1998 Greater London Authority referendum
Referendum held in Greater London on 7 May 1998
1998 Greater London Authority referendum
Choice
Votes
%
Yes
1,230,759
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/turnout
5,016,064
34.1%
The 1998 Greater London Authority referendum was held in Greater London on 7 May 1998, asking whether there was support for creating 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 Greater London Authority (Referendum) Act 1998 provisions.
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%
Referendum results (excluding invalid votes)
Yes 1,230,759 (72%)
No 478,413 (28%)
▲ 50%
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 was generally 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 . The income level of boroughs was an even greater factor affecting the outcome.
Aftermath
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
External links
Devolved areas
National level Regional level (in England )
Referendums 1 Heads of devolved governments Devolved legislatures2 Devolved administrations3 Organisations and laws of the legislatures and governments of the UK and the devolved areas
Elections Related articles
Current Proposals Historical
1. Rejected referendums are italicised . The others were fully or partially approved.
2. There is no law-making body for any regionally devolved area.
3. Administrations of regionally devolved areas are omitted.