London Assembly 'should be scrapped'

A thinktank today called for the "ineffective" London Assembly to be scrapped.

The New Local Government Network said the body had "little impact" and should be abandoned to save £6.6 million a year.

The 25-member Assembly - which pays its members £50,000 a year - costs £8.7m annually and is supposed to hold Mayor Ken Livingstone to account.

But it can only make recommendations and has no power to block his decisions.

In a pamphlet published today, the NLGN said the job does not require 25 full-time elected politicians whose reports and investigations have "little impact" on the way London is run.

Under the thinktank's proposals, a new 32-member London Leaders' Council would be created and given power to approve or amend the Mayor's budget.

The LLC would also have scrutiny over the London Development Agency, Metropolitan Police and Transport for London.

The report's author James Hulme said: "Members of the London Assembly are, by and large, hard-working and committed. The crux of the problem is that, put simply, members don't have enough to do to justify full-time engagement and as a result they may be spending time compiling superfluous investigations and reports that generally have little impact on the work of the London Mayor or help to inform its wider politics.

"Through day-to-day interaction with their local communities, borough leaders would be best placed to offer first-hand guidance on the views and aspirations of ordinary Londoners."