Bosses say Mayor should run Tube

London's business community thinks Ken Livingstone should be given extra powers to sort out the future of the Tube.

Despite occupying the very citadel of British capitalism, 66 per cent of bosses questioned said they would prefer the big decisions about London Underground to be taken by a man who insists on keeping it fully in the public sector.

However, according to the latest Business Monitor for the Evening Standard and the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, most executives want this transfer of power to be a one-off.

They do not think the Mayor should have more say in the running of the Metropolitan Police or London's health service, or in how much tax Londoners should pay for their public services.

They are also sceptical about Mr Livingstone's performance at standing up for London by tackling the problems for the capital following September's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

We asked almost 300 executives from London companies employing just fewer than 200,000 people: "Given his limited powers, how do you think Ken Livingstone has performed as Mayor to support London's business since 11 September?"

Twenty-four per cent think he has done well, while 28 per cent think he has done badly. The remaining 48 per cent decline to take sides. Compared with New York's mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, Mr Livingstone has few powers to drive through big changes. So should the Government cede more authority to London's Mayor? We tested this in four areas, asking if the Mayor should have more power to: Decide future control of London's Underground. Yes: 66 per cent; no: 31 per cent; Decide how much tax Londoners pay for public services in the capital. Yes: 36 per cent; no: 60 per cent; Run London's police force. Yes: 34 per cent; no: 58 per cent; Run London's health service. Yes: 29 per cent; no: 66 per cent.

These figures suggest that support for the Mayor over the Underground is specific to that intractable issue, and possibly reflects disenchantment with the way the Government has handled it.

London Monitor is conducted by the market research agency IDA on behalf of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry in conjunction with the Evening Standard. The raw data has been weighted to reflect the number of workers employed by each company. More information may be obtained from Piers Merchant at the LCCI: 020 7203 1898.