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Greater London:The administrative structure of Greater
London includes 33 separate borough councils, 13 of which constitute Inner
London (14 in some classifications) and the others Outer London. (See the
table Greater London at a Glance.) The Inner London boroughs are Camden,
Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Kensington and
Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, the City
of Westminster, and the City of London. The 20 boroughs of Outer London
are Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing,
Enfield, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon
Thames, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, and
Waltham Forest.
Trade, administration, and leisureLondon has
been described above as a polycentric city. The map of Elizabethan London
shows that fields and the river separated distinct centres: the City of
London with its shipping, trade, and crafts; Southwark with its gardens,
hospitals, and theatres; and the royal court at Westminster. The economy
of modern London has evolved continuously from the three complementary
elements of trade, administration, and leisure.
In trade London is one of a handful of
centres-along with New York City, Tokyo, and Hong Kong-where dealers in
currencies, equities, commodities, and insurance operate on a global
scale. In the first half of the 20th century it was also a substantial
manufacturing centre.
In contrast to the other great cities of
Britain, London's factory closures have been compensated at least partly
by the city's dynamism in financial services and the media.As an
administrative centre, London dominates the national life to an
exceptional degree. The United Kingdom is constitutionally a unitary state
and politically the most centralized in Europe. Scotland, Wales, and
Northern Ireland, England's three national partners within the United
Kingdom, have administrative identity but lack political
institutions.
All legislative activity is concentrated in the
English capital, at Westminster; pressure groups and lobbyists needs must
follow. British local governments raise less than one-quarter of their
needs in tax revenues and are heavily dependent on fiscal transfers from
the centre. In British politics, all roads lead to London. If London is a
place to win influence and make money, it is also a great playground--a
leisure metropolis.
Historically the landed classes flocked to
London each year to spend "the season" in the proximity of the
court. The legacy of aristocratic consumption still survives in the
gunsmiths, art dealers, tailors, and vintners of the West End, serving a
modern market of London's international visitors.
Each year more than 100 million nights are spent
by tourists in the capital's hotels. Though its full impact is difficult
to trace, the tourism industry has clearly overtaken manufacturing as a
source of employment for Londoners, offering direct employment for more
than 200,000 workers and perhaps as many more again through economic
multiplier effects, some of them in the black market.
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