Havering is the easternmost point of London and has been considered a part of the capital for more than 60 years.
But after decades of declining growth and accumulated debt, Romford MP Andrew Rosindell is campaigning for the borough to become a part of Essex instead.
‘I’ve been an MP 24 years I barely see any benefits to being under Greater London, all it is, is taking money out of boroughs and funneling money into the inner London areas,’ Mr Rosindell told .
‘Greater London was established in the 60s and prior to that Havering was under the Essex County Council.
‘This is an ongoing campaign across the country, lots of areas want to be aligned with their historic counties rather than their metropolitan artificial regions that were created in the 60s and 70s.
‘It means we take control of our own budget, we don’t pay the Mayor of London, literally hundreds of millions of pounds.
‘We get complete control of our local policies again, so things like ULEZ wouldn’t be imposed on us.’
At the moment, planning permission and public spending in the area falls under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of London.
And residents of Havering have had enough of ‘London tax’.
Bradley Smith, 45, a high vantage cable joiner thinks London is ‘a joke’ and is more than happy for Havering to become a part of Essex instead.
He told : ‘I think London is finished I work there every day and everything they’re trying to do is disgusting.
‘It’s mental it’s like they’re trying to bleed us dry.
‘The ULEZ is a joke and now we have the Silvertown tunnel. My company has 6000 vans and London’s our main area, they had to spend £17milliom to pay for new vans.
‘It’s done it’s not London I grew up there and I moved to Upminster for better schools and a better quality of life for my kids.
‘A lot of people will say we’re Essex anyway.’
Mr Rosindell’s campaign follows on from Angela Rayner’s plans to increase devolution across local authorities and streamline local services.
The government are currenting seeking to create a Mayoral Combined County Authority for Greater Essex by May 2026.
It would enable the county councils under its jurisdiction to make their own policies and it would have its own elected Mayor.
Mr Rosindell said: ‘Havering, we’re Essex, we’re not London, because we’re under Greater London we’re not being considered for this new Essex devolution.
‘It means when they do London we will probably be merged, which means the end of Havering as an independent borough.
‘We’d be swallowed up by Labour boroughs to the east so our character and identity will likely be swallowed up by east London.
‘This is a serious debate. It’s the very survival of our borough whether the character of our borough stays or whether it goes.
‘Boroughs that orbit London, I accept we orbit but we’re not in London, we need a different type of governance than those in the actual capital. It needs complete reform and I’m arguing for this.’
Havering is considered an East London borough but includes areas that consider themselves to be geographically Essex, such as, Romford, Upminster and Hornchurch.
Catherine Terry, 57, who grew up in Upminster, thinks becoming part of London has destroyed the area.
She told : ‘We’re being dragged into the East End and I don’t think it’s for the best.
‘It used to be regarded as a posh area we used to have some lovely shops, local shops to get your shopping, and now we’re being swallowed up by charity shops.
‘I was horrified to see the litter it was horrendous.
‘All these things coming in from London it’s changed it massively since I was a child. Every time I come back it gets worse it hasn’t improved.
‘I still think of Upminster as Essex and a lot of people will still term it as Essex.
Margaret Townley, 70, who has lived in the borough for 33 years agreed that becoming part of Greater London tainted the borough.
She told : ‘All the money seems to go to London and we have to pay all the extra and get nothing out of it.
‘I don’t go to London there’s not a lot up there even the shopping isn’t good.
‘Nothing is getting done here and we don’t get funding where we’re paying extra money we could spend it.’
But others disagree saying being part of London has its perks.
Michelle Taplin, who has owned Optimum Fine Art on Hornchurch High Street for 31 years, worries leaving London will destroy her business.
She told : ‘I don’t know why he wants to do that; we are London.
‘There are parts of Essex that have a bad reputation, it’s worlds apart.
‘I don’t think my customers would be the same.
‘House prices would go down and businesses may suffer.’
However, most residents believe it would be better to officially rejoin Essex now to curb anti-social behavior that has been pouring in from the capital.
Claire Moran, 50, said: ‘I’ve always lived round here, and my address has always been Essex.
‘Traditionally I always thought I was Essex.
‘I would like to leave London because I don’t like paying council tax to the mayor and I don’t agree with his policies like ULEZ.
‘It’s sprawling out more the inner city stuff is spreading here and we’re getting consumed into London.
‘We always had green areas and my nervousness is that London will take over and develop it.’
Cliff Barker, retired, 69, who has lived in Havering 30 years agreed.
He said: ‘I would rather this be Essex I don’t consider this to be London.
‘I think London is overpopulated it’s too busy most of the place is dirty.
‘You’re doing a lot of things that you shouldn’t be doing they’re making the end of my life harder.’