It’s fair to say that the London Assembly doesn’t get a great deal of attention – despite having a strong claim to being the hub of devolved politics in England. So for European Local Democracy Week we thought we’d shine a spotlight on it.
We’ve published four articles on London democracy from key commentators – please read, share, and let us know your thoughts in the comments:
1. For the first article in the ‘Building a Better London Democracy’ series, ERS Policy and Public Affairs Officer Charley Jarrett argues that switching to the Single Transferable Vote for Assembly elections would be better for voters and politics generally
2. We heard from the Executive Director of FairVote US, Rob Richie, discussing what lessons US cities can learn from London in democratising voting in the US
3. On Thursday Professor Nirmala Rao from SOAS university argued it’s time to rebalance the powers of the London Mayor and Assembly, looking at serious reform of the relationship between the two
4. Finally, Martin Hoscik, founder and editor of MayorWatch, today outlines the changes we need strengthen the clout of the Assembly in holding the Mayor to account – from opening up the Mayor’s office to being able to directly ask questions
How do you want your Assembly to look? Is it time for reform to bolster the powers of AMs to challenge the Mayor?
Let us know what you think!