Clause 7
Greater London Authority Bill
12:15 pm
Yvette Cooper (Minister of State (Housing and Planning), Department for Communities and Local Government; Pontefract and Castleford, Labour)
There are accounts of discussions between the Mayor and the assembly having involved decisions about staffing. The Bill aims to ensure that there are sensible constitutional arrangements for the GLA, and to do so in a way that anticipates potential tensions rather than simply responding to existing arrangements. The hon. Member for Surrey Heath is very concerned to ensure that we anticipate the decision making of future Mayors and assemblies. Given his fear that future Mayors might not be as responsible as the current one, I would say to him that the way to ensure that that is not the case is to join us in backing the current Mayor for a further term of office, rather than engaging, in the style of “The X Factor”, in a search for an alternative, who would, I am sure, be far more irresponsible in the execution of all his powers.
This is simply about trying to ensure that the GLA’s staffing arrangements are sensible.
Michael Gove rose—