By the 1850s there were many metro-wide services (most notably the police force and sewer system), but there was no metro-wide governing body. The boroughs, or parishes as they were called then, were all run by small autonomous governments who were responsible for many local services.
By the mid-1830s, some people were advocating for a city-wide government. They argued that separate governments only perpetuated the problems of the city; only through cooperation could the urban ills of London be solved. Besides, they argued, wouldnt it cost less to centralize all services? Others, mainly local leaders concerned with losing their power, argued that the city was too diverse to be ruled by one body. They claimed that those people living in the outer suburbs had little in common with those in the city and that no one wanted to be concerned with the problems of others.
By 1855 a Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) had been created. They had limited powers, mainly civil engineering responsibilities, but it was the first attempt at a metro-wide government for London. The MBW slowly increased its powers and by 1878 it was clear that some level of metro-wide government was necessary. In that same year, Parliament began debating the creation of a single, directly elected authority for London.
In 1888, after approximately 50 years of debate, the Representation of the People Act was passed and the London County Council (LCC) was established. The original idea was to have a popularly elected council replace the MBW and rule in conjunction with a group of relatively powerful local councils. Parish leaders agreed to this because they wanted to maintain their power and ensure that local issues were not overlooked; however, the establishment of local councils was not achieved as soon as planned and the LCC was to alone rule London.
Those against the centralization of power in the LCC soon began a movement and coined the slogan: united but not a unit. Support for devolution grew and by the late 1890s, 28 boroughs had been created and some duties had been transferred back to local authorities.
Much of the arguing about centralization versus localization was between rich and poor boroughs. Rich boroughs paid lower taxes if services were localized; however, many poor boroughs couldn't afford many services without contributions from the common fund created by the Equalization of Rates Act.
At the turn of the century a majority of the population growth was in the outer suburbs, and the inner boroughs were experiencing population decline. Advances in technology and communications were shrinking time and space, but expanding London. Around 1898, it was proposed to expand London County to include all London centered population (what was to become Greater London). However, many of the outer suburbs didn't want to be annexed because the LCC had plans to build low-income housing (cottage estates) in these outer ring suburbs. These suburbs held out and weren't annexed until the 1963 creation of the Greater London Council.
After World War I, the LCC became in many ways a housing authority as it took on the responsibility of decentralizing London. In 1935 the LCC created the Greenbelt by putting up 2 million pounds to assist local authorities in buying or preserving open space. The Greenbelt was to be 15 miles from Charing Cross and serve to control the growth of London. Within five years 13,000 acres had been preserved; however, London kept growing. After World War II the LCC again vowed to safeguard the Greenbelt, but conceded that some development was inevitable and allowed some open space to be used for new housing.
The post-war years also saw the development of Patrick Abercrombies Greater London Plan. The plan's goal was to evenly distribute population throughout greater London by creating three concentric rings; one of declining population, one of stabilized population, and one of expanding population. Abercrombie was in favor of the powers of the LCC. He thought that planning power at the local level should be reduced and that a regional planning body should control all development in the entire metropolis.
Abercrombies inner ring consisted of the area controlled by the LCC. This inner ring was to lose population as decentralization occurred. By 1958, Abercrombie's goal of population reduction had been met; however, the decline continued as more people moved outside the boundaries of the city. This continued decline caused people to fear that London would soon have a hollow core.
The middle ring in the Greater London Plan consisted of the inner suburbs and the Green Belt. This area was to be stabilized and receive no more population growth. Problems occurred with the plan here too. By 1958, the population in this area had grown by 250,000 people and most of the new development was within the Green Belt.
The plan also called for the creation of New Towns. By 1949 there were eight New Towns outside the Greenbelt with a total projected population of over 500,000 people.
This great geographic expansion of London led to demands for city government reform. The outer suburbs were becoming more populous and demanding more autonomy, while some of the more populous areas just outside the boundaries of the LCC were pressing to be included in the London metropolitan area.
In 1963 the Greater London Council (GLC) was created in response to these demands. Four boroughs were annexed, but the total number of representatives was decreased because each locality was given greater power.
The decentralization of power continued until the late 1980s, when the GLC was abolished and London returned to a system of autonomous borough governments.
Information from: Metropolitan London: Politics and Urban Change 1837-1981, by Ken Young and Patricia Garside. Beth Uittenbogaard