A Reform UK councillor’s bold bid to take his borough out of the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) remit has received mixed responses from local politicians but has been effectively ruled out by the Mayor of London.
Last month Alan Cook, who became the party’s first directly-elected London councillor after winning the Bromley Common and Holwood by-election, called for the outer London region to split from the GLA immediately afterwards.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the move would mean Bromley’s residents would no longer have to pay for the Mayor of London’s “pet and vanity projects”.
Earlier today (Friday, September 5) Sir Sadiq Khan’s office dismissed the notion and said he would continue to work “tirelessly” for every single one of the capital’s 32 boroughs.
A spokesperson said: “Sadiq has a strong record of protecting jobs and growth in Bromley, as well as delivering affordable housing and vital transport improvements.
“Thanks to the expansion of the London-wide ULEZ, Bromley has seen some of the biggest reductions in NOx emissions, with harmful emissions estimated to be around 15 per cent lower in 2024 than would be expected without the expansion to outer London.
“The Mayor will continue to work closely with all boroughs across London to improve the lives of communities and build a fairer, safer and greener London for everyone.”
A City Hall source added: “There is no existing process for a borough to leave the Greater London administrative area and a change in legislation would be required to enable this.”
But Mr Cook’s comments have sparked a wider debate over the status of Bromley and other regions in outer London whose administrations may like to leave the GLA as a way of opposing the Labour Mayor.
Some local politicians have expressed support for the idea, but others have said the benefits of being part of the GLA outweigh any concerns about how it serves Bromley.
This week the idea of splitting from the GLA was backed the Tory MP for the area, Peter Fortune, who launched a tirade in Parliament this week lamenting the current system.
During a debate on the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, Mr Fortune, formerly an Assembly Member for the borough, told MPs: “Nowhere in England enjoys more devolved powers than London. That is in part why it is the only area with a directly elected Assembly, devoted to scrutiny.
“However, as the Mayor of London’s responsibilities, powers and budget have grown, the Assembly has become weaker and weaker in comparison.
“Unlike other combined authorities, the Assembly cannot call in mayoral decisions and London’s 32 boroughs are excluded from decision making. That means the Mayor does not have to seek consensus, negotiate or even listen to opposing views. In a city the size of London, it effectively alienates and disenfranchises millions of people. That political fracture was made clear when Mayor Khan imposed the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion on outer London, despite overwhelming opposition.
“There is a glaring democratic and accountability deficit in London, which is why so many of my constituents—and, I know, the constituents of other Members—are now questioning the place of the London borough of Bromley in the Greater London Authority.
“They have never paid more to City Hall, yet people feel that they are ignored on every issue.
“My constituents in Bromley and Biggin Hill have had enough of being ignored by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. If the Government want to maintain the support of Londoners for devolution, the London Mayor must be made accountable.”
Cllr Colin Smith, the Conservative Leader of Bromley Council, told the LDRS that Mr Fortune was “100 per cent spot on” with his comments but acknowledged the difficulty of reforming the system.
He added: “They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I really had to smile when I read Cllr Cook’s recent comments.
“Bromley Conservatives have been mulling precisely the same question ever since the introduction of the London Mayor and the reformation of the GLA in the year 2000, but the simple truth of the matter remains that without a change in primary legislation in Parliament, it simply isn’t going to happen, certainly this side of a general election, as much as some of us might wish otherwise and every serious local politician knows that.
“My major gripe is that Bromley pays a disproportionately higher price for the upkeep of the capital and that we don’t get our fair share of resources in return.”
All 32 London boroughs are unitary authorities already, but the GLA can override them, or have the final say, on some issues.
The GLA is responsible for transport, major planning, police and crime, fire and rescue, and housing policy, so Bromley would need to take control of those functions for itself if it were legally able to split from the GLA.
Legislation would be required to override the Greater London Authority Act of 1999, which established the GLA and came after a referendum of Londoners who backed it.
Cllr Smith added: “Were any Government of the day to ever change the law, as unlikely as that pipe dream might be at present, I would personally support the question being put to Bromley residents in a referendum to decide upon for ourselves, given that things have clearly deteriorated seriously very since, and threaten worse, following the last nine years’ plus and counting calamitous rule of ‘our’ current Mayor.”
‘Huge benefits’ of being part of Greater London
Opinion remains split on the issue, however, even within the Conservative Party.
Critics suggested that even opponents of the Mayor of London’s policies would fare better if they tried to reform the GLA from within.
Thomas Turrell, a Conservative who represents Bexley and Bromley on the London Assembly, told the LDRS: “Outer London Boroughs like Bexley and Bromley are being failed by a Labour Mayor who doesn’t understand our part of London.
“But the failings of this Mayor do not outweigh the huge benefits we get from being part of Greater London. We benefit from jobs and investment, public transport like buses which is more frequent and cheaper than places like Kent, we get more police officers than if we were part of Kent and we have a much generous travel concessions because of being part of a multi-million transport authority.
“A bad Mayor doesn’t make it a bad system; I am both a proud Bromley resident and a proud South Londoner.”
Cllr Simon Jeal, Labour Group Leader at Bromley, added: “Given the ‘chaos and clickbait’ over in Kent with its new Reform-run council, I’m certainly not in favour of Bromley rejoining Kent County Council.
“We think a change of leadership within Bromley Council at next May’s council election would be the best option for Bromley residents.”
Cllr Sam Webber, the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Bromley Council, told the LDRS: “Politicians who propose removing Bromley from Greater London are living on a different planet and not being straightforward with residents.
“They need to explain how they would fund and administer the Freedom Pass scheme that thousands of disabled or elderly residents across our borough rely on every day to travel around. This is run by Transport for London and operated by London Councils.
“What about policing? Would we be served by the Met Police or Kent Police? This change would require primary legislation in Parliament and it is not supported by the Liberal Democrats.
“We have a much stronger ability to reform the Greater London Authority and the London Assembly if we remain part of it and fight for improvements and change from within.”
In 2017 Havering Council voted down a motion to leave the GLA – branded a potential ‘Hexit’ – by 29 votes to 10. Though if the motion had been successful it would only really have been a symbolic gesture, with the council having no power to actually make it happen.
But the debate was reignited in May when MP Andrew Rosindell said the East London borough should be allowed to rejoin Essex instead of staying with the GLA.
Mr Cook claimed his vision is backed by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. The party were contacted for comment.
By Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter for the Mayor of London and Greater London Authority, and Cameron Blackshaw, Local Democracy Reporter for Greenwich, Bromley and Bexley
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