Westminster, City of, inner borough (1991 pop. 181,500) of Greater London, SE England, on the Thames River. Westminster is the location of the principal offices and residences of Great Britain's national government. Important offices and departments are in Whitehall and Downing streets. The monarch lives in Buckingham Palace. Parliament meets in Westminster Palace. The borough has an important railroad terminal (Paddington). In Westminster are the administrative offices of the British Broadcasting Corp.; London's chief shopping district; Harley St., a center of medical practice; and a clothing industry. Westminster School is a leading public school, founded in the 14th cent. and reestablished by Queen Elizabeth I in 1560. Other notable features of the borough are Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Saint James's Palace, the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, the imposing Central Mosque, the Imperial College of Science and Technology, St. James's Park, Hyde Park, parts of Regent's Park and Kensington Gardens, Mme Tussaud's waxworks, and Kensal Green Cemetery, resting place of several literary figures. Westminster Bridge is the second-oldest bridge in London.

The City of Westminster is a borough of London with city status. It is located west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, and forms part of Inner London and the bulk of London's central area.

The city contains most of London's West End and is the seat of the United Kingdom's government, with the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Whitehall, and the Royal Courts of Justice.

In 1965 the London borough was created from the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone, the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington and the smaller City of Westminster. It covers a far greater area than the original settlement of Westminster.

Demography

According to the 2001 census, the borough had a population of 181,279. Westminster City Council undertook several studies, supported by both political parties on the council, that indicated that this figure was too low. The Office for National Statistics eventually added 17,500 people to Westminster's population, increasing its grant from the United Kingdom Government. The official population is now 198,779, but some estimates put it at 220,000. 71% of the population are white, 16% Any Asian ethnicity, 7% Black, 6% Mixed, 4% Other. 35% of households are owner-occupiers.

Politics

The city is divided into 20 wards. The council is composed of 49 Conservative Party members and 11 Labour Party members.

The council is known for its infamous "homes for votes" scandal. Shirley Porter was involved in the illegal "Building stable communities" exercise of the 1980s.

Evolution of Parliamentary representation
1918	1950	1974	1979	1997	Next election

Summary results of elections

	Overall control	Conservative	Labour	Residents
2006	Conservative	48	12	-
2002	Conservative	48	12	-
1998	Conservative	47	13	-
1994	Conservative	45	15	-
1990	Conservative	45	15	-
1986	Conservative	32	27	1
1982	Conservative	43	16	1
1978	Conservative	39	19	2
1974	Conservative	37	23	-
1971	Conservative	37	23	-
1968	Conservative	55	5	-
1964	Conservative	41	19	-

Districts

The City of Westminster covers all or part of the following areas of London:

• Bayswater
• Belgravia
• Covent Garden
• Fitzrovia
• Holborn
• Hyde Park
• Knightsbridge
• Lisson Grove
• Maida Vale
• Mayfair
• Marylebone
• Millbank
• Paddington
• Pimlico
• Queen's Park
• St James's
• St John's Wood
• Soho, including Chinatown
• "Theatreland"
• Westbourne Green
• West End
• Westminster City Centre

Bibliography

• ''THE WESTMINSTER CITY FATHERS (THE BURGESS COURT OF WESTMINSTER) 1585-1901: Being some account of their powers and domestic rule of the City prior to its incorporation in 1901 by W H Manshee. With a Foreword by Walter G Bell and 36 illustrations which relate to documents (some pull-outs) and artifacts

Landmarks

See List of tourist sites in the City of Westminster

See List of roads in the City of Westminster

Westminster contains many of the most famous sites in London. Some of the popular tourist sites are Buckingham Palace, Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) and Big Ben and nearby Westminster Abbey.

Parks and open spaces

See also article Westminster parks and open spaces

These include Green Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Regent's Park and St James's Park,

Transport

Bridges

These include Chelsea Bridge, Cathedral Bridge, Hungerford Bridge, Grosvenor Bridge, Lambeth Bridge, Vauxhall Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge.

Main line stations

These are Charing Cross, Marylebone, Paddington and Victoria.

London Underground

The City of Westminster is served by 27 tube stations, and 10 of the 12 Underground lines (the East London line and Waterloo and City line are the exceptions).

Juice points

Westminster City Council now has 12 juice points, which have been installed outside homes, offices and prime locations. Users will pay an annual £75 fee to cover administration costs to register and use the on-street recharging posts.

Education

Westminster Education Department operates many community primary and secondary schools. In addition, several voluntary-aided Church of England (CE), Roman Catholic (RC), and Christian non-denominational (ND) schools are in the city.

Primary schools

There are 41 primary schools, within the state sector in the City of Westminster. In addition there are also many fee-paying independent schools.

All Souls' CE Barrow Hill Junior Burdett Coutts CE Christ Church Bentinck CE Churchill Gardens Edward Wilson Essendine Gateway George Eliot Infant George Eliot Junior Hallfield Infant Hallfield Junior Hampden Gurney CE King Solomon Academy	Millbank Our Lady Of Dolours RC Paddington Green Queen's Park Robinsfield Infant Soho Parish CE St Augustine's CE St Barnabas CE St Clement Danes CE St Edward's RC St Gabriel's CE St George's Hanover Square CE St James' And St Michael's CE St Joseph's RC	St Luke's CE St Mary Magdalene's CE St Mary Of The Angels RC St Mary's Bryanston Square CE St Matthew's CE St Peter's CE St Peter's Eaton Square CE St Saviour's CE St Stephen's CE St Vincent De Paul RC St Vincent's RC Westminster Cathedral RC Wilberforce

Secondary schools

There are nine secondary schools in the City of Westminster.

Grey Coat Hospital CE Paddington Academy Pimlico Quintin Kynaston St Augustine's CE	St George's (Maida Vale) RC St Marylebone CE The Westminster Academy Westminster City School (ND, Christian)

There are also fee-paying, independent schools in Westminster. Westminster School, Southbank International School and The American School in London, in St John's Wood, are notable examples.

Universities and colleges

• The Strand campus of King's College.
• The London Business School is located in Regent's Park.
• The London School of Economics is located near Aldwych.
• The Royal Academy of Music is located on Marylebone Road.
• The University of the Arts London has constituent colleges in Holborn (CSM) and Millbank (Chelsea).
• The University of Westminster is located on three campuses in the borough.
• The Brigham Young University London Centre is located on Palace Court.
• The northern half of Imperial College London's main South Kensington campus lies within the borough.

Gallery

See also

• London Underground
• Project Better Place
• River Thames
• River Westbourne
• West End of London

References

External links

• City of Westminster
• Westminster, by Sir Walter Besant and Geraldine Edith Mitton and A. Murray Smith, 1902, from Project Gutenberg