Devolution has benefitted London, and the story isn't over yet

“This isn’t finished”. That’s the view on London’s devolution story from our latest Deputy Mayor roundtable.

The event, which took place on 6 November, was kindly sponsored by Arup and welcomed Jo Negrini as a guest speaker alongside Howard Dawber OBE.

The London Mayoralty as we know it today has had many twists and turns since the 1855 Act of Parliament that led to the creation of the Metropolitan Board of Works to manage London’s infrastructure. 

The makings of the present incarnation came about in 2000 with the creation of the office of the Mayor of London, following campaigning by BusinessLDN (then London First) to address a political leadership vacuum for the capital.

Fast forward to present day, and control over transport infrastructure through Transport for London is one of the relatively few levers of power that the Mayor of London has direct control over. 

Beyond that, much comes down to convening and influencing – quite removed from, say, New York and its revenue raising powers. 

So, what’s the state of play and outlook for London’s economy and growth?

The good news is that London is winning on many fronts…

It’s winning on tourism, with Trip Advisor rating London as the number #1 destination; it’s winning at arts and culture, with London the biggest TV and film location, the West End outselling Broadway on theatre ticket sales, and London being the sporting and musical capital of the world; and it’s winning at business, with London the legal, professional and financial services capital of the world. 

So, how do we make it even better?

First, finish the job on the governance of London. The Mayor has recently gained the ability to call in licensing decisions and control over the adult skills budget. More of that would be welcome, nudging London closer to the powers and budget enjoyed by the Mayor of New York. As one attendee put it, ​“how do we get the overall decision making devolved, so that the Mayor can just decide if we want to do a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) or not, rather than having to go to the Treasury for permission every single time?”

Next up, with the Chancellor facing some difficult decisions in the Budget this month, those well-honed influencing skills in the Mayor’s office could come in useful. With plenty of speculation around increases in tax, including in some of London’s leading financial, professional and legal services sectors, the message was clear: ​“Let’s not do stuff to undermine successful sectors”.

And finally, it’s important to get London’s economy working for ordinary people. With one in six Londoners set to be in food poverty this Christmas and half of the people using food banks being in-work, it’s clear there is much to do. Perhaps the biggest fix is around housing. That’s not just the view of Londoners. It’s coming from inward investors too. In their words, ​“it’s probably the biggest thing holding London back”. They want to invest here but worry about where their people will live. With four major infrastructure projects – Bakerloo extension, DLR to Thamesmead, West London Orbital and Crossrail 2 – each having ​“stellar” cost-benefit analysis, and all possessing an ability to unlock major housing growth, they just need the go-ahead … so the answer as ever comes back to those decision-making powers.