Deputy Mayor of London

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The Deputy Mayor of London is a member of the London Assembly appointed by the Mayor of London in accordance with the Greater London Authority Act 1999.[1] No particular duties are specified by the Act, except to be available as temporary Mayor during a vacancy or temporary incapacity of the Mayor.[2] The Deputy Mayor's salary in 2007–08 is £90,954.[3]

Under Ken Livingstone: 2000–2008

The 2000 London mayoral election was won by Ken Livingstone, who ran as an independent after being expelled from the Labour Party. He announced that he would rotate the position of deputy mayor equally between the four parties represented in the London Assembly (Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green).[4] He offered the role to Nicky Gavron of the Labour Party for the first year. After some political manoeuvring, she accepted.[5]

However, in 2001, Ken Livingstone decided not to offer the role to the Conservatives, claiming it would be disruptive,[4] so Nicky Gavron retained the post. In 2002 the Liberal Democrats were asked to nominate a candidate but declined, saying that it would be better to scrutinise the mayor from an independent position.[4][6] Again Nicky Gavron remained. In 2003, the Greens accepted an offer to nominate a deputy mayor and selected Jenny Jones, who became London's second deputy mayor.[4]

Nicky Gavron was originally chosen as the Labour candidate for the 2004 London mayoral election but she stepped aside when Ken Livingstone was invited to rejoin the party. They then ran on a joint ticket as Labour's candidates for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor. She served as Ken Livingstone's deputy for the duration of his second term.

In his first term, Ken Livingstone came under fire for delegating his powers to his Chief of Staff, Simon Fletcher, rather than the deputy mayor on several occasions.[7]

Under Boris Johnson: 2008–2016

After Boris Johnson became Mayor in May 2008, he appointed Richard Barnes[8] as his statutory Deputy Mayor, with the specific responsibility for community cohesion and regeneration. However, he also gave the title of Deputy Mayor to several other people, each with a specific role: Ian Clement (Government Relations); Kit Malthouse (Policing); and Ray Lewis (Young People).[9] Sir Simon Milton, a former councillor, served as Deputy Mayor of Policy and Planning and Chief of Staff to Johnson until his death in office in 2011. Sir Edward Lister was then (May 2011) appointed Deputy Mayor of Policy and Planning and Chief of Staff to Johnson. Richard Barnes ceased to be Deputy Mayor on 4 May 2012, when he lost his seat in the Assembly. Victoria Borwick succeeded him in the post.[10][11] Borwick resigned in May 2015 following her election as Member of Parliament for Kensington, being succeeded by Roger Evans.[12]

List of Deputy Mayors

Colour key
(for political parties)
Name Portrait Term of office Political party Mayor
Nicky Gavron 16 May 2000 16 May 2003 Labour Ken Livingstone
Jenny Jones 12 May 2003 14 June 2004 Green
Nicky Gavron 14 June 2004 4 May 2008 Labour
Richard Barnes 6 May 2008 4 May 2012 Conservative Boris Johnson
Victoria Borwick 9 May 2012 13 May 2015 Conservative
Roger Evans 13 May 2015 Incumbent Conservative

References

  1. ↑ Greater London Authority Act 1999, Section 49 – The Deputy Mayor
  2. ↑ Greater London Authority Act 1999, Schedule 4 – Exercise of functions during vacancy or temporary incapacity of Mayor
  3. ↑ GLA Budget 2008/09
  4. 1 2 3 4 Clark, Andrew (19 February 2003). "Greens select Livingstone's deputy". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Labour deputy joins Livingstone". BBC News. 16 May 2000. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  6. ↑ Featherstone, Lynne (16 May 2002). "All change for the Tories". lynnefeatherstone.org. Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 26 July 2014. Other hot news – the Liberal Democrat group has turned down the Mayor’s offer of the deputy mayor post. Our job is to keep an eye on him – and that is better done from an independent position. It would have been nice – but just not practicable.
  7. ↑ "Mayor leaves London in hands of adviser". London Assembly. 13 June 2002. Archived from the original on 22 October 2003. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Richard Barnes, Deputy Mayor of London".
  9. ↑ "Boris Johnson announces further senior appointments to his administration". Greater London Authority. 6 May 2008. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
  10. ↑ "Victoria Borwick named new Deputy Mayor of London".
  11. ↑ "Investment providing platform for economic growth".
  12. ↑ www.mayorwatch.co.uk
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