Greater London does not currently have an official flag to represent the region.[1] However, the current Greater London Authority and predecessor bodies have historically flown and used many flags and symbols.

London County Council

London County Council was created in 1889, replacing the Metropolitan Board of Works. The council was granted a coat of arms in 1914 and flew a banner of these arms over County Hall from 1923 onwards.[2][3][4] The arms depicted waves representing the River Thames, the flag of England and a lion to signify London's status of the capital city of England and the United Kingdom and a mural crown.

Greater London Council

London County Council was replaced by the Greater London Council in 1965 which covered a larger area. The Greater London Council was subsequently granted a coat of arms[5] which contained elements taken from the arms of its predecessor bodies, waves taken from the arms of London County Council and a Saxon crown taken from the arms of Middlesex County Council. The flag of the Greater London Council consisted of its coat of arms displayed on a white field.[6] The common seal of the GLC depicted the coat of arms of the council surrounded by london landmarks and the words "THE COMMON SEAL OF THE GREATER LONDON COUNCIL: 1964".[7]

Greater London Authority

The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and Greater London remained without a strategic local government body until the Greater London Authority was created in 2000. For the first few months of its existence, the Greater London Authority used a logo depicting a representation of the course of the River Thames against a green disk also containing the name of the authority.[9][10] This was subsequently replaced by a wordmark, created by design agency Appetite, consisting of the word LONDON with the letters LOND in blue and ON in red. A flag depicting this logo was flown outside City Hall, the headquarters of the Greater London Authority.[11][12][13]

From 31 January 2020, after Brexit (which Greater London voted against[14]), a flag based on a campaign graphic originally launched in 2016[15] was flown, the design consisting of a white field charged with the word "LONDON" where the letters "O" in the word are representations of the globe showing different hemispheres and with the legend "EVERYONE WELCOME" in smaller letters below.[16] These flags were all based on logos or were for political campaigns however; none represented an official flag or arms assigned to the Authority.

In February 2020, London Assembly member and Deputy Mayor Tom Copley proposed a motion calling on the Mayor of London to ask the College of Arms to transfer the arms of the Greater London Council to the Greater London Authority.[17][18] The motion received unanimous support from assembly members; however, Mayor Sadiq Khan, while supporting the request in principle, asked the assembly to consider costs involved and to reconfirm the decision the following month.[19]

The Chair of the London Assembly wears the ceremonial badge of office that was previously worn by the Chairman of the Greater London Council.[20][21] The badge, which depicts the coat of arms of the Greater London Council and the letters GLC, is made of 18 ct gold with 29 diamonds, four clusters of 8 small pearls and a pendant pearl.[5]

The Greater London Authority makes bylaws under its common seal.[22] This is a wafer seal consisting of a disc containing no symbol or insignia surrounded by the words "COMMON SEAL OF THE GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY".[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Should Greater London have it's [sic] own county flag?". TalkLondon. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021. We shared it with the Culture and Creative Industries team here at City Hall and here's what they said... However, there are currently no plans to create a specific flag for London.
  2. ↑ "London County Council, The council's coat-of-arms". The Times. 27 May 1914. p. 5.
  3. ↑ Walker, Michael (30 November 2016). "Hayes Peoples History: London County Council Flag 1923". Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  4. ↑ Khpal, Mohammad (2 April 2020). "Mohammad Khpal: A new logo for London is long overdue". Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  5. 1 2 "My Life – Page 38". 23 November 2016. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "Flag of the Greater London Council | Royal Museums Greenwich". Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "Institute for civic leadership and digital mayoral archives". Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  8. ↑ "Flag of the Greater London Council | Royal Museums Greenwich". Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "Greater London Authority News Releases". 22 June 2000. Archived from the original on 22 June 2000.
  10. ↑ "Peoples Question Time 24 October 2000 - Introduction". 10 December 2000. Archived from the original on 10 December 2000.
  11. ↑ "Branding - a Freedom of Information request to Greater London Authority". WhatDoTheyKnow. 26 October 2010. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "Greater London Authority - News Release 250-0412". 17 February 2001. Archived from the original on 17 February 2001.
  13. ↑ "Branding - a Freedom of Information request to Greater London Authority" (PDF). 26 October 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  14. ↑ "EU referendum results". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016.
  15. ↑ "David Shrigley and Sadiq Khan launch LondonIsOpen poster campaign for Tube". Dezeen. 1 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "David Shrigley's flag replaces the EU flag at City Hall". Stephen Friedman Gallery. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  17. ↑ "GLA asks for the old GLC coat of arms as a birthday present". London City Hall. 6 February 2020. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  18. ↑ "Greater London Authority could adopt GLC coat of arms". Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  19. ↑ "Letter from Mayor Sadiq Khan to Jennette Arnold, 1 May 2020" (PDF). Greater London Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  20. ↑ Raffray, Nathalie (15 May 2020). "Navin Shah becomes first British Indian to be elected chair of the London Assembly". Kilburn Times. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  21. ↑ "London Assembly elects Jennette Arnold as Chair". MayorWatch. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  22. ↑ "Application for public meetings, demonstrations and rallies in Parliament Square Garden" (PDF). london.gov.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  23. ↑ "Regulation" (PDF). london.gov.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
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