The Greater London Authority referendum of 1998 was a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

held in Greater London on 7 May 1998, asking whether there was support for the creation of a Greater London Authority, composed of a directly elected

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...

and a London Assembly to scrutinise the Mayor's actions.

Voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...

was low, at just 34.1%. The referendum was held under the provisions of the Greater London Authority (Referendum) Act 1998.

Referendum question

The question that appeared on ballot papers in the referendum before the electorate was: permitting a simple YES / NO answer.

Result

Results by borough

The 'Yes' vote won in every

London Borough The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at ...

, though support generally was larger in

Inner London Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. With its origins in the bills of mortality, it became fixed as an area for statistics in 1847 and was u ...

than in

Outer London Outer London is the name for the group of London boroughs that form a ring around Inner London. Together, the inner and outer boroughs form London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. These were areas that were not part of the County of Londo ...

. The lowest support figures were 60.5% in

Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. The ...

and 57.1% in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

; the greatest were 83.8% in

Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of ...

and 81.8% in Lambeth.

Income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. Fo ...

level of boroughs was even a greater factor affecting the outcome.

Aftermath

The government passed the

Greater London Authority Act 1999 The Greater London Authority Act 1999 (c. 29) is the Act of Parliament that established the Greater London Authority, the London Assembly and the Mayor of London. Background The Act was brought in after a referendum was held under the Great ...

, creating the Greater London Authority. Elections for the

and the London Assembly were held in May 2000.

References

External links

MayorWatch London Elections Guide
{{Devolution in the United Kingdom Devolution referendum 1998 referendums Devolution referendum Referendums in England Devolution in the United Kingdom May 1998 events in the United Kingdom