A Deputy Mayor is a member of the London Mayoral cabinet, in the executive arm of the Greater London Authority. They serve as political advisors with responsibilities and powers corresponding to portfolios delegated by the Mayor. One of them must be designated as the Statutory Deputy Mayor, a member of the London Assembly who serves as the temporary Mayor during a vacancy or temporary incapacity of the Mayor.[1]
| Statutory Deputy Mayor of London | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of |
|
| Seat | City Hall, London |
| Appointer | Mayor of London |
| Constituting instrument | Greater London Authority Act 1999, s 2(1)(a) |
| Inaugural holder | Nicky Gavron |
| Website | www |
History
editColour key (for political parties): Labour Conservative Green Independent
Current or final office holders of a mayoralty are highlighted in bold.
Livingstone mayoralties
editThe 2000 London mayoral election was won by Ken Livingstone, who ran as an independent after being expelled from the Labour Party. He announced that he would rotate the position of deputy mayor equally between the four parties represented in the London Assembly (London Labour, London Conservatives, London Liberal Democrats and the London Green Party).[2] He offered the role to Nicky Gavron of the Labour Party for the first year. After some political manoeuvring, she accepted.[3]
However, in 2001, Ken Livingstone decided not to offer the role to the Conservatives, claiming it would be disruptive,[2] so Nicky Gavron retained the post. In 2002 the Liberal Democrats were asked to nominate a candidate but declined, saying that it would be better to scrutinise the mayor from an independent position.[2][4] Again Nicky Gavron remained. In 2003, the Greens accepted an offer to nominate a deputy mayor and selected Jenny Jones, who became London's second deputy mayor.[2]
Nicky Gavron was originally chosen as the Labour candidate for the 2004 London mayoral election but she stepped aside when Ken Livingstone was invited to rejoin the party. They then ran on a joint ticket as Labour's candidates for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor. She served as Ken Livingstone's deputy for the duration of his second term.
In his first term, Ken Livingstone came under fire for delegating his powers to his chief of staff, Simon Fletcher, rather than the deputy mayor on several occasions.[5]
| Portfolio | Deputy Mayor | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory Deputy Mayor | Nicky Gavron AM | 2000–2003 | |
| Jenny Jones AM | 2003–2004 | ||
| Nicky Gavron AM | 2004–2008 | ||
Johnson mayoralties
editAfter Boris Johnson became Mayor of London in May 2008, he appointed Richard Barnes[6] as his statutory Deputy Mayor, with the specific responsibility for community cohesion and regeneration. However, he also gave the title of Deputy Mayor to several other people, each with a specific role: Ian Clement (Government Relations); Kit Malthouse (Policing); and Ray Lewis (Young People).[7]
Sir Simon Milton, a former councillor, served as Deputy Mayor of Policy and Planning and Chief of Staff to Johnson until his death in office in 2011. In May 2011, Sir Edward Lister was then appointed as his successor. Richard Barnes ceased to be Deputy Mayor on 4 May 2012, when he lost his seat in the Assembly. Victoria Borwick succeeded him in the post.[8][9] Borwick resigned in May 2015, following her election as Member of Parliament for Kensington, being succeeded by Roger Evans.[10]
| Portfolio | Deputy Mayor | Term | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Johnson mayoralty | ||||
| Statutory Deputy Mayor Communities, Cohesion and Regeneration |
Richard Barnes AM | 2008–2012 | ||
| Policing | Kit Malthouse AM | 2008–2012 | ||
| Transport | Isabel Dedring | 2008–2012 | ||
| Policy and Planning | Simon Milton | 2008–2011 | ||
| Edward Lister | 2011–2012 | |||
| Young People | Ray Lewis | 2008 | ||
| Government and External Relations | Ian Clement | 2008–2009 | ||
| Second Johnson mayoralty | ||||
| Statutory Deputy Mayor | Victoria Borwick AM | 2012–2015 | ||
| Roger Evans AM | 2015–2016 | |||
| Business and Enterprise | Kit Malthouse AM | 2012–2015 | ||
| Housing, Land and Property | Richard Blakeway | 2012–2016 | ||
| Policing and Crime | Stephen Greenhalgh | 2012–2016 | ||
| Policy and Planning | Edward Lister | 2012–2016 | ||
| Education and Culture | Munira Mirza | 2012–2016 | ||
| Transport | Isabel Dedring | 2012–2016 | ||
Khan mayoralty
editThe 2016 London mayoral election was won by Sadiq Khan for London Labour.[11] Following the election, he appointed Joanne McCartney Statutory Deputy Mayor, along with nine additional deputy mayors, making Khan the first mayor to use all ten available Deputy Mayor spots.
| Portfolio | Deputy Mayor | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory Deputy Mayor Education and Childcare |
Joanne McCartney AM | 2016–present | |
| Policing and Crime | Sophie Linden | 2016–present | |
| Fire and Resilience | The Baroness Twycross AM | 2018–present | |
| Housing and Residential Development | James Murray | 2016–2019 | |
| Tom Copley AM | 2020–present | ||
| Planning, Regeneration and Skills | Jules Pipe | 2016–present | |
| Social Integration, Social Mobility, Community Engagement | Matthew Ryder | 2016–2018 | |
| Deborah Weekes-Bernard | 2018–present | ||
| Business | Rajesh Agrawal | 2016–present | |
| Culture and Creative Industries | Justine Simons | 2016–present | |
| Environment and Energy | Shirley Rodrigues | 2016–2024 | |
| Transport | Val Shawcross | 2016–2018 | |
| Heidi Alexander | 2018–2021 | ||
| Seb Dance | 2021–Present | ||
References
edit- ^ Greater London Authority Act 1999 sch 4 s 4(1)
- ^ a b c d Clark, Andrew (19 February 2003). "Greens select Livingstone's deputy". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
- ^ "Labour deputy joins Livingstone". BBC News. 16 May 2000. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
- ^ Featherstone, Lynne (16 May 2002). "All change for the Tories". lynnefeatherstone.org. Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
Other hot news – the Liberal Democrat group has turned down the Mayor's offer of the deputy mayor post. Our job is to keep an eye on him – and that is better done from an independent position. It would have been nice – but just not practicable.
- ^ "Mayor leaves London in hands of adviser". London Assembly. 13 June 2002. Archived from the original on 22 October 2003. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
- ^ "Richard Barnes, Deputy Mayor of London".
- ^ "Boris Johnson announces further senior appointments to his administration". Greater London Authority. 6 May 2008. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
- ^ "Victoria Borwick named new Deputy Mayor of London".
- ^ "Investment providing platform for economic growth". Archived from the original on 6 June 2012.
- ^ www.mayorwatch.co.uk
- ^ "Sadiq Khan: Global figures and media react to London mayoral victory". 7 May 2016.