The Greater London Group (no
LSE London
was a

research centre A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often im ...

at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

that was created in 1958 and focused on issues of London government. It has been recognised as having had a significant impact during the 1960s and upon the creation of the Greater London Council in 1965.

History

It was founded by Professor William A. Robson (1895–1980) and consisted of a group of academics at the

(LSE) led by Robson. Its creation reflected interest in what direction the growing metropolis would go in and debates about what form government in London should take. Early members of the group came from a variety of disciplines, including social administration expert

David Donnison David Vernon Donnison (19 January 1926 – 28 April 2018) was a British academic and social scientist, who was Professor of Social Administration at the London School of Economics from 1961 to 1969, and Professor of Town and Regional Planning (19 ...

, geographer Michael Wise, political scientist Richard Pear, and scholar of public administration

Peter Self Peter John Otter Self (7 June 1919 – 29 March 1999) was an English journalist, academic, planning policy-maker and university teacher of planning. Self was born in Brighton, to Audrey (Otter) and Henry Self, a civil servant. Self was educated a ...

. The group carried out an extensive survey on local government in London, which was then drawn upon by the

Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London, also known as the Herbert Commission, was established in 1957 and published its report in 1960. The report made recommendations for the overhaul of the administration of the capital. They ...

. In 1959 the group put forth a Memorandum of Evidence in an attempt to define an area that would form a central

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 ...

. Robson kept the group going after the commission report, to study what happened next. By 1960, the group had, as one later account wrote, "earned a reputation as the leading centre for the study of London government". By 1963, it had more than a dozen members, who held a variety of views. The group met every Monday afternoon to review and discuss papers or hear from visiting speakers. Its offices tended to move around a lot, but included a stint in LSE's Old Building. The group's members also were significantly overlapped with those of the

Town and Country Planning Association The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is an independent research and campaigning charity founded and based in the United Kingdom. It works to enable homes, places and communities in which everyone can thrive. Through its research, tr ...

, which in part added to the group's effectiveness. Indeed, the group has been recognised as having had a significant impact upon efforts to reform London government during the 1960s and upon the creation of the Greater London Council in 1965. Later members in the group included the likes of Jeffrey Jowell and Peter Hall. The group also had a number of research officers attached to it, who authored reports and some of whom, like

Ken Young Kenneth George Young FAcSS FRHistS (3 January 1943 – 20 February 2019) was a British political scientist and historian who was Professor of Public Policy at King's College London in its Department of War Studies. Earlier he was instrumental i ...

, went on to prominent academic careers of their own.

Leadership

Robson was the main leader of the group until his death in 1980. Following that, the group was led by Self, and then after that, in a co-chair arrangement, by Derek Diamond and George W. Jones. Diamond retired from the LSE and also stepped down as chair of the Group in 1995.Nancy Holman
"Derek Diamond"
''LSE Blogs'' (

), 15 May 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2019. Later, the director of the group became

Tony Travers Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

, under whose leadership the group became more active and visible.

LSE London

Out of the Greater London Group,LSE London
was then established in 1998, as a research group hosted by the Department of Geography and Environment of the London School of Economics. Travers, the former director of the Greater London Group has then become director of LSE London since its establishment, as mentioned on LSE London website. However, the Greater London Group was still recognised under its name in newspaper stories as late as 2009 and 2010 and 2012. Today, LSE London conducts research on the economic and social issues that affect the London region and has gained a strong international reputation particularly in the fields of social and demographic change, housing, finance and governance, becoming the leading academic group at the London School of Economics for analyses of city-wide developments in London.

References

{{London School of Economics London School of Economics 1958 establishments in England Research organisations in England Defunct organisations based in London