Greater London Authority Bill

The noble Lord, Lord Harris, is correct in so far as we probably ought to change the whole system, but we are where we are with the GLA. This is a new Bill, with certain provisions that we are entitled to look at, and that undoubtedly includes the budget. I had barely joined this House when the first GLA Bill was introduced, but I recall that there was an expectation that the Mayor’s precept would be remarkably low. Many spoke about whether he would be able to raise sufficient money from his budget at the level considered. The Bill went through on that basis. By extraordinary chance, the Mayor has managed to double—double—his precept since he came into power. Neither the Assembly nor the London electorate has been unable to stop him doing that. There is no doubt that he has found ways of ensuring that he can get from the London taxpayer a great deal more money than was ever envisaged. There has to be some check on what the Mayor can do. Everybody foresaw such problems from the outset. The scrutiny role of the Assembly should include a holding power, particularly in relation to the budget and precept, and some way of tugging the Mayor back; otherwise, nothing will stop the precept from increasing, and it cannot keep going up at the current rate.