London Borough of Merton

London Borough of Merton
London borough
Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden
Coat of arms Council logo
Merton shown within Greater London
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	London
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Created	1 April 1965
Admin HQ	Civic Centre Morden
Government
• Type	London borough council
• Body	Merton London Borough Council
• Leadership	Ross Garrod (Labour)
• Mayor	Gill Manly
• London Assembly	Leonie Cooper (Lab) AM for Merton and Wandsworth
• MPs	Stephen Hammond (Conservative) Siobhain McDonagh (Lab)
Area
• Total	14.52 sq mi (37.61 km2)
• Rank	266th (of 296)
Population  (2021)
• Total	215,324
• Rank	89th (of 296)
• Density	15,000/sq mi (5,700/km2)
Time zone	UTC (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcodes	CR, KT, SM, SW
Area code	020
ONS code	00BA
GSS code	E09000024
Police	Metropolitan Police
Website	http://www.merton.gov.uk

The London Borough of Merton (/ˈmɜːrtən/ ^ⓘ) is a London borough in London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton and Morden Urban District, all formerly within Surrey.

The main commercial centres in Merton are Mitcham, Morden and Wimbledon, of which Wimbledon is the largest. Other smaller centres include Raynes Park, Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon and Wimbledon Park. The borough is the host of the Wimbledon tournament, one of tennis's Grand Slam competitions.

The borough derives its name from the historic parish of Merton which was centred on the area now known as South Wimbledon. Merton was chosen as an acceptable compromise, following a dispute between Wimbledon and Mitcham over the new borough's name. The local authority is Merton London Borough Council, which is based in Morden.