London devolution referendum, 1998

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The London referendum of 1998 was a referendum held in the Greater London area on Thursday, May 7, 1998 asking whether there was support for the creation of the Greater London Authority, consisting of a directly elected Mayor of London and a separately elected London Assembly. Unlike the referendum in Scotland, there was no proposal for the assembly to have legislative or tax varying powers. There was a very low turnout for the referendum - only about a third of Londoners voted.[1]

[edit] Results

The electorate were asked to vote yes or no to the question: 'Are you in favour of the Government's proposals for a Greater London Authority, made up of an elected mayor and a separately elected assembly?'

Yes votes Yes votes (%) No votes No (%) Turnout (%)
1,230,715 72.0 478,413 28.0 34.1

There was a majority in favour of 'yes' in every individual London borough. There was generally more support in Inner London boroughs than Outer London ones. The lowest support figures were 60.5% (Havering) and 57.1% (Bromley), the greatest were 83.8% (Haringey) and 81.8% (Lambeth).


[edit] Government response

The government passed the Greater London Authority Act 1999, creating the Greater London Authority. Elections for the mayor and assembly were held in May 2000.


[edit] External link