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1998 Greater London Authority referendum

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1998 Greater London Authority referendum

7 May 1998 (1998-05-07)

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?
Results
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 34.6%

Results by borough

The Greater London Authority referendum of 1998 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ Assiner, Nick (8 May 1998). "Overwhelming vote for mayor". BBC News.
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