The Mayor provides a focus and a fulcrum for the governance of London. But implementation remains mainly with the boroughs and other service agencies, while finance - and ultimately legitimacy - rests with the government of the day. The problem for the Mayor is how to persuade others to take action to fulfil his policy mandate.
The Mayor is not the apex of a hierarchy of government, but rather the centre of a complex pattern of governance. The range of partnership organisations that grew up during the 14-year interregnum from 1986 to 2000, when London had no metropolitan governance, have mostly survived under the new regime. Some have taken on new names and new roles - most have prospered in this new era, says the research.
The use of ‘big tent’ politics may have happened whoever had been elected mayor, but it certainly “reflects the political style of the Mayor (Ken Livingstone),” says Professor Mark Kleinman, University of Bristol, “and is a mark of the need that the Mayor and these bodies have for each other.”
Livingstone, perhaps surprisingly in view of his radical political career, has forged close relationships with business groups. He has identified himself strongly with a pro-growth agenda for the capital – for example in his support for more tall buildings in London. The views of business are represented to him through the conduit of key special advisers. He also has close links with the City Corporation in the City of London, home to many of the big international financial institutions.
Not all sectors have been so successful as business in getting their needs over to the new regime. NGOs (non-governmental organisations), for instance, were found to have failed so far to organise effectively and are particularly weak in developing effective channels of communication.
The governance of London remains complex, with a range of bodies as well as the boroughs and the Mayor having important roles. In the wider region, the complexity increases, with for example three Regional Development Agencies in London and the South East. The new urban governance in London “remains a complex and fragmented system which requires working together between different public and private bodies in order to function”, says Professor Kleinman.
The research was conducted with the aid of a series of interviews with key institutional actors at the pan-London level or metropolitan region level, and with representatives from local and sub-regional organisations including elected members and senior officers from the police, education, business, community groups and the voluntary sector.