Local Government Act 1985

The Local Government Act 1985 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Its main effect was to abolish the Greater London Council that had been established, along with county councils of the six metropolitan counties covering other conurbations that had been set up in 1974.

The core provision, section 1, stated that "the Greater London Council; and the metropolitan county councils" shall cease to exist.

It came into effect on 1 April 1986, with some powers being devolved to the London boroughs and others to joint authorities consisting of members of each of the London borough councils and the corporation of the City of London.

The London Residuary Body wascreated to handle the disposal of the GLC's assets.

Part III of the Act also set up the Inner London Education Authority, which had previously been a committee of the GLC responsible for education in Inner London, as a directly elected body.

Background
Following the victory of the Conservative Party at the 1979 general election, Margaret Thatcher's government were involved in a series of high-profile disputes with the GLC and Metropolitan County Councils. All of the authorities were controlled by, or came under the control of the opposition Labour Party during Thatcher's first term. The Conservative manifesto for the 1983 general election pledged their abolition, describing the councils as "a wasteful and unnecessary tier of government". Having won a landslide victory, the government published a white paper: Streamlining the cities, and its proposals formed the basis of the Local Government Bill.