Mayor of London

What is the Mayor of London?

The role of the Mayor of London was created under the Greater London Authority Act 1999 as part of the Labour government's commitment to restore a city-wide government for London.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) comprises a directly elected Mayor and a separately elected London Assembly consisting of 25 members. The Mayor and Assembly are elected for a fixed term of four years. The first elections were held in May 2000 and the GLA began work in July of that year.

Former Labour MP Ken Livingstone was elected Mayor on May 4th 2000. Having been rejected as the Labour party's candidate, he ran as an independent and was subsequently expelled from the party.

He was re-elected for a second term on June 10th 2004, this time as the official Labour candidate having been re-admitted to the party shortly before the election. He stood again as the official Labour candidate in the May 2008 elections, but was pipped to the post by the Conservative candidate Boris Johnson, the current Mayor.

The role of the Mayor of London is not to be confused with that of the Lord Mayor of the City of London.

The Lord Mayor serves for a one-year term of office and is apolitical. He presides over the City of London's governing bodies - the Court of Aldermen and the Court of Common Council - and is head of the City of London Corporation. He plays a key role in promoting UK-based financial services and related business services both nationally and internationally.

The Mayor of London, together with the London Assembly members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. This includes responsibility for transport, police, civil defence and fire services, planning, economic development and wealth creation, social development and the improvement of the environment. The Mayor also has a number of duties in relation to culture and tourism including responsibility for Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square.

The Greater London Authority Act 1999 has been supplemented and updated by the Greater London Authority Act 2007 which grants the Mayor and the London Assembly further key powers in the areas of planning, housing, health and the environment. The new Act also strengthens the Assembly's scrutiny powers and improves other aspects of GLA governance.

Background

The abolition of the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1986 brought to an end 97 years of local rule in London.

London's first government, the London County Council (LCC), was a directly-elected authority set up in 1889 by the Conservatives. In 1963 the LCC was replaced by the GLC in response to the continued growth in both the size and population of the capital; its first members were elected in 1965.

Labour regained control of the GLC in 1981 headed by Ken Livingstone whose policies at that time earned him the soubriquet of 'Red Ken' accused of leading a 'loony left' administration.

The Conservative prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, was determined to abolish the GLC and in 1986 succeeded in doing so.

When Labour was re-elected to power in 1997 one of its main manifesto pledges was to hold a referendum on the restoration of a democratically-elected strategic authority for London with a directly elected mayor and Assembly.

A referendum was duly held in May 1998 and on a turnout of 34 per cent of Londoners, 72 per cent voted in favour of the proposal. The Greater London Authority Act received Royal Assent in October 1999.

Controversies

Ken Livingstone attracted controversy long before he became Mayor of London and has continued to do so ever since.

His outspoken comments have frequently made the headlines. He referred to US president George Bush as "the most corrupt American president since Harding in the 20s" and in 2004 stated "I just long for the day I wake up and find that the Saudi royal family are swinging from lamp-posts". His remarks comparing an Evening Standard reporter to a Nazi concentration camp guard earned him a four-week suspension in 2006, later overturned on appeal.

Mr Livingstone's actions have been equally controversial. He was widely criticised in 1982 when he invited Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to County Hall and again in 2004 when he extended a similar invitation to the Islamic scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, reported to be anti-Semitic and a defender of suicide bombers.

On the other hand many of the policies pursued by Ken Livingstone since he became Mayor have been welcomed, in particular his anti-racist stance. The congestion charge, while not without its critics, has been praised by environmentalists and is generally acknowledged to have been a success.

The election of Ken Livingstone as Mayor in 2000 was also highly controversial. The Labour Party led by Tony Blair was determined that the left-wing Livingstone would not be Labour's official candidate. A shortlist of three was drawn up; Health Secretary Frank Dobson, Transport Secretary Glenda Jackson, and Ken Livingstone, at that time Labour MP for Brent East.

The complex electoral college used, rather than a one-member, one-vote system, was seen by many as the reason why victory was secured for Labour's favoured candidate, Frank Dobson. As a result Ken Livingstone stood as an independent and was elected as London's first Mayor, with Dobson coming in fourth behind the Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates.

In the 2008 mayoral election Ken Livingstone, standing as the official Labour candidate and hoping to be elected for a third term, faced opposition from Boris Johnson standing for the Conservatives, Brian Paddick for the Liberal Democrats, and candidates from the BNP, UKIP, Green party, Christian Peoples' Alliance and Christian Party, Left List, English Democrats and an independent.

In the event Ken Livingstone was beaten into second place by Boris Johnson who gained a total of 1,168,738 first and second choice votes, compared to Ken Livingstone's 1,028,966 votes.

Statistics

Current Mayor - Boris Johnson.
Born - New York 1964.
Elected - 2nd May 2008.
Salary - £143,911.

Source: Mayor of London website - 2011

Quotes

"I want to deliver those changes that Londoners, and visitors to the city, tell us they want to see: a cleaner city with safer streets, better transport and good quality affordable housing."

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson - 2011