Minister for London


The Minister for London is a Minister of the Crown in His Majesty's Government. The officeholder is responsible for policy relating to London, including informing members of Parliament in the House of Commons on the activities of the Greater London Authority. The office has been vacant since 5 July 2024.

History

London had been under the authority of the London County Council and then the Greater London Council, but Margaret Thatcher abolished the GLC in 1986 after clashes with its leader, Ken Livingstone. Most of the municipal powers were then devolved to the 32 individual boroughs. However, under John Major the need for more centralised organisation was addressed by a series of moves. John Gummer was appointed Minister for London concurrently with his tenure as Secretary of State for Environment, and in 1994 the Government Office for London was established. After Tony Blair entered office, the Labour government set up an elected Mayor of London. This office, along with a reconstituted Greater London Authority, worked with the Minister and the Government Office.
The post was scrapped by David Cameron after he came to office in 2010; however, it was revived in 2016 by his successor, Theresa May, and was assigned to Gavin Barwell.

List of ministers for London

Colour key :

Shadow Minister

The position of Shadow Minister for London was retained by Labour under the leadership of Ed Miliband, and was held by Sadiq Khan throughout Miliband's leadership. However, since Khan's nomination as Labour's candidate for Mayor of London and Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, the office has remained vacant while labour were in opposition. Following the defeat of the Conservatives at the 2024 general election, Gareth Bacon was appointed as Shadow Minister for London by Leader of the Opposition Rishi Sunak on 19 July 2024, he has stayed in post since the election of Kemi Badenoch as Leader of the Conservative Party.