London First

The prosperity of London and success for the UK economy are strongly tied.  But London has more in common with other world cities such as New York and Tokyo than with UK cities such as Manchester and Edinburgh.  Many of London’s opportunities and issues are best tackled from a London, not UK, perspective. It is appropriate that London, with GDP greater than all but 16 nations, should have decision making structures commensurate with its economic stature. 

London First pressed for the establishment of the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the office of Mayor – both created in 2000 

We seek continued devolution of powers for London, in particular more fiscal autonomy to raise and spend its own funds for major capital projects.  We will support the development of road-pricing in London, with revenue hypothecated to give sustainable investment in London’s transport infrastructure. We would also like to see further devolution of responsibilities for tackling unemployment.

For more information contact Guy Matthews

Useful links
GLA BILL - briefing note
Baroness Jo Valentine GLA Bill speech to House of Lords, Mar 07
Lyons review of local government - London First submissions