Does the campaign for Mayor of London feel... small? This is not a dig at Sadiq Khan's height, but rather a comment on the limited powers granted to the winner. Yes, today's newsletter is on devolution, but if I'd put that in the subject line, you might not have clicked.
The Standard has an exclusive interview with Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate for mayor. In it, Hall makes a number of interventions and sets out major differences between herself and Khan, not least on the Ulez extension, crime and the pro-Palestinian protest set for Armistice Day.
I'm not suggesting that transport, public safety and war are small beer. But I think the campaign speaks to the way in which devolution to London has stalled, 25 years on from the referendum (72 per cent 'yes' on a soporific 31 per cent turnout) to establish the Greater London Authority.
London's mayor does enjoy substantial powers, over housing, planning, transport and policing. Meanwhile, it is difficult to imagine the congestion charge, Ulez or even 'Boris' bikes without an elected mayor. But there is something conspicuous by its absence: broad tax-raising powers.
The mayor can make changes to council tax. Indeed, back in January our City Hall Editor Ross Lydall reported that Khan was set to hike his share of council tax, sometimes called his 'precept', by nearly 10 per cent to £434, up from £276 when he came to power in 2016. Most of the recent increase went to help fund the Met Police and London Fire Brigade.
As luck would have it, Centre for Cities, a think tank, today published a report entitled In place of centralisation: Devolution for London, Greater Manchester, and the West Midlands, with fiscal devolution at its core.
It suggests that by granting city region authorities the ability to keep a proportion of income tax – much like in Scotland – and by delivering other tax-raising powers and reforms, London can enjoy greater autonomy from central government and be able to re-invest its own resources into the local economy and services.
The result? Centre for Cities says this would "encourage city-region economies to grow at a faster rate by the mid-2030s, leading to higher economic growth nationally."
Specifically, the report calls for a reduction in central government grants in exchange for greater autonomy over spending and full retention of business rates. This system, it argues, "enshrines the principle that city-regions keep more of the proceeds of local economic growth while neither city-regions nor Treasury risk losing out on revenues in [the] current tight fiscal environment."
The present arrangement leaