Greater London Authority Bill

The amendments seem to constitute a major rewording of a whole chunk of the Bill. I gather from the briefing I have had from the Mayor’s Office that he supports the Bill as it stands, which gives the Assembly greater powers of scrutiny. However, parts of the amendments undermine to some degree the powers that the Mayor already has; we have had some discussion about that in the context of my noble friend Lord Harris’s contribution. There is a move here to transform the Assembly into a Greater London Council, which it is not. It is not the GLC but an Assembly with scrutiny powers. I can see no real reason for departing from the wording in the Bill. I would be grateful to know if the Minister can see any reason; I can see none except an attempt to undermine to some degree the powers that the Mayor already has. Although we may have different views of what the government of London ought to be, we are all agreed that we are where we are. We have a Mayor with substantial powers, and everybody seems to agree with that. Therefore, there is no reason to support the amendments.