According to the 2001 Census the borough had a population of 181,279. Westminster City Council undertook several studies which have shown higher populations as part of a campaign (supported by both political parties on the council) to have the population estimate raised, which would increase its grant from the United Kingdom Government. The Office For National Statistics eventually came to an agreement which added 17,500 people to Westminster's population. While the official population is now 198,779, more realistic estimates put it at 220,000. 73% of the population are White, 4% Black African and 3% Indian. 35% of households are owner-occupiers.
''See Shirley Porter for information on the illegal "Building stable communities" exercise of the 1980s .''
]]
and the Victoria Memorial ]]
of Bush House , Aldwych ]]
es at the base of Cleopatra's Needle ( London ). The scars that disfigure the Pedestal of this sphynx were caused by fragments of a WWI bomb dropped in the roadway close to this spot, in the first Air Raid on London by German aeroplanes a few minutes before midnight on Tuesday 4 September1917 ]]
in Trafalgar Square ]]
]] Ritz Hotel , on Piccadilly ]]
Lake, looking east, with the London Eye in the background]]
, looking westward along Oxford Street ]]
in Piccadilly Circus , surmounted by The Angel of Christian Charity (popularly referred to as Eros), one of the first statues to be cast in Aluminium ]]
s, seen from the north]]
