MAYORS VIEW TO SCRAP ASSEMBLY SMACKS OF PURE SELF INTEREST

6.07.34pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 11th Oct 2005

Responding to the comments made by Ken Livingstone, at the Association of London Government, that the London Assembly should be scrapped and replaced with the Borough leaders, Leader of the London Assembly Liberal Democrat group, Graham Tope - a Borough leader himself for 13 years, said:-

"The Mayors proposals are short term, self interested and would not benefit Londoners.

"It is pretty unsurprising that the Mayor would call for the Assembly to be scrapped as the opposition parties have been a constant thorn it his side in holding him to account for some of his more ridiculous proposals.

"Replacing the Assembly with the Boroughs would allow the Mayor simply to divide and rule. The job of each Borough leader is to fight for what was best for their own patch, but that does not necessarily mean what is best for the capital as a whole.

"The beauty of the London Assembly is that it is able to look at what is right for the whole of the capital and not on a borough by borough basis."

ENDS

Notes to editor

Below is what Ken Livingstone has said in the past about the ALG

"I also find that in my private meetings and my staff's private meetings with individual borough leaders and chief executives, there is a pretty overwhelming contempt for the ALG that they feel doesn't represent them."

Ken Livingstone

21st Feb 2002