan=2 | Overall control
![[Municipal Reform Party|Mod./M.R.]]/<br>[[Conservative Party (UK)|Cons.]]
![[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
![[Progressive Party (London)|Prog.]]/[[Liberal Party (UK)|Lib.]]
!rowspan=2 | Others
|-
| style="background:#3333cc; color:white" | 
| style="background:#cc0000; color:white" | 
| style="background:yellow; color:black" |
|-
| [[1961 London County Council election|1961]]
| style="background:#cc0000; color:white" | Labour
| 42 + 7
| 84 +14
| –
| –
|-
| [[1958 London County Council election|1958]]
| style="background:#cc0000; color:white" | Labour
| 25 + 7
| 101 + 14
| –
| –
|-
| [[1955 London County Council election|1955]]
| style="background:#cc0000; color:white" | Labour
| 52 + 8
| 74 + 13
| –
| –
|-
| [[1952 London County Council election|1952]]
| style="background:#cc0000; color:white" | Labour
| 37 + 6
| 92 + 15
| –
| –
|-
| [[1949 London County Council election|1949]]
| style="background:#cc0000; color:white" | Labour
| 64 + 5
| 64 + 16
| 1 + 0
| –
|-
| [[1946 London County Council election|1946]]
| style="background:#cc0000; color:white" | Labour
| 30 + 6
| 90 + 14
| 2 + 0
| 2 + 0
|-
| [[1937 London County Council election|1937]]
| style="background:#cc0000; color:white" | Labour
| 49 + 8
| 75 + 12
| –
| –
|-
| [[1934 London County Council election|1934]]
| style="background:#cc0000; color:white" | Labour
| 55 + 9
| 69 + 11
| –
| –
|-
| [[1931 London County Council election|1931]]
| style="background:#3333cc; color:white" | Municipal Reform
| 83 + 13
| 35 + 6
| 6 + 0
| 0 + 1
|-
| [[1928 London County Council election|1928]]
| style="background:#3333cc; color:white" | Municipal Reform
| 77 + 12
| 42 + 6
| 5 + 1
| 0 + 1
|-
| [[1925 London County Council election|1925]]
| style="background:#3333cc; color:white" | Municipal Reform
| 83 + 13
| 35 + 6
| 6 + 0
| –
|-
| [[1922 London County Council election|1922]]
| style="background:#3333cc; color:white" | Municipal Reform
| 82 + 12
| 16 + 3
| 26 + 5
| –
|-
| [[1919 London County Council election|1919]]
| style="background:#3333cc; color:white" | Municipal Reform
| 68 + 12
| 15 + 2
| 40 + 6
| 1 + 0
|-
| [[1913 London County Council election|1913]]
| style="background:#3333cc; color:white" | Municipal Reform
| 67 + 15
| 2 + 0
| 49 + 4
| –
|-
| [[1910 London County Council election|1910]]
| style="background:#3333cc; color:white" | Municipal Reform
| 60 + 17
| 3 + 0
| 55 + 2
| –
|-
| [[1907 London County Council election|1907]]
| style="background:#3333cc; color:white" | Municipal Reform
| 79 + 11
| 1 + 0
| 37 + 8
| 1 + 0
|-
| [[1904 London County Council election|1904]]
| style="background:yellow; color:black" | Progressive
| 35 + 6
| –
| 82 + 13
| 1 + 0
|-
| [[1901 London County Council election|1901]]
| style="background:yellow; color:black" | Progressive
| 32 + 6
| 0 + 1
| 86 + 12
| –
|-
| [[1898 London County Council election|1898]]
| style="background:yellow; color:black" | Progressive
| 48 + 8
| 0 + 1
| 70 + 10
| –
|-
| [[1895 London County Council election|1895]]
| style="background:yellow; color:black" | Progressive
| 59 + 7
| –
| 59 + 12
| –
|-
| [[1892 London County Council election|1892]]
| style="background:yellow; color:black" | Progressive
| 35 + 2
| –
| 83 + 17
| –
|-
| [[1889 London County Council election|1889]]
| style="background:yellow; color:black" | Progressive
| 46 + 1
| –
| 72 + 18
| –
|-
|}

===Leaders===
[[File:Lccchamber.jpg|thumb|Council Chamber of the LCC, from the majority benches]]
[[File:King George VI & Queen Elizabeth commemorative ceramic mug, May 1937, J & G Meakin for London County Council.jpg|thumb|King George VI & Queen Elizabeth commemorative ceramic mug, May 1937, [[J. & G. Meakin]] for London County Council.]]

