Inner London Education Authority - Political Composition

Political Composition

It was possible for ILEA to have a majority of Labour members when the GLC had a majority of Conservative members, and this happened from 1970 to 1973 and 1977 to 1981. In addition, most of the important decisions taken by the ILEA were taken by its Education Committee, on which every member sat. The Education Committee could also co-opt members with experience of education, some of them representing the teaching unions.

The initial composition of ILEA in 1964 was 43 Labour members to 9 Conservatives, with one Independent. After the 1967 election the Conservatives won a majority, and Christopher Chataway became Leader. However, Labour won control in 1970 and Ashley Bramall began his long leadership. His term saw ILEA go over to comprehensive education, and the abolition of school corporal punishment. He retained power despite the Conservative election victory in the 1977 GLC elections.

When the left under Ken Livingstone won control of the GLC after the 1981 elections, Bramall lost his position in an internal Labour Party vote, being replaced by Bryn Davies. Ken Livingstone later expressed regret for this decision and expressed his admiration for Bramall's leadership abilities. The remaining years of ILEA saw a succession of left-wing leaderships, none of which lasted long or established a strong reputation. Frances Morrell, formerly an assistant to Tony Benn, led a feminist ILEA from 1983 to 1987 which threatened to defy its rate-capping in November 1984, before Neil Fletcher took over.