London-specific Editorial Topics

Place names

We are reporting local news, aimed at a London audience. Therefore, be specific with local place names. 

Do not use Camden, Tower Hamlets and Westminster without context. These are large boroughs/councils in London, and areas within them are not always associated with them. Would you associated Hampstead Heath with Camden? Or Maida Vale with Westminster? Think local.

ie  Police have blocked several roads near Warwick Avenue in Maida Vale

not Police have blocked several roads near Warwick Avenue in Westminster.

It is obviously OK to refer to Camden Council if writing a story that would affect all residents within the borough.

Governance

The Greater London Authority (GLA) is the devolved local government for London. It can also be referred to as City Hall.

It is responsible for Arts and Culture, Business and Economy, Environment, Transport, Fire, Health, Sport, Housing and Land, Planning, Regeneration, Policing and Crime, and Education and Youth

It has one Mayor and 25 Assembly Members who are elected by Londoners. They work with the support of City Hall's staff, who are civil servants.

The Mayor

The Mayor provides citywide leadership, setting an overall vision for London and creating plans and policies to achieve it. They are elected every four years. 

In many respects, the Mayor of London has responsibilities similar to those of a state governor in other countries.

Use The Mayor of London, London mayor, or Mayor.

The London Assembly

The London Assembly holds the Mayor and their advisers to public account. The Mayor must consult the Assembly before producing their statutory strategies and budget, including City Hall’s share of council tax. Assembly Members are elected every four years by Londoners. The most public way of holding the Mayor to account is at Mayor’s Question Time. The Assembly also conducts investigations through its committees, which meet regularly and publish their findings. They provide recommendations, making proposals to the Mayor and government organisations about ways to improve the capital. The London Assembly also funds and appoints the board of London TravelWatch, the independent consumer watchdog for transport users.

Use London Assembly on first reference and the assembly on later references.

Councils

There are 33 local government authorities in London: 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation.

Local government authorities are responsible for council housing, rubbish collection, parking, schools, council tax collection, leisure, social care and public health. These local authorities are elected directly by the local communities they serve. Their collective views are represented at City Hall by London Councils.

Each council has a leader. This is a councillor from the largest party in that council. 

Use Lambeth Council, but the council
Use Westminster Council Leader Joe Bloggs, but the council leader

Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets have elected local mayors. There responsibilities are equal to those of council leaders.

Use Tower Hamlets mayor Joe Bloggs, but the mayor

Transport

Transport for London is the local government body responsible for transport in the capital. It reports to the Greater London Authority (GLA), which is consisted of the executive Mayoralty and the London Assembly. 

Introduce as Transport for London (TfL) on first reference and TfL in subsequent references and headlines. Note the lowercase 'f'.

Buses

London bus routes are run by private companies, under contract with TfL. A list of which company runs which route can be found here.

Underground (Tube)

London's Underground transport system can be called the Tube in all references. The Underground network is operated by London Underground Limited (LUL), which is wholly owned by TfL.

Careful when to capitalise the 'U'. Use the following example as a reference:
London Underground operates trains that travel underground.

The Tube has 11 lines. The stylistically correct spelling and capitalisation for each line in all references is as follows:

Bakerloo line
Central line
Circle line
District line
Hammersmith & City line
Jubilee line
Metropolitan line
Northern line
Piccadilly line
Victoria line
Waterloo & City line

Elizabeth line

The new underground line, connecting west, east and central London, is not part of the London Underground network. It is operated by MTR Crossrail.

Use Elizabeth line in all references.

Docklands Light Railway (DLR)

The DLR is an automatically driven light metro network connecting east and central London. It is not part of the Tube. It is currently operated under contract by a joint venture of Keolis-Amey.

Use Docklands Light Raiway (DLR) in first reference, DLR is fine in headlines and subsequent references.

Tram

London has a limited (compared to other European cities) tram network in south London.

London Overground

The London Overground is a suburban rail service. It is currently operated by Arriva Rail London on behalf of TfL.

Use London Overground in first reference, Overground is fine in headlines and subsequent references.

Rail

After the privatisation of the UK's rail network, services (or lines) are awarded to private train operation companies (TOCs). These are known as franchises.

Several London suburban rail services operate under these franchises.

Other Topics

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs)

From TfL: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) have been in London since the 1970s and more were introduced in spring 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic.

LTNs help to make streets around London easier to walk and cycle on by stopping cars, vans and other vehicles from using quiet roads as shortcuts. They were introduced as part of temporary measures to create more space for walking and cycling to allow people to travel safely during the pandemic.

Use Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) in first reference, LTN is fine in headlines and subsequent references.