The post of [[leader of the council]] was only officially recognised in 1933. This table gives the leaders of the majority parties on the council before this time.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Name!!colspan=2|Party!!From!!To!!Years served
|-
|[[Thomas Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer|Thomas Farrer]]||{{Party name with colour|Progressive Party (London)}}||align=right|21 Mar 1889||align=right|27 Mar 1890||1
|-
|[[James Stuart (scientist)|James Stuart]]||{{Party name with colour|Progressive Party (London)}}||align=right|27 Mar 1890||align=right|9 Mar 1892||2
|-
|[[Charles Harrison (Plymouth MP)|Charles Harrison]]||{{Party name with colour|Progressive Party (London)}}||align=right|9 Mar 1892||align=right|10 Mar 1898||6
|-
|[[Thomas McKinnon Wood]]||{{Party name with colour|Progressive Party (London)}}||align=right|10 Mar 1898||align=right|8 Mar 1907||9
|-
|[[Richard Robinson (Municipal Reform politician)|Richard Robinson]]||{{Party name with colour|Municipal Reform Party}}||align=right|8 Mar 1907||align=right|11 Mar 1908||1
|-
|[[William Peel, 1st Earl Peel|William Peel]]||{{Party name with colour|Municipal Reform Party}}||align=right|11 Mar 1908||align=right|8 Mar 1910||2
|-
|[[William Hayes Fisher]]||{{Party name with colour|Municipal Reform Party}}||align=right|8 Mar 1910||align=right|19 Dec 1911||1¾
|-
|[[Cyril Jackson (educationist)|Cyril Jackson]]||{{Party name with colour|Municipal Reform Party}}||align=right|19 Dec 1911||align=right|16 Mar 1915||4¼
|-
|[[Ronald Collet Norman]]||{{Party name with colour|Municipal Reform Party}}||align=right|16 Mar 1915||align=right|1 Mar 1918||3
|-
|[[George Hume (politician)|George Hume]]||{{Party name with colour|Municipal Reform Party}}||align=right|1 Mar 1918||align=right|11 Mar 1925||7
|-
|[[William Ray (British politician)|William Ray]]||{{Party name with colour|Municipal Reform Party}}||align=right|11 Mar 1925||align=right|9 Mar 1934||9
|-
|[[Herbert Morrison]]||{{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}||align=right|9 Mar 1934||align=right|27 May 1940||6.16
|-
|[[Charles Latham, 1st Baron Latham|Charles Latham]]||{{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}||align=right|27 May 1940||align=right|29 Jul 1947||7.16
|-
|[[Isaac Hayward]]||{{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}||align=right|29 Jul 1947||align=right|31 Mar 1965||17¾
|}

===Chairmen and vice chairmen===
[[File:RoseberyMillais.png|thumb|left|Lord Rosebery, first chairman of the London County Council]]
{{main|List of chairmen of the London County Council}}
The county council was required by statute to appoint a chairman and a vice chairman at its annual meeting. Both of these positions were generally filled by members of the majority party. The chairman chaired meetings of the council, and was the county's civic leader, filling a similar role to the mayor of a borough or city. The vice chairman performed these functions in his absence. The first chairman was the [[Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery|Earl of Rosebery]], and the last chairman was [[Arthur Wicks]].

The chairmanship was a prestigious office, second only to that of [[Lord Lieutenant of the County of London|lord lieutenant]]. The incumbent chairmen were honoured with [[knight bachelor|knighthood]]s on the occasions of the coronations of [[Edward VII]] and [[Elizabeth II]], and the laying of the foundation stone of County Hall.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Coronation Honours |work=The Times |page=5 |date=26 June 1902}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28589 |date=12 March 1912 |page=1827}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=L.C.C. Chairman Knighted |work=The Times |page=6 |date=7 July 1953}}</ref> As part of the celebrations of the [[Silver Jubilee of George V]] in 1935 it was announced that the chairman would in future be entitled to use the style "[[right honourable]]", an honour already enjoyed by the [[Lord Mayor of the City of London]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Royal Guests of L.C.C. The Queen At The County Hall, Honour For Chairman |work=The Times |page=16 |date=1 June 1935}}</ref>

====Deputies====
The council's [[Rules of order|standing orders]] also provided for the post of deputy chairman. Until 1895, the holder of this office was in charge of the organisation of the council's activities, and was paid a salary. This was seen as a conflict of interest by the [[Royal Commission on the Amalgamation of the City and County of London]] when they reported in 1894, and in 1895 a county clerk was added to the council staff to perform these duties.<ref>{{cite news |title=London Amalgamation – The Commissioners' Report |work=The Times |pages=13–14 |date=1 October 1894 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The London County Council Clerkship |work=The Times |page=5 |date=14 December 1895}}</ref> The deputy chairmanship then became purely ceremonial, and was filled by nominees of the opposition party on the council.

==Abolition==
[[File:London County Council Tramways in London Borough of Lewisham 2022.jpg|thumb|[[London County Council Tramways]] manhole cover in a footway in the [[London Borough of Lewisham]] as seen in 2022. There are many of these throughout the borough.]]
After [[World War II]], it became evident that the London County Council was too small to cope with the greater demands being placed on local government by the new [[Welfare state in the United Kingdom|Welfare State]].<ref>[http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/london-county-council-l-c-c London County Council – 'Exploring 20th Century London]</ref> In 1957, a [[Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London]] was set up under Sir [[Edwin Herbert, Baron Tangley|Edwin Herbert]] to examine the issues and make recommendations. The Commission deliberated for three years and in 1960 it recommended a major restructuring of local government in London. This included the abolition of all existing local authorities with the exception of the [[City of London Corporation]]; a [[Greater London Council]] was to be established along with 32 new lower-tier [[London boroughs]] with populations of 100,000 to 250,000 each. The new boroughs would split the responsibility for government functions with the Greater London Council.<ref name=Metro>[http://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/LMA_OPAC/web_detail/REFD+LCC?SESSIONSEARCH London County Council – London Metropolitan Archives Collections Catalogue] – [[City of London]] website</ref>

The Royal Commission's report led to the Bill for the [[London Government Act 1963]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1963/33|title=London Government Act 1963|accessdate=10 July 2023}}</ref> and when this was introduced into Parliament it initially faced considerable opposition.<ref name=hans>{{Cite Hansard|house=House of Lords |title=LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1962/mar/14/london-government#S5LV0238P0_19620314_HOL_192|date=14 March 1962 |column_start=278 |column_end=291}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Hansard|house=House of Commons |title=LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1963/feb/20/schedule-1-the-london-boroughs|date=20 February 1963 |column_start=278 |column_end=518}}</ref><ref name=comms>{{Cite Hansard|house=House of Commons |title=LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1962/dec/11/london-government-bill|date=11 December 1962 |column_start=278 |column_end=291}}</ref> The Bill passed into law with some minor amendments. An [[Inner London Education Authority]] was set up for education to be overseen on a broad county level. The first elections for the new Greater London Council were held on 9 April 1964. The London County Council ran concurrently for a year with the new Greater London Council to ensure a seamless transition, and the LCC was finally abolished on 1 April 1965. The Royal Commission commented that "nobody studying London Government can fail to be deeply impressed with the achievements of the London County Council. It has given the Administrative County of London a strong and able form of government which makes its standing very high among the municipal governments of the world."<ref name=Metro/>

==See also==
*[[History of local government in London]]
*[[Coat of arms of London County Council]]
*[[London County Council Staff Association]]
*[[London County Council Tramways]]
*[[List of members of London County Council 1889–1919]]
*[[List of members of London County Council 1919–1937]]
*[[List of members of London County Council 1937–1949]]
*[[London Metropolitan Archives]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-new| rows  = 1 | creation}}
{{s-ttl| title = County council|years = 1889–1965}}
{{s-aft| after = [[Greater London Council]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{London County Council}}
{{Former county councils of England}}
{{History of local government in London}}
{{London history}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:London County Council| ]]
[[Category:History of local government in London (1889–1965)]]
[[Category:Former county councils of England]]
[[Category:1889 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct organisations based in London]]
[[Category:Fire authorities in London|County Council]]
[[Category:Former local authorities in London]]