City of Westminster
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Westminster | |
 Shown within Greater London |
|
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Status | London borough City (1540) |
| Area — Total |
Ranked 318th 21.48 km2 (8.3 sq mi) |
| ONS code | 00BK |
| Admin HQ | City Hall, Victoria Street |
| Demographics | |
| Population — Total (2007 est.) — Density |
Ranked 55th (of 326) 234,100 10,900 /km2 (28,231 /sq mi) |
| Ethnicity White British White Irish Other White White & Black Caribbean White & Black African White & Asian Other Mixed Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Other Asian Black Caribbean Black African Other Black Chinese Other |
(2005 estimates)[1] 49.0% 2.8% 19.4% 0.8% 0.7% 1.5% 1.4% 4.8% 1.4% 2.3% 2.1% 2.5% 3.4% 0.7% 3.2% 4.1% |
| Politics | |
| Westminster City Council | |
 |
|
| Leadership | Leader & Cabinet |
| Mayor | Cllr Carolyn Keen |
| Executive | Conservative |
| MPs | Karen Buck (Lab) Mark Field (Con) |
| London Assembly — Member |
West Central Kit Malthouse (Con) |
| Coat of Arms | |
 |
|
| Official website | http://www.westminster.gov.uk/ |
The City of Westminster (pronounced /ˈwɛstmɪnstər/ (
listen)) is a borough of London with city status. It is located west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, and forms part of Inner London and the bulk of London's central area.
The city contains most of London's West End and is the seat of the United Kingdom's government, with the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Whitehall, and the Royal Courts of Justice.
In 1965 the London borough was created from the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone, the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington and the smaller City of Westminster. It covers a far greater area than the original settlement of Westminster.
Contents |
[edit] Demography
According to the 2001 census, the borough had a population of 181,279. Westminster City Council undertook several studies, supported by both political parties on the council, that indicated that this figure was too low. The Office for National Statistics eventually added 17,500 people to Westminster's population, increasing its grant from the United Kingdom Government. The official population is now 198,779, but some estimates put it at 220,000. 71% of the population are white, 16% any Asian ethnicity, 7% Black, 6% racially-mixed, and 4% belong to other racial groups. About 35% of households are occupied by their owners.
[edit] Politics
 |
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008) |
The city is divided into 20 wards. The council is composed of 49 Conservative Party members and 11 Labour Party members.
The council is known for its infamous "homes for votes" scandal. Shirley Porter was involved in the illegal "Building stable communities" exercise of the 1980s.
| Evolution of Parliamentary representation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | 1950 | 1974 | 1979 | 1997 | Next election |
| Paddington North | Paddington | Westminster North | Regent's Park and Kensington North | Westminster North | |
| St Marylebone | |||||
| Cities of London and Westminster | |||||
| Paddington South | Paddington | ||||
| St George's | Cities of London and Westminster | Cities of London and Westminster | |||
| Westminster Abbey | |||||
| City of London | |||||
[edit] Summary results of elections
| Overall control | Conservative | Labour | Residents | |
| 2006 | Conservative | 48 | 12 | - |
| 2002 | Conservative | 48 | 12 | - |
| 1998 | Conservative | 47 | 13 | - |
| 1994 | Conservative | 45 | 15 | - |
| 1990 | Conservative | 45 | 15 | - |
| 1986 | Conservative | 32 | 27 | 1 |
| 1982 | Conservative | 43 | 16 | 1 |
| 1978 | Conservative | 39 | 19 | 2 |
| 1974 | Conservative | 37 | 23 | - |
| 1971 | Conservative | 37 | 23 | - |
| 1968 | Conservative | 55 | 5 | - |
| 1964 | Conservative | 41 | 19 | - |
[edit] Districts
The City of Westminster covers all or part of the following areas of London:
[edit] Economy
[edit] Landmarks
Westminster contains many of the most famous sites in London. Some of the popular tourist sites are Buckingham Palace, Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) and Big Ben and nearby Westminster Abbey.
[edit] Parks and open spaces
These include Green Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Regent's Park and St James's Park. In addition to parks and open spaces within the borough, the City owns and maintains East Finchley Cemetery and crematorium in the London Borough of Barnet.
[edit] Transport
[edit] Bridges
These include Chelsea Bridge, Hungerford Bridge, Grosvenor Bridge, Lambeth Bridge, Vauxhall Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge.
[edit] Main line stations
These are Charing Cross, Marylebone, Paddington and Victoria.
[edit] London Underground
The City of Westminster is served by 27 tube stations, and 10 of the 12 Underground lines (the East London line and Waterloo and City line are the exceptions).
[edit] Electric charging points
Westminster City Council now has electric vehicle charging points in 15 locations through the city (13 car parks and two on-street points). Users pay an annual fee to cover administration costs to register and use the points.[2]
[edit] Education
Westminster Children's Services operates many community primary and secondary schools. In addition, several voluntary-aided Church of England (CE), Roman Catholic (RC), and Christian non-denominational (ND) schools are in the city.[3]
[edit] Universities and colleges
- Strand campus of King's College London.
- University of the Arts London site the London College of Fashion on Davies Street
- London Business School is located in Regent's Park.
- London School of Economics is located near Aldwych.
- Royal Academy of Music is located on Marylebone Road.
- University of the Arts London has constituent colleges in Holborn (CSM) and Millbank (Chelsea).
- University of Westminster is located on three campuses in the borough.
- Brigham Young University London Centre is located on Palace Court.
- The northern half of Imperial College London's main South Kensington campus lies within the borough.
- Regent's College, whose campus is within the grounds of Regent's Park, which houses:European Business School London; British American College London; Regent's Business School; School of Psychotherapy and Counselling; Webster Graduate School; Internexus, a provider of English language courses.
[edit] Public libraries
The London Library, an independent lending library, is located at 14 St. James's Square in the City of Westminster.[4][5]
The city operates one reference library, the Westminster Reference Library.[6] City-operated public lending libraries in Westminster include the Charing Cross Library,[7] the Church Street Library,[8] the Maida Vale Library,[9] the Marylbone Library,[10] the Mayfair Library,[11] the Paddington Library,[12] the Pimlico Library,[13] the Queen's Park Library,[14] St. James's Library,[15] St. John's Wood Library,[16] and the Victoria Library.[17] In addition the city has two specialist libraries, the Westminster Music Library, the largest music library in the United Kingdom,[18] and the Westminster Chinese Library in the Charing Cross Library.[19]
[edit] Gallery
 Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial |
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 Hungerford Bridges, seen from the north |
 St James's Park Lake, looking east, with the London Eye in the background |
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 Chinatown in 2004. |
[edit] See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Westminster |
[edit] References
- ^ Data Management and Analysis Group, Greater London Authority, Demography Update October 2007, (2007)
- ^ City of Westminster: Additional on street charging points for electric vehicles
- ^ Westminster Education service accessed 17 May 2007
- ^ "Libraries." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Visit." The London Library. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Westminster Reference Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Charing Cross Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Church Street Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Maida Vale Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Marylebone Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Mayfair Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Paddington Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Pimlico Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Queen's Park Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "St. James's Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "St. John's Wood Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Victoria Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Westminster Music Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Westminster Chinese Library." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 21 January 2009.
[edit] External links
- City of Westminster
- Westminster, by Sir Walter Besant and Geraldine Edith Mitton and A. Murray Smith, 1902, from Project Gutenberg
[edit] Video clips
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