Wikipedia: Greater London

The London metropolitan area is governed by the [Greater London Authority]?.

It covers the 23 London boroughs. The head of the Greater London Authority is the [Mayor of London]?, currently Ken Livingstone. He and the [London Assembly]? are elected by popular vote.

This current organisation replaces the [Greater London Council]?, which was abolished by Margaret Thatcher in 1986 on the grounds that it was inefficient. Observers commented that it might also have been because elected [Labour party]? members were commonly in the majority, and therefore controlled the council, and because it was headed by Ken Livingstone.

The [Greater London Authority]? was created to improve the coordination of the various London boroughs and the [Mayor of London]?'s role is to give London a single person to represent it.

The Greater London Authority must be distinguished from the City of London, which only controls the square mile. While the Greater London Authority has a modern constitution, the organisation of the City of London has barely changed since medieval times, and is mainly controlled by City business interests.