London (UK Parliament constituency)

City of London
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
1298–1950
Replaced by	Cities of London and Westminster

The City of London was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950.

This borough constituency consisted of the City of London, which is the historic core of the modern Greater London.

The southern boundary of the City is the north bank of the River Thames. The City of Westminster is situated to the west. The districts of Holborn and Finsbury are to the north, Shoreditch to the north-east and Whitechapel to the east.

London is first known to have been enfranchised and represented in Parliament in 1298. Because it was the most important city in England it received four seats in Parliament instead of the normal two for a constituency. Previous to 1298 the area would have been represented as part of the county constituency of Middlesex. The City formed part of the geographic county, even though from early times it was not administered as part of Middlesex.

The City was represented by four MPs until 1885 and two thereafter until 1950.

The City of London was originally a densely populated area. Before the Reform Act 1832 the composition of the City electorate was not as democratic as that of some other borough constituencies, such as neighbouring Westminster. The right of election was held by members of the Livery Companies. However the size and wealth of the community meant that it had more voters than most other borough constituencies. Namier and Brooke estimated the size of the City electorate, in the latter part of the 18th century, at about 7,000. Only Westminster had a larger size of electorate.

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