Welcome to a bumper LDN this week – a day later than normal so we can bring you the very latest on yesterday’s elections.
Back in August 2000, I moved to London taking up residence in a flat above a greasy spoon in the heart of Balham. My arrival in London came just a few months after Ken Livingstone became the first Mayor of London – and this weekend marks 25 years since that first election.
LCA’s own story spans the existence of London’s mayoralty in a similar way to my time in the city. Set up in 1999 by Robert Gordon Clark and Jonny Popper, LCA has always prided itself on its political insight and understanding of how London works. In every one of the seven Mayoral and Assembly elections, we’ve supported our clients as they’ve navigated their way through City Hall’s changing politics.
Much has changed in the subsequent 25 years – my arrival in London increased the population by one. Since then, the city’s ranks have swelled by over 1.8million people – put in context, that’s like adding four cities the size of Leeds. The city’s economy has powered ahead, the skyline is transformed and London’s status as a truly global city has few rivals.
I wouldn’t ever claim that London’s transformation is solely down to the creation of the Mayor of London. Not least because London’s economic renaissance had been well under way since the mid-1980s. But the new citywide institution, with the Mayor as a figurehead, champion, and convenor, has been instrumental in galvanising attention and investment in London. For the first time in many decades, London was planning to accommodate a growing city and took innovative decisions on tall buildings, congestion, clean air and public transport that wouldn’t likely have happened otherwise.
But when Londoners went to the polls on 4 May 2000*, success was not guaranteed. Facing serious opposition and obstacles from the very start, it could have been strangled at birth. That it got off to a flying start is in no small part due to the first office holder, Ken Livingstone, and the talented team of officials that set up the Greater London Authority from scratch at breakneck speed.
Nearly 15 million votes have been cast in seven Mayoral elections over the subsequent quarter of a century. The direct mandate fixed term model has led to considerable political stability – compare London’s three mayors to the eight Prime Ministers and countless housing and transport ministers.
Architects of the new governance model for London envisaged a slimmed-back strategic authority, deliberately contrasted with the perceived over-sized predecessor, the Greater London Council. That original ambition didn’t survive long with the Mayoral role growing in stature, taking on more responsibilities over the years on fire, planning, affordable housing, transport and skills. London’s mayor carries enormous political and financial clout and have a global status.
That’s not to say that there aren’t critics, some arguing mayors have too much power and insufficient accountability, others rail against them straying beyond the original remit into matters of local, national and even international significance. The relationship with the boroughs, as witnessed just a few weeks ago, can at times be tetchy and challenging. Yet others argue London is still behind equivalent international cities and needs more, not less, powers and responsibilities especially when it comes to funding.
London was the trailblazer – it took another 17 years for the next metro Mayor to come along (in Greater Manchester). Since then, others have sprung up and yesterday saw voters in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull & East Yorkshire go to the polls for their first mayoral elections.
But the gulf between London’s mature mayoral model and others around the country is stark – not least in the financial clout. With total annual budgets of £380m and £202m, the West of England and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authorities would pay for just a week and four days respectively of the GLA family’s whopping £20.7bn annual budget.
Yet, this election has seen some mayors elected who will use it as a platform for furthering much wider political ambitions, and certainly furthering agendas way beyond the scope and remit of the roles. While Reform’s Arron Banks referred to the Mayor of the West of England as a “meaningless job” he was still happy to be on the ballot paper (but is perhaps thankful he lost). In Lincolnshire, the Reform Mayor, a former Tory MP, is vowing Trump-style budget cuts before the institution is even up and running.
It won’t be long before we find out whether this new wave of mayors sink or soar.
*Ok, before I get a flood of emails, I know that technically the Mayor of London, London Assembly, Transport for London didn’t formally become legal entities until 3 July 2000, the election itself took place on 4 May 2000. |
Light Blue Friday: It’s Reform’s day in the spring sunshine, with dramatic gains in councils and mayoral races across England, and the narrowest of wins in the parliamentary by-election. While votes in some areas continue to be counted, we bring you the latest take on the results.
Runcorn scorn: As was widely predicted, Reform won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election overnight, although by the narrowest of margins. As a reminder – the seat is vacant following the resignation of Labour MP Mike Amesbury after he received a 10-week prison sentence for assaulting a constituent.
Cheshire grin: Just before 6am this morning, and after a full recount, Reform’s Sarah Pochin was declared the winner by just six votes over Labour’s Karen Shore.
Fact of the day: The six-vote margin of victory is the smallest by-election win ever, beating the result when the Liberals won the Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election in 1973 by 57 votes.
Lincolnshire Poacher: With five of the six mayoral contests declared, the running total is Labour three, Reform one and Conservatives one. Reform’s Andrea Jenkyns won a thumping majority in Greater Lincolnshire’s first ever mayoral election, with the former Tory MP pushing her old party into second place. Down the A1, ex-Peterborough MP Paul Bristow flipped the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough mayoralty from Labour to Conservative, with Reform pushing the reds into third place.
Red trio: Defying those predicting Labour defeats in key mayoral elections, the party clung on in three. In the Doncaster and North Tyneside contests, Ros Jones and Karen Clark held on by 698 and 444 votes respectively, with Reform coming second in both, as did Reform’s Arron Banks in the West of England election, where Labour’s Helen Godwin came out tops.
Une défaite électorale: Perhaps defeat is good news for Banks – after all, he’d dubbed it a “meaningless job” that he’d do from his French château.
We’ve always loved FPTP: The previous Government changed the voting system from second preference to first past the post, which may well have proven to be Labour’s saviour in Doncaster and North Tyneside. Mildly ironic, given Labour opposed the change…. might this mean Labour decide against changing it back again?
Divide and rule: Labour benefitted strongly from the splitting of the right vote: In Doncaster, Labour’s 33% of the vote is dwarfed by the 58% Reform and Conservative combined. Similarly in North Tyneside, where Reform and Tory together received 50% of the votes, way more than Labour’s 30%. Is it any wonder Reform are passionate supporters of electoral reform?
Whither FPTP? If we needed an illustration of how the first past the post system struggles in a five-party world, Labour’s Helen Godwin won in the West of England with just 25% of the vote.
Shire Woes: As the council election results continue to roll in, the Conservatives have (so far) lost control of Kent (where they were all but wiped out), Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire to Reform. The Tories have also lost Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Devon to no overall control. In short, if it has ‘shire’ in the name, the Tories look to have lost it.
Land of the Prince Bishops: In County Durham, Labour have lost 80% of their councillors with Reform gaining control of the council.
Quietly does it: Somewhat under the radar, with so much focus on Reform, Labour and Conservatives, the Lib Dems and Greens are also making gains and will be hopeful of more in the councils yet to declare.
Running total: As we press send on LDN, Reform has (so far) 522 councillors (up 522), Conservatives 214 (down 512), Lib Dems 272 (up 110), Labour 59 (down 132) and the Greens 59 (up 32).
Summing up: In a few words, how have the parties have performed? Here’s the LDN take: Reform (very good), Lib Dems and Green (encouraging), Labour (poorly) and Conservatives (very bad). |
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