Westminster was an important centre of royal authority from Saxon times, and was declared a city in 1540.

To the east, Westminster borders the City of London, with the boundary marked by Temple Bar.

Other neighbouring boroughs (anti-clockwise from north-east) are Camden, Brent, Kensington and Chelsea, Wandsworth and Lambeth, the latter two being separated from Westminster by the River Thames.

In the mid-11th century, King Edward the Confessor began the construction of an abbey at Westminster, only the foundations of which survive today.

Between the abbey and the river he built a palace, thereby guaranteeing that the seat of Government would be fixed at Westminster, and inevitably drawing power and wealth west out of the old City of London.

It was not until the sixteenth century that houses began to be built over the adjoining fields, eventually absorbing nearby villages such as Marylebone and Kensington, and gradually creating the vast Greater London that exists today.

Whilst an important centre of royal authority from Saxon times, Westminster was not formally incorporated as a borough for local government purposes until 1900.

[6] From 1856 the area was also governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London.

From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards.

Within the City and Liberty of Westminster, the three parishes of St George Hanover Square, St James Piccadilly and St Martin-in-the-Fields were governed by their vestries, whilst the parishes covering the central part of Westminster formed the Westminster District and the parishes and territories adjoining the border with the City of London formed the Strand District.

[8] In 1900 the lower tier of local government within the County of London was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs.

[10] The Court of Burgesses, which had ceded most practical powers to the newer authorities, was finally abolished in 1901.

Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly, the borough forms part of the West Central constituency.

It also has the second-least affordable private rent for low earners in London, behind only Kensington and Chelsea.

Users pay an annual fee to cover administration costs to register and use the points.

[34] In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: underground, metro, light rail, tram, 21.0% of all residents aged 16–74; on foot, 9.3%; bus, minibus or coach, 9.3%; driving a car or van, 6.0%; work mainly at or from home, 5.5%; bicycle, 3.1%; train, 3.0%.

The symbols in the lower two thirds of the shield stand for former municipalities now merged with the city, Paddington and St Marylebone.