The number of charities serving London increased by 14.7 per cent during Boris Johnson’s time as mayor of the city, according to new data published by charity think tank NPC.

Between Johnson’s election as mayor in May 2008 and February 2016 the number of charities specifically serving London has increased by 2,488 from 16,953 to 19,441 - a 14.7 per cent increase. In the same period, the number of new charities registered in England and Wales actually fell by 4,067, a decrease of 2.4 per cent.

According to NPC’s data, the growth of London charities has in fact outstripped the city’s population growth, which is forecast at 11 per cent between 2008 and 2016 according to figures from the Greater London Authority.

In compiling this data, NPC included all registrations and removals from the Charity Commission register and used ‘area of operations’ to identify and differentiate between charities which focus specifically on London geographically, rather than organisations that are merely headquartered there.

Dan Corry, chief executive of NPC said that while the figures seem like good news for London’s voluntary sector, the increase in charities could also be seen as the capital’s citizens struggling “under the pressure of lower public spending and shortages”.

“With election day almost upon us, we know that the charity sector expanded in London during the Boris years, and bucked the trend which saw charities numbers across England and Wales fall.

“Voluntary bodies have always been an important part of the fabric of life in the capital, and they have been growing. This might indicate that London’s voluntary sector is growing and thriving. But the numbers might equally be taken as a response to rising demand, as London’s citizen’s struggle under the pressure of lower public spending and shortages.”