Greater London Authority Bill

In local government we have a strong leader in a Cabinet model, but the county council has the power to pass the budget. As leader of Essex County Council, I propose a budget that has to be scrutinised and passed by the full council. The leader and the Cabinet have no power to implement that—all 75 members of Essex County Council have to debate and pass the budget. That does not happen in London although there is a strong Mayor model. I will be interested to see what happens in the forthcoming local government Bill. Will I, as leader of Essex County Council, have the power of veto over the county council? We will talk about that when we debate that legislation. Let us have some more clarity; when we know where we are and how the Assembly can protect its budget, we can debate it properly. I am getting more and more confused about how the Assembly can function in London.