{"id":476983,"date":"2026-04-10T12:14:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T11:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/?p=476983"},"modified":"2026-04-10T12:20:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T11:20:23","slug":"farage-thinks-some-outer-london-boroughs-want-to-split-from-the-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/london\/farage-thinks-some-outer-london-boroughs-want-to-split-from-the-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Farage thinks some Outer London boroughs want to split from the city"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Nigel Farage has predicted some outer London boroughs will want to hold referenda in future to decide whether they want to remain part of the city. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Reform UK\u00a0Leader said there was a \u201cvery real debate\u201d to be had over whether some of these boroughs should split from the capital.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"69959\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448384\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">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<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>The bold notion to remove some fringe boroughs from the remit of the Greater London Authority (GLA) was first posed by Alan Cook after he became Reform\u2019s first directly elected council member in London last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr Farage discussed the idea of a GLA split himself when meeting Cllr Cook and other Reform supporters and candidates in Bromley this week. Speaking from the pub garden of the Bird in Hand in Gravel Road on April 8, he said: \u201cSitting in here now with all these blokes in the pub, does this feel like London? Not to me it doesn\u2019t.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"68153\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448385\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMTc5Njc3MjkyOCIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWNvbnRlbnQgc291dGgtZW50aXR5LXBsYWNlbWVudCIgc3R5bGU9Im1hcmdpbi1sZWZ0OiBhdXRvO21hcmdpbi1yaWdodDogYXV0bzt0ZXh0LWFsaWduOiBjZW50ZXI7Ij48IS0tICAvMTU0NzI1MDcwLDIyNjk0MTk2OTY5L3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3Mvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cyAtLT4NCjxkaXYgaWQ9ImRpdi1ncHQtYWQtMngxIj4NCjxzY3JpcHQ+DQpnb29nbGV0YWcuY21kLnB1c2goZnVuY3Rpb24oKSB7IGdvb2dsZXRhZy5kaXNwbGF5KCdkaXYtZ3B0LWFkLTJ4MScpOyB9KTsNCjwvc2NyaXB0Pg0KPC9kaXY+ICAgICAgICAgIDwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"850\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-4-850x560.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-476997\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-4-850x560.jpg 850w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-4-425x280.jpg 425w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-4-768x506.jpg 768w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-4-1536x1012.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-4-2048x1350.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-4-222x146.jpg 222w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-4-1320x870.jpg 1320w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-4-750x494.jpg 750w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-4-1140x751.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage visits the Bird in Hand pub in Bromley in South London, Britain 08 April 2026. Facundo Arrizabalaga\/MyLondon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"839\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-3-839x560.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-476996\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-3-839x560.jpg 839w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-3-420x280.jpg 420w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-3-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-3-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-3-219x146.jpg 219w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-3-1320x881.jpg 1320w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-3-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nigel-Farage-in-Bromley-3-1140x761.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 839px) 100vw, 839px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage visits the Bird in Hand pub in Bromley. Credit: Facundo Arrizabalaga\/MyLondon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cGo further out to where I was born in TN16 3AA, it\u2019s sheep farms. How is Sadiq Khan the Mayor of that? There was this massive land grab that happened in \u201965 and I think there are some really serious reconsiderations of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The GLA\u2019s predecessor was the Greater London Council (GLC) and when it formed in 1965 it created the 32 London Boroughs that we still recognise today. When Greater London was established, parts of Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey were all absorbed and made part of the capital.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71156\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448386\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMzU4NDQ5NTk0MyIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWluLWFydGljbGUtbXB1OSBzb3V0aC1lbnRpdHktcGxhY2VtZW50Ij48IS0tICAvMTU0NzI1MDcwLDIyNjk0MTk2OTY5L3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3Mvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cyAtLT4NCjxkaXYgaWQ9ImRpdi1ncHQtYWQtbXB1OSI+DQo8c2NyaXB0Pg0KZ29vZ2xldGFnLmNtZC5wdXNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKCkgeyBnb29nbGV0YWcuZGlzcGxheSgnZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHU5Jyk7IH0pOw0KPC9zY3JpcHQ+DQo8L2Rpdj4gICAgIDwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr Farage thought the 2023 decision to expand ULEZ to cover all of London had made residents in car-reliant boroughs such as Bromley, Bexley and Havering rethink whether they wanted to remain in the city. He thought many residents, especially in Bromley, would want to rejoin Kent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"AXiwb8jPNVsx\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"OJyv0NocVm\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/london\/how-has-ulez-changed-london-two-years-on-from-its-expansion\/\">How has ULEZ changed London two years on from its expansion?<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;How has ULEZ changed London two years on from its expansion?&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/london\/how-has-ulez-changed-london-two-years-on-from-its-expansion\/embed\/#?secret=zel4HyCFsW#?secret=OJyv0NocVm\" data-secret=\"OJyv0NocVm\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr Farage slammed the ULEZ expansion and said: \u201cFor zero environmental benefit, all we have done is we\u2019ve basically taxed the poor. I don\u2019t pay ULEZ because I\u2019ve got a big income and a nice new car so I\u2019m exempt, but my next door neighbours that are nearly 80 can\u2019t afford a new car and they have to pay \u00a312.50 [a day].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s monstrous. It\u2019s absolutely monstrous, a tax on the poor introduced by Sadiq Khan in Greater London and I think that\u2019s led to the debate getting bigger and bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Reform Leader thought if there was a sudden referendum in their area, 90 per cent of Biggin Hill residents would vote to return to Kent. Cllr Cook said it was an idea many in Biggin Hill had discussed with him, feeling hard done by with the ULEZ expansion as there isn\u2019t even a train station there.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71157\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448387\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMjk3NDg1MzMwMyIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWluLWFydGljbGUtbXB1LTEwIHNvdXRoLWVudGl0eS1wbGFjZW1lbnQiPjwhLS0gIC8xNTQ3MjUwNzAsMjI2OTQxOTY5Njkvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cy9zb3V0aHdhcmtuZXdzIC0tPg0KPGRpdiBpZD0iZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHUxMCI+DQo8c2NyaXB0Pg0KZ29vZ2xldGFnLmNtZC5wdXNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKCkgeyBnb29nbGV0YWcuZGlzcGxheSgnZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHUxMCcpOyB9KTsNCjwvc2NyaXB0Pg0KPC9kaXY+ICAgICA8L2Rpdj4=<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>When asked whether Reform London Mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham would push for the GLA split if elected in 2028, Mr Farage said: \u201cI won\u2019t predict what she\u2019s going to say, but I think there is a possibility of the outer London boroughs at some point in the next few years having a referendum on deciding on what they want their future to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"zbopb70QSEa0BOYGx6zJg4EHLj6o3BtNF93AeUDrQp9JmrvXZVw7mgdKynCOuMIHkGxZi2XiFLu\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"EwuoQ3uy38\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/borough\/what-we-learned-about-reform-uks-candidate-for-mayor-of-london-at-dramatic-unveiling\/\">What we learned about Reform UK\u2019s candidate for Mayor of London at dramatic unveiling<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;What we learned about Reform UK\u2019s candidate for Mayor of London at dramatic unveiling&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/borough\/what-we-learned-about-reform-uks-candidate-for-mayor-of-london-at-dramatic-unveiling\/embed\/#?secret=kJ5pUhxzNP#?secret=EwuoQ3uy38\" data-secret=\"EwuoQ3uy38\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf she beats Khan, they might feel differently here. But I repeat the point, this does not feel like London, it never did and the same goes for Havering and Dagenham and hey, what about the old county of Middlesex? That was literally abolished. I promise you this is a debate for the future, and a very interesting one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As it has never occurred before, there is no existing legal mechanism that would allow for a London borough to split from the GLA. It would require an Act of Parliament for any borough to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan dismissed the notion when Cllr Cook first suggested it last year. His office said he would continue to work \u201ctirelessly\u201d for every single one of the capital\u2019s 32 boroughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"q4LRSGXtPwEMQJoD26s8hZ\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"jEth6R15JS\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/news\/community\/force-bromley-to-build-homes-on-its-green-spaces-to-fund-bakerloo-line-extension-report-urges\/\">Force Bromley to build homes on its green spaces to fund Bakerloo Line extension, report urges<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Force Bromley to build homes on its green spaces to fund Bakerloo Line extension, report urges&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/news\/community\/force-bromley-to-build-homes-on-its-green-spaces-to-fund-bakerloo-line-extension-report-urges\/embed\/#?secret=fOSNsbZ9sn#?secret=jEth6R15JS\" data-secret=\"jEth6R15JS\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nigel Farage has predicted some outer London boroughs will want to hold referenda in future to decide whether they want to remain part of the city. The Reform UK\u00a0Leader said there was a \u201cvery real debate\u201d to be had over whether some of these boroughs should split from the capital. The bold notion to remove [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19311,"featured_media":476994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"800"},"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[15702,800,13602,13543,9635],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-476983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bromley","category-london","category-news","category-politics","category-south-london"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19311"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476983"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":477006,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476983\/revisions\/477006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}