Member Article

Khan reconvenes London Finance Commission to outline devolution demands

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced that he is to reconvene the London Finance Commission, the group which set out devolution measures for the capital in 2013, as he pushes Westminster for more power devolved powers for the city.

Arguing that the political and economic landscape has changed immeasurably since the last report as a result of the EU referendum, Khan has commissioned Professor Tony Travers from the London School of Economics to reconvene the commission to hatch a new series of demands to take to ministers.

Consisting of a cross-section of the capital’s political and business leaders, the group will be tasked with coming up with more wide-ranging and extensive devolution demands as the Mayor looks to secure London’s position as a global economic hub once the UK parts company with the EU.

High up on the agenda is the issue of taxation devolution, with property tax revenue streams, such as council tax, stamp duty land tax and business rates, a particular focus.

The Mayor has expressed that ‘nothing should be ruled out’ and has already held positive discussions with the new Chancellor Philip Hammond about the need for more devolved powers for the city.

Khan commented: “London needs a stronger voice so that we can protect jobs and growth from the economic uncertainty ahead.

“It is vital that we have greater control over how the capital is run – so we have more control over the things we need to improve our city such as skills training, housing, business rates and the tools to tackle air quality, health and crime.

“London’s population is the same size of Wales and Scotland combined, but we have far less control over how the capital is run.

“We have strong support from cities in every region of Britain, from leading business and civil society groups as well as from every level of London government.”

The London Finance Commission was previously convened under Boris Johnson’s tenure, and outlined a range of recommendations that would allow Londoners to have greater control of where taxes are spent in the capital.

Following today’s announcement, Tony Travers said that, considering the current climate, Londoners require a more ‘agile’ city government that has the power to channel taxation in a way that more effectively promotes economic growth.

He added: “London would not take more of the nation’s resources, but use the existing tax and spending better. The Mayor and the boroughs know better than Whitehall how to run responsive and effective public services.

“Devolution would be good for London and would take pressure off the UK government at a time when it needs all its capacity to make Brexit work as well as possible”.

Devolved powers have been catapulted to the top of the new Mayor’s agenda following last month’s referendum as he looks to shield London’s major industries, including financial services and tech, from the economic fall out of Brexit.

Khan concluded: “I look forward to the new recommendations of the London Finance Commission. Nothing should be ruled out and I expect Government to give us the tools to ensure London continues to prosper for decades to come.”

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