London Government Act 1963

Councillors

2 Councillors of the Council shall be elected by the local government electors for Greater London in manner provided by this Act and Part I of the Representation of the People Act 1949.

3 (1) The term of office of councillors of the Council shall be three years, and they shall retire together in the year 1967 and each third year thereafter.

(2) The day on which councillors of the Council retire as aforesaid shall be—

(a) in any year before the relevant year of election, the fourth day after the day of election;

(b) in the relevant year of election and any subsequent year, the ordinary day of retirement of borough councilors in England and Wales;

and the newly elected councillors of the Council shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire.

4 For the purposes of any election of councillors of the Council before the ordinary election in the relevant year of election, each of the London boroughs other than the borough numbered 1 in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act (hereafter in this Schedule referred to as " borough 1 ") shall form an electoral area returning the aggregate number of councillors specified in relation to that borough in column 3 of the said Part I, and borough 1 together with the City and the Temples shall form an electoral area returning the aggregate number of councillors specified in relation to borough 1 in the said column 3.

5 For the purposes of the ordinary election of councillors of the Council in the relevant year of election and any subsequent election of such councillors, each London borough other than borough 1, and borough 1 together with the City and the Temples, shall be divided into such electoral areas each returning one councillor as the Secretary of State, after causing such notices to be given concerning the matter as he thinks expedient, may direct by order (being, except in the case of a borough or other area falling within paragraph 7(1)(b) of this Schedule, an order by virtue of paragraph 8(1) of this Schedule); and there shall be a separate election of a councillor for each of those areas.

6 If at any time the Secretary of State is satisfied, whether on representations made to him by the council of a London borough, or by the Greater London Council, or, in relation to borough 1, by the Common Council, or otherwise, that there are sufficient grounds for considering an alteration—

(a) in the number of councilors of the Greater London Council to be elected for any such borough, or, in the case of borough 1, for that borough together with the City and the Temples; or

(b) in the boundaries within any such boroughs of any of the electoral areas into which the borough is for the time being divided for the purpose of the election of those councilors ; or

(c) of the name of any of those electoral areas,

he may, after causing such notice to be given concerning the matter as he thinks expedient, by order (being, except in the case of a borough or other area falling within paragraph 7(1)(b) of this Schedule, an order by virtue of paragraph 8(1) of this Schedule) make any such alteration as aforesaid.

7 (1) In considering for the purposes of paragraphs 5 and 6 of this Schedule the boundaries of any electoral area or the number of councillors of the Council to be elected for any borough or other area, the Secretary of State and, so far as those matters fall to be considered by him, any commissioner appointed by virtue of paragraph 8 of this Schedule—

(a) shall ensure that the whole of the City and the Temples is included with part of borough 1 in the same electoral area and that each other electoral area lies wholly within a single London borough;

(b) shall- ensure that where a London borough does not include any part of a parliamentary constituency of which part is included in some other London borough, county borough or county district, each parliamentary constituency within the borough shall be an electoral area ; and

(c) in any case not falling within paragraph (b) of this sub-paragraph shall, subject to paragraph (a) thereof, ensure, so far as reasonably practicable and taking into account any change in the number or distribution of the inhabitants of Greater London likely to take place within the period of five years immediately following the consideration—

(i) that the number of local government electors in any one electoral area in the borough is as nearly as may be the same as the number of such electors in the other electoral areas in the borough and, so far as the operation of the other provisions of this paragraph permits, the same as the average number of such electors in each electoral area of Greater London ; and

(ii) subject to sub-paragraph (i) of this paragraph, that each electoral area in the borough consists of two or more complete wards of the borough ;

and shall have regard to the desirability of fixing boundaries which are easily identifiable and to any local ties which have been or would be broken by the fixing of any particular boundary.

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b) and (c) of this paragraph, the City and the Temples shall be deemed to form part of borough 1, and to constitute a complete ward of that borough.

(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(c) of this paragraph, the average number of local government electors in each electoral area in Greater London on any date shall be taken to be a number obtained by dividing the aggregate number of local government electors registered on that date in the several registers of local government electors for Greater London by the number of electoral areas in Greater London existing on that date.

8 (1) Paragraphs 2 to 5 of Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act shall apply in relation to a notice given under paragraph 5 or 6 of this Schedule (other than a notice relating only to a borough or other area falling within paragraph 7(1)(b) of this Schedule) as they apply in relation to a notice under paragraph 1 of the said Part III, and accordingly—

(a) any reference in the said paragraphs 2 to 5 to the said paragraph 1 shall include a reference to paragraph 5 or, as the case may be, 6 of this Schedule (except so far as that paragraph relates to any such borough or other area as aforesaid); and

(b) the reference in paragraph 4 of the said Part III to the town clerk of the borough concerned shall include a reference to the clerk to the Greater London Council.

(2) Any order made under paragraph 5 or 6 or by virtue of paragraph 8(1) of this Schedule may contain such incidental, consequential, supplementary or transitional provision as appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient.

(3) Any expenses incurred by the Secretary of State by virtue of paragraphs 5 to 8 of this Schedule, excluding (without prejudice to section 88 of this Act) the costs of any local inquiry caused to be held by him, shall, if and to such extent as the Secretary of State so requires, be repaid to him by the Council.

9 Except in the exercise of a casting vote when presiding over a meeting of the Council or a committee thereof—

(a) a councilor of the Council elected for an electoral area which includes the City and the Temples shall not vote at any such meeting on any matter involving only expenditure on account of which no part of the City, the Temples or borough 1 is for the time being liable to be charged; and

(b) a councillor of the Council elected for any other electoral area shall not vote at any such meeting on any matter involving, only expenditure on account of which the London borough in which that electoral area is situated is not for the time being liable to be charged.