Until 1997, there were separate bodies representing different types of council but, in this year, a single body was created to represent the whole of local government in England and Wales. 

The LGA has its headquarters at Local Government House in Smith Square, Westminster, close to the Houses of Parliament and to Whitehall.

The LGA is a membership organisation and it exists to "deliver our shared vision of an independent and confident local government sector, where local priorities drive public service improvement in every city, town and village and every councillor acts as a champion for their ward and for the people they represent

The LGA is part of a wider LGA Group which seeks to assist members to:

The members of the LGA represent over 50 million people and spend around £113 billion a year on local services. They include county councils, metropolitan district councils, English unitary authorities, London boroughs, shire district councils and Welsh unitary authorities, along with fire authorities, police authorities, national park authorities and passenger transport authorities.

Here is a link to the LGA web site for more information: http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga

The current Chairman of the LGA, Sir Simon Milton, has indicated his intention to step down to enable him to accept office as a Deputy Mayor to Boris Johnson.  An election for his replacement is currently under way and voting will close at 12 noon on 8 September 2008.  I am a candidate in that contest.  For more information, please click on the link below: