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| Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London (Herbert Commission) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London |
| Other name | Herbert Commission |
| Formed | 1957 |
| Dissolved | 1960 |
| Jurisdiction | Greater London area |
| Chair | Sir Edwin Herbert |
| Report | Report of the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London (1960) |
Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London (Herbert Commission) was a statutory inquiry appointed by the Harold Macmillan administration to review local government arrangements in the County of London, Middlesex, and surrounding Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, and Surrey districts. The commission assessed administrative boundaries, service delivery, and urban development amid post‑war reconstruction and suburban growth, producing a landmark report that informed the creation of the Greater London Council and new London boroughs under the London Government Act 1963. Its work intersected with planning debates involving the Greater London Plan 1944, census data, and regional transport proposals such as the London Transport Executive arrangements.
Rapid population shifts after World War II, the implementation of the Town and Country Planning Act 1947, and controversies over the powers of the London County Council and county councils like Middlesex County Council prompted calls for reform. Prominent figures including Rab Butler, Cyril Osborne, and civic organizations such as the Association of Municipal Corporations and the Federation of British Industries debated metropolitan governance. The Macmillan government, influenced by studies from the Scottish Office and precedents like the Redcliffe-Maud Commission, established the commission by Order in Council with terms of reference to examine boundaries, functions, and finance across the capital's urban area.
The commission was chaired by Sir Edwin Herbert, former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, and included members drawn from local authorities, academia, and professional bodies: representatives with links to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the Royal Town Planning Institute, and the Institute of Municipal Treasurers and Accountants. The secretariat comprised officials seconded from the Home Office and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. The commission held public sittings, called statutory witnesses including leaders of the London County Council, the Inner London Education Authority predecessors, trade unions like the Trades Union Congress, and corporations such as British Railways, and received written memoranda from boroughs including Camden, Croydon, and Lewisham.
Interim stages synthesized evidence from demographic reports by the General Register Office, transport studies tied to the London Passenger Transport Board legacy, and planning submissions referencing the Abercrombie Plan. The commission noted disparities in service provision between central boroughs like Westminster and suburban districts such as Bromley, drew on fiscal analyses from the National Audit Office procedures, and considered input from authorities including Surrey County Council and Kent County Council. Technical appendices incorporated maps from the Ordnance Survey and statistical tables echoing findings of the Royal Commission on Population inquiries.
Published in 1960, the report recommended creation of a single strategic authority for metropolitan services and a two‑tier structure combining a regional council with multiple local boroughs. It proposed a defined boundary for a new Greater London area, abolition of Middlesex County Council, redistribution of functions among bodies analogous to the later Greater London Council and London boroughs, and adjustments to education and transport responsibilities. Financial proposals touched on rating reform and grants involving the Exchequer and the Treasury. The report influenced subsequent legislation by aligning with policy positions advocated by the Conservative Party leadership and debated within the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Political reaction spanned endorsement from some leaders of the London County Council and criticism from county councils resisting boundary change. The Labour Party and the Conservative Party factions within the capital weighed competing interests of constituencies in East Ham, Harrow, and Kingston upon Thames. Implementation required parliamentary bills culminating in the London Government Act 1963, passage through committee stages in the Commons Select Committee process, and Royal Assent. The act established the Greater London Council in 1965 and reorganised municipal units into 32 London boroughs plus the City of London.
The commission’s framework reshaped metropolitan planning administered by bodies such as the Greater London Council, influenced transport coordination across entities like London Transport and British Rail, and affected education oversight previously exercised by municipal committees. It spawned administrative consolidation in areas including Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing, and Haringey, altered electoral arrangements referenced by the Boundary Commission for England, and informed subsequent urban policies under administrations led by figures like Ken Livingstone and Reg Goodwin.
Critics from groups including the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England and some borough councils argued that the commission under‑weighted local identity and community ties in places such as Barnet and Sutton. Scholars in journals tied to the London School of Economics and the Institute of Local Government Studies debated its assumptions on scale and subsidiarity. Long‑term legacy includes institutional precedents for metropolitan governance studied alongside reforms like the later abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986 and the creation of the Greater London Authority in 2000; the commission remains a touchstone in analyses by historians at institutions such as King's College London and policy researchers at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Category:Local government in London Category:1960 in the United Kingdom