However, for most of its history it was a manorial property of the neighbouring City of London rather than being a self-governing borough with its own corporation.

[3] From 1856 the area of the modern borough was 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.

The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Southwark) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection.

[11] In 2003 and 2004 the Southwark Council threatened the small community of houseboat dwellers at Downings Roads Moorings with eviction, which was appealed and ultimately quashed.

The project was abandoned after concerns that the recommended system adopted by Southwark was not satisfactory, but the Council was unsuccessful in its claim against IBM for breach of contract.

It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.

We strongly argue that the rollout of UC should be halted until radical steps are taken to fix the ongoing issues outlined in this research."

Victoria Mills of Southwark Council said, "Any delay to payments for those who are already under immense financial pressure will result in unrecoverable debt and unacceptable stress on people's lives.

The government needs to take rapid steps to fix universal credit or acknowledge that they have created a system that is unworkable and broken.