Greater London Authority
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The
Greater London Authority (
GLA) administers the 1579 km² (610 sq. miles) of
Greater London, covering the 32
London boroughs and the
City of London. The GLA consists of an elected
Mayor and 25-member
Assembly. The present Mayor is
Ken Livingstone, formerly (
1981-
1986) leader of the
Greater London Council (GLC).
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The official Greater London Authority logo |
The GLA was created to improve the coordination between the London boroughs, and the
Mayor of London's role is to give London a single person to represent it. The Mayor proposes policy and the GLA's budget, and makes appointments to the capital's strategic transport body (
Transport for London) and economic development body (the
London Development Agency).
One of the primary purposes of the London Assembly is to hold the Mayorof London to account, and to scrutinise their actions and decisions.The Assembly must also accept or amend the Mayor's budget on an annual basis.
The GLA is different from the Corporation of the
City of London with its largely ceremonial Lord Mayors, which controls only the square mile of the City, London's chief financial centre. While the GLA has a modern constitution, the organisation of the City of London has barely changed since the middle ages and is mainly controlled by City business interests.
The GLA is based at
City Hall, a new building on the south bank of the
River Thames, next to
Tower Bridge.
In
1986, the
Greater London Council was abolished by the
Conservative government of
Margaret Thatcher. Many people have surmised that the decision to abolish the GLC was made because of the existence of a high-spending left-wing
Labour administration under
Ken Livingstone, although pressure for the abolition of the GLC had arisen before Livingstone took over, and was largely driven by the belief among the outer London
Borough councils that they could perform the functions of the GLC just as well.
On abolition, the strategic functions of the GLC transferred to bodies controlled by central government or joint boards nominated by the London Borough councils. Some of the service delivery functions were transferred down to the councils themselves. For the next 14 years there was no single elected body for the whole of London. The Labour Party never supported the abolition of the GLC and made it a policy to re-establish some form of city-wide elected authority.
Under the leadership of
Tony Blair the party adopted a policy of a single, directly-elected Mayor (a policy first suggested by
Tony Banks in
1990), together with an elected Assembly watching over the Mayor; this model, based on
American cities, was partly aimed at making sure the new body looked as little like the GLC as possible. After Labour won the
1997 general election, the policy was outlined in a
White paper entitled
A Mayor and Assembly for London (March
1998).
Simultaneously with the elections to the London Borough councils, a
referendum was held on the establishment of the GLA in May
1998, which was approved, with 72% of the vote. The
Greater London Authority Act 1999 passed through Parliament, receiving the
Royal Assent in October
1999. After a controversial election campaign, Livingstone was elected Mayor in March
2000, despite attempts by Blair to block his standing for the post. After a short period when the Mayor and Assembly were elected but had no powers, the GLA was formally established on
3 July 2000.
In November
2005, the government published a consultation document reviewing the powers of the GLA, making proposals for additional powers, including
waste management, planning, housing, and learning and skills. [
1] [
2] [
3]. The result of the consultation and final proposals were published by the
Department for Communities and Local Government on July 13, 2006. [
4]
The GLA has many but not all of the powers of the former GLC: for example it has no powers over
council housing, whereas the GLC did. However, the GLA has some powers that the GLC never had, such as the right to appoint members of the
Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), which oversees the
Metropolitan Police Service.
Areas for which the GLA has responsibility include those listed below.
Transport
The GLA has responsibility for London's
public transport system via
Transport for London (TfL). The Mayor appoints members to the governing board of TfL, and draws up the strategy that TfL implements. TfL also has some responsibilities for maintaining major roads and traffic management, including the
London congestion charge.
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City Hall, the home of the Greater London Authority |
Policing
The GLA is responsible for the
Metropolitan Police Service, which is overseen by the
Metropolitan Police Authority. The MPA consists of members of the London Assembly, members appointed by the Mayor, and independent
Magistrates. Prior to
2000 policing in London was the responsibility of the
Home Secretary.
Fire and emergency planning
The GLA is responsible for administering the
London Fire Brigade, and for co-ordinating
civil protection across London. This is run by the
London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA). The LFEPA consists of members of the GLA and councillors from the
London boroughs, and is accountable to the Mayor.
Planning
The GLA is responsible for co-ordinating
land use planning in Greater London. The mayor produces a strategic plan, the "
London Plan". The individual
London Borough councils are legally bound to comply with the plan. The mayor has the power to over-ride planning decisions made by the London Boroughs if they are believed to be against the interests of London as a whole.
Economic development
The Mayor appoints members to the board of the
London Development Agency, the strategic economic development body covering London.
After the
2004 elections, Conservatives had the largest representation (nine members) on the Assembly, followed by seven from
Labour, five
Liberal Democrats, two
Greens and two from
One London (elected as
UKIP, but subsequently changed allegiance).
After Livingstone's re-election as a Labour Mayor, the Labour Assembly members declared that they did not consider it appropriate for them, being of the same political party, to hold him to account. This resulted in the Tories and LibDems agreeing to alternate the Chair and Deputy Chair of the GLA, and of some of its committees, between them. This does not extend to an agreement on policy matters.
*
Scotland Yard*
Lord Mayor of London*
Corporation of London*
London boroughs*
Devolution*
The GLA's website*
About the GLA- Website detailing the powers of the GLA
*
Wikisource - Referendum Results*
Citymayors.com profile page on GLA history*
MayorWatch.org.uk Independent guide to London Government
