About LGA

In 1997, local government created the Local Government Association to be its voice in the national arena. Based in Westminster, close to the Houses of Parliament and Whitehall, we lobby and campaign for changes in policy, legislation and funding on behalf of our member councils and the people and communities they serve.

The LGA is a voluntary membership body and our 422 member authorities cover every part of England and Wales. Together they 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 and shire district councils, along with fire authorities, police authorities, national park authorities and passenger transport authorities. The 22 Welsh unitary authorities are in corporate membership through the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) which retains full autonomy in dealing with Welsh affairs.

We work closely with our member authorities to ensure that we target our efforts on the issues that matter most to them. We work with them 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 the people they represent.