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 not been in use since 5 July 2024.
History London had been under the authority of the London County Council and then the Greater London Council (GLC), 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 (for political parties):
Portrait Name Term of office Concurrently held office Political party Prime Minister John GummerMP for Suffolk Coastal 1994 2 May1997 – Secretary of State for the Environment Conservative John Major Nick RaynsfordMP for Greenwich and Woolwich 2 May1997 29 July1999 – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Construction Labour Tony Blair Keith HillMP for Streatham 29 July1999 7 June2001 – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Labour Nick RaynsfordMP for Greenwich and Woolwich 7 June2001 12 March2003 – Minister of State for Local and Regional Government Labour Tony McNultyMP for Harrow East12 March 2003 13 June2003 – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Labour Keith HillMP for Streatham 13 June2003 6 May2005 – Minister of State for Housing and PlanningLabour Jim FitzpatrickMP for Poplar and Canning Town 6 May2005 28 June2007 – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development Labour Tessa JowellMP for Dulwich and West Norwood 28 June2007 3 October2008 – Minister for the Olympics– Paymaster General Labour Gordon Brown Tony McNultyMP for Harrow East 3 October2008 5 June2009 – Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform Labour Tessa JowellMP for Dulwich and West Norwood 5 June2009 11 May2010 – Paymaster General– Minister for the Olympics– Minister for the Cabinet Office LabourOffice not in use 11 May2010 17 July2016 David Cameron Gavin BarwellMP for Croydon Central 17 July2016 9 June2017 – Minister of State for Housing and Planning ConservativeTheresa May Greg HandsMP for Chelsea and Fulham 13 June2017 9 January2018 – Minister of State for Trade Policy Conservative Jo JohnsonMP for Orpington 9 January2018 9 November2018 – Minister of State for Transport Conservative Nick HurdMP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner 14 November2018 18 December2019 – Minister for Policing and the Fire Service ConservativeBoris Johnson Chris PhilpMP for Croydon South 18 December2019 13 February2020 – Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice (until 25 July 2019) – Minister of State for Northern Ireland (from 25 July 2019) ConservativePaul ScullyMP for Sutton and Cheam13 February 202013 November2023 – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets (until 8 July 2022) – Minister of State for Local Government and Building Safety (8 July 2022 to 27 October 2022)– Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy (from 27 October 2022)Conservative Liz Truss Rishi Sunak Greg HandsMP for Chelsea and Fulham 13 November2023 5 July 2024 – Minister of State for Trade Policy ConservativeOffice not in use
Shadow Minister The position of Shadow Minister for London was retained by Labour under the leadership of Ed Miliband, and was held by Tessa Jowell during Harriet Harman's tenure as acting leader and then by Sadiq Khan from 2013 during Miliband's leadership. However, after Khan's nomination as Labour's candidate for Mayor of London and Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, the office 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.
See also Regional minister
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