Royal Commission on the Amalgamation of the City and County of London the ancient City of London had been prominent political topics since the 1830s. Recommendations by royal commissions given in 1837, 1854 and 1867 had largely been left unimplemented. The Local Government Act 1888 had set up a County of London which surrounded, but did not include, the square-mile and main business district of the City of London. London was therefore governed by the Corporation of London at its core and the London County Council for its metropolitan area. When the first London County Council was elected, the Progressive Party, closely allied to the parliamentary Liberals, took control. The first chairman
City of London east (downstream), cross the River Thames: Blackfriars Bridge, Blackfriars Railway Bridge, Millennium Bridge (footbridge), Southwark Bridge, Cannon Street Railway Bridge and London Bridge; Tower Bridge is not in the City. The City, like most of central London, is well served by buses, including night buses. Two bus stations are in the City, at Aldgate on the eastern boundary with Tower Hamlets, and at Liverpool Street by the railway station. There are approximately 28 Barclays Cycle Hire docking stations in the City. A number of existing and proposed cycle routes criss-cross the City, as part of the London Cycle Network. One