City of London Corporation

Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London

City of London Corporation
Arms of the Corporation of the City of London: Argent, a cross gules in the first quarter a sword in pale point upwards of the last; Supporters: Two dragons with wings elevated and addorsed argent on each wing a cross gules;
Crest: On a dragon's wing displayed sinister a cross gules;[1]
Motto: Domine Dirige Nos ("O Lord direct us")
The Corporation's logo is a stylised form of the coat of arms of the City of London
Corporation logo: a stylised version of the arms
Type
Type
Leadership
Alastair John Naisbitt King
since 8 November 2024
Ian Thomas CBE
since February 2023
Policy chairman
Chris Hayward[2]
since 5 May 2022
Chief Commoner
Structure
Seats100 Common Councilmen
25 Aldermen
Court of Common Council political groups
  Independent (77)
  Temple & Farringdon Together (10)
  Castle Baynard Independents (7)
  Labour (6)
Court of Aldermen committeesPrivileges Committee, General Purposes Committee
Court of Common Council committees
List
Elections
Last Court of Aldermen election
Varies – individual mandate, up to 6-year term of office
Last Court of Common Council election
March 2022[3]
Meeting place
Guildhall, London
Website
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk Edit this at Wikidata

The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's financial sector.

In 2006, the name was changed from Corporation of London as the corporate body needed to be distinguished from the geographical area to avoid confusion with the wider London local government, the Greater London Authority.[4] It is a corporation in the sense of being a municipal corporation rather than a company; it is deemed to be the citizens and other eligible parties acting as one corporate body to manage the City's affairs.

Both businesses and residents of the City, or "Square Mile", are entitled to vote in corporation elections. In addition to its functions as the local authority (analogous to those undertaken by the 32 boroughs that administer the rest of Greater London) the City of London Corporation takes responsibility for supporting the financial services industry and representing its interests.[5] The corporation's structure includes the Lord Mayor, the Court of Aldermen, the Court of Common Council, and the Freemen and Livery of the City. The "Liberties and Customs" of the City of London are guaranteed in Magna Carta's clause IX, which remains in statute.[6]

  1. ^ "The Heraldic Dragon". Sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference policy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference 22Elect was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ The body was popularly known as the Corporation of London but on 10 November 2005 the Corporation announced Archived 23 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine that its informal title would from 3 January 2006 be the City of London (or the City of London Corporation where the corporate body needed to be distinguished from the geographical area). This may reduce confusion between the Corporation and the Greater London Authority.
  5. ^ "History and Heritage". City of London website. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Magna Carta (1297)". www.legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.

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