1998 Greater London Authority referendum
The Greater London Authority referendum of 1998 was a referendum held in Greater London on 7 May 1998, asking whether there was support for the creation of a Greater London Authority, composed of a directly elected Mayor of London and a London Assembly to scrutinise the Mayor's actions. Voter turnout was low, at just 34.1%.[1] The referendum was held under the provisions of the Greater London Authority (Referendum) Act 1998.
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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? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Greater London | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results by Borough |
Referendum question
The question that appeared on ballot papers in the referendum before the electorate was:
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?
permitting a simple YES / NO answer.
Result
Greater London Authority referendum, 1998 Result | |||
Choice | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Yes | 1,230,739 | 72.01% | |
No | 478,413 | 27.99% | |
Valid votes | 1,709,172 | 98.49% | |
Invalid or blank votes | 26,178 | 1.51% | |
Total votes | 1,735,350 | 100.00% | |
Registered voters and turnout | 5,016,064 | 34.60% | |
Agree : 1,230,759 (72.0%) |
Disagree : 478,413 (28.0%) | ||
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Results by borough
Local authority | Votes | Proportion of votes | Turnout* | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agree | Disagree | Agree | Disagree | ||
City of London | 977 | 574 | 63.0 | 37.0 | 30.6 |
Barking and Dagenham | 20,534 | 7,406 | 73.5 | 26.5 | 24.9 |
Barnet | 55,487 | 24,210 | 69.6 | 30.4 | 35.3 |
Bexley | 36,527 | 21,195 | 63.3 | 36.7 | 34.7 |
Brent | 47,309 | 13,050 | 78.4 | 21.6 | 35.6 |
Bromley | 51,410 | 38,662 | 57.1 | 42.9 | 40.2 |
Camden | 36,007 | 8,348 | 81.2 | 18.8 | 32.8 |
Croydon | 53,863 | 29,368 | 64.7 | 35.3 | 37.2 |
Ealing | 52,348 | 16,092 | 76.5 | 23.5 | 37.8 |
Enfield | 44,297 | 21,639 | 67.2 | 32.8 | 32.8 |
Greenwich | 36,756 | 12,356 | 74.8 | 25.2 | 32.4 |
Hackney | 31,956 | 7,195 | 81.6 | 18.4 | 33.8 |
Hammersmith and Fulham | 29,171 | 8,255 | 77.9 | 22.1 | 33.6 |
Haringey | 36,296 | 7,038 | 83.8 | 16.2 | 29.9 |
Harrow | 38,412 | 17,407 | 68.8 | 31.2 | 36.0 |
Havering | 36,390 | 23,788 | 60.5 | 39.5 | 33.8 |
Hillingdon | 38,518 | 22,523 | 63.1 | 36.9 | 34.4 |
Hounslow | 36,957 | 12,554 | 74.6 | 25.4 | 31.9 |
Islington | 32,826 | 7,428 | 81.6 | 18.5 | 34.2 |
Kensington and Chelsea | 20,064 | 8,469 | 70.3 | 29.7 | 27.9 |
Kingston upon Thames | 28,621 | 13,043 | 68.7 | 31.3 | 41.1 |
Lambeth | 47,391 | 10,544 | 81.8 | 18.2 | 31.7 |
Lewisham | 40,188 | 11,060 | 78.4 | 21.6 | 29.3 |
Merton | 35,418 | 13,635 | 72.2 | 27.8 | 37.6 |
Newham | 33,084 | 7,575 | 81.4 | 18.6 | 27.9 |
Redbridge | 42,547 | 18,098 | 70.2 | 29.8 | 34.9 |
Richmond upon Thames | 39,115 | 16,135 | 70.8 | 29.2 | 44.5 |
Southwark | 42,196 | 10,089 | 80.7 | 19.3 | 32.7 |
Sutton | 29,653 | 16,091 | 64.8 | 35.2 | 34.9 |
Tower Hamlets | 32,630 | 9,467 | 77.5 | 22.5 | 34.2 |
Waltham Forest | 38,344 | 14,090 | 73.1 | 26.9 | 33.6 |
Wandsworth | 57,010 | 19,695 | 74.3 | 25.7 | 38.7 |
Westminster | 28,413 | 11,334 | 71.5 | 28.5 | 31.8 |
Totals | 1,230,759 | 478,413 | 72.01 | 27.99 | 34.1% |
Source: The Independent |
The 'Yes' vote won in every London Borough, though support generally was larger in Inner London than in Outer London. The lowest support figures were 60.5% in Havering and 57.1% in Bromley; the greatest were 83.8% in Haringey and 81.8% in Lambeth.
Aftermath
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of London |
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London portal Politics portal |
The government passed the Greater London Authority Act 1999, creating the Greater London Authority. Elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly were held in May 2000.
References
- Overwhelming vote for mayor BBC News, 8 May 1998