City of London

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Region: London
Country: England

§ This page provides an overview of an officially designated city in the UK, bringing together various information to help you better understand this city.

London (the City of London) holds city status by ancient prescriptive right, long predating modern letters patent, and occupies the historic 'Square Mile' founded as Roman Londinium. It is uniquely governed by the City of London Corporation and retains distinct institutions such as the Lord Mayor and the City of London Police. While the wider metropolis has been administered as Greater London since 1965, the City kept its separate jurisdiction within that framework; strategic regional government returned in 2000 with the creation of the Greater London Authority (Mayor of London and London Assembly). Business voting in the City was modernised by the City of London (Ward Elections) Act 2002, and the Corporation continues to operate as a sui generis local authority and ceremonial county at the heart of the UK’s financial services economy.

In Greater London, only the City of London and the City of Westminster have city status—no other local authority (i.e. London borough) in the London Region does, and neither does the Greater London Authority.

City Council Status

The City of London (the historic “Square Mile”) doesn’t have a conventional city council; instead it is governed by the City of London Corporation, a sui generis local authority whose city status rests on ancient prescriptive right. The Corporation delivers local services for the Square Mile (planning, licensing, environmental health, social care, streets) and also runs unique, London-wide assets and charities—such as Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, the City bridges (via Bridge House Estates), and the wholesale markets—while strategic, capital-wide policy sits with the Greater London Authority (the Mayor of London and London Assembly). Democratic governance is through 25 wards that elect Common Councillors to the Court of Common Council and Aldermen to the Court of Aldermen; the City uniquely retains a business vote (modernised by the City of London [Ward Elections] Act 2002) alongside residential electors. The civic head is the annually elected Lord Mayor of the City of London—a ceremonial and promotional role entirely separate from the executive Mayor of London—and the City maintains its own City of London Police, distinct from the Metropolitan Police. For ceremonial purposes the City functions as its own lieutenancy area, with a Commission of Lieutenancy rather than a standard Lord-Lieutenant. In short, where most UK cities have a “city council” that is a normal district or unitary authority, the City of London’s Corporation is a constitutionally distinctive body combining local authority functions within the Square Mile with long-standing civic institutions and charitable responsibilities that reach well beyond its boundaries.

Civic Honours: Lord Mayors & Lord Provost

London (the City of London) uses the historic, customary title ‘Lord Mayor of London’, in continuous use since the 16th century rather than by a modern grant.

In the UK, city status and the dignity of Lord Mayor (or Lord Provost in Scotland) are separate honours, each granted by the monarch via letters patent. Of the 76 cities, 28 have a Lord Mayoralty and 4—Scotland’s four cities—have a Lord Provost; these titles don’t automatically follow from city status. A Lord Mayoralty exists in 24 cities in England, 2 in Wales, and 2 in Northern Ireland.

Only 24 cities in England have Lord Mayors: Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Canterbury, Chester, Coventry, Exeter, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, the City of London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, the City of Westminster, and York.

In the UK, a city is not defined by size or population but by formal status granted by the monarch, often through historical charters or, more recently, civic honours competitions. There are 76 officially recognised cities, some of which are relatively small compared to other urban areas. In contrast, local authority districts (361 in total) are administrative areas created for local government purposes and may include a mix of urban centres, suburbs, and rural communities. Within districts, there may be one or more towns, which generally refer to sizeable urban settlements but do not hold city status unless it has been formally granted. In practice, a city can exist within a district, and a district can cover multiple towns, showing the clear distinction between legal status, administrative boundaries, and everyday usage.

Cities in London