Members of Parliament from all over the Commonwealth recently came together at London’s City Hall to discuss a variety of issues surrounding government. The MP’s gathered to talk about the devolution of power in London, which includes a wide variety of topics. The MP’s grilled the Assembly’s chairman on exactly what it takes to govern London including issues related to the budget, the upcoming Olympic Games, traffic, and the environment. The event was part of a two week programme of talks organized by the United Kingdom section of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The International Parliamentary Governance Seminar aims to promote the Commonwealth and its part in helping good governance by countries in the Commonwealth and around the rest of the world.
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, is the executive leader of the Greater London Authority, while his work is looked over by a twenty five member London Assembly which is directly elected. The goal of the assembly, which has no executive power, is to look over the actions of the Mayor and to scrutinize the various decisions he makes as well as the policies enacted by the branches which are under his control. This includes things like the police force, fire authority, as well as those in charge of traffic and environmental issues.
One of the most important issues discussed at the seminar was traffic management and how it relates to the environment. London currently charges congestion fees to commuters using the busiest roads. Transport also came into play when discussing environmental policies, as London has a woeful record for pollution and was recently ranked as one of Europe’s dirtiest cities.
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