Last week people from across London government

gathered at Mansion House in the City of London for the London Government Dinner, an annual event where the Chair of London Councils, Cllr Claire Holland, the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, and the Lord Mayor of London, Alistair King, set out their vision for the coming year.  

The event announced more details around the London Growth Plan - developed jointly by the Mayor of London and London Councils, and in close partnership with London’s businesses and trade unions, which will focus on: ensuring Londoners have the skills businesses need; delivering vital housing and transport infrastructure for London; and ensuring the key technologies of the 21st century – like AI, life-sciences, robotics, clean-tech and quantum computing - are being developed and commercialised in London to spur growth and create the mega-companies of tomorrow.

In her speech, Cllr Holland also announced that a new

Inclusive Talent Strategy for the capital, designed to unlock the potential of all Londoners, will be at the heart of the Growth Plan, which will be launched at the end of February.

This year marks London Councils’ 30th anniversary, a milestone that will see the cross-party group reflecting on three decades of building successful collaboration and envisioning the future of local government in the capital – with a new London devolution deal as a key ambition.

London Councils, which represents all 32 boroughs and the City of London Corporation, was established as the Association of London Government in March 1995, and renamed London Councils in 2006.

London Councils is proud of its track record of collaborative working to deliver efficiencies for the boroughs and important benefits to Londoners, including: The Freedom Pass and Taxicard concessionary travel schemes; Playing a pivotal role in the launch of the Keep London Safe vaccination promotion campaign during the Covid-19 pandemic; Establishing the London Office of Technology and Innovation, created as a joint venture between boroughs and the GLA to improve London’s use of new technology, data, and innovation; and London CIV, one of the country’s first pooled pension funds delivering efficiencies and more effective investment while managing London Local Government Pension Scheme assets.

Chair of London Councils, Cllr Claire Holland, said:  “Collaborating at a pan-London, cross-party level has brought immense benefits to boroughs and the residents we serve. This was turbocharged during the Covid pandemic as we worked together to keep London safe and deliver an effective vaccination programme to all our communities.

“As London Councils marks our 30th anniversary in 2025, we will be celebrating the many successful collaborations we have built with our member boroughs and reflecting on all that we have learned over the past three decades.

“Drawing on our experiences will help us to shape the future of London local government. From sustaining London’s local services through to accelerating progress towards net zero and generating inclusive growth, we continue to have big ambitions and a key role to play.”