London borough leaders call for greater say in devolution settlement

The leaders of the 32 London boroughs have urged the government to give them “a seat at the table” as part of a new devolution settlement for the capital.

The 32 leaders have made a cross-party statement that advocate for joint decision-making arrangements between the mayor and the boroughs over powers and funding, which they argue will allow London to deliver change more quickly and build sustainable resilience into devolution arrangements.

Unlike devolved arrangements in Combined Authority areas like Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire, London boroughs do not have any formal decision-making role with the London Greater Authority. Boroughs thus see the upcoming English Devolution Bill as a “golden opportunity” to modernise devolution in the capital and advocate for join decision-making powers.

Boroughs are making the case for tailored arrangements in London rather than a full Mayoral Combined Authority, largely due to the capital’s size and unique devolution history, as it has been devolved since 1999. 

Consequently, London Councils are proposing a ‘Combined Board’ model, which would be comprised of the mayor of London and London Councils Executive Committee, and they would be responsible for decision-making over devolved powers and funding, much like Mayoral Combined Authorities.

This would bring London in line with over devolution deals, like in Greater Manchester, and allow for better decision-making, as well as improving outcomes for Londoners and ensuring better value for money.

London leaders warn that, should current arrangements continue without change, they could become the only local authority leaders in the country denied a formal say over the Strategic Authority for their region, thus hindering the progress of the capital.

Councillor Claire Holland, chair of London Councils, said: “The prospect of more devolved powers and funding to the capital is an exciting one — but we must ensure London’s devolution settlement works as effectively and efficiently as possible.

“Giving boroughs a seat at the table and a proper say in regional deacon-making will put us in a far stronger position to tackle the challenges we face as a city and drive growth in London.

“We have worked hard to build cross-party consensus across the 32 boroughs for a pragmatic solution that enables joint decision-making. We must seize this opportunity to hardwire collaboration between the mayor and borough’s into our devolution deal so that we can all deliver better outcomes for Londoners.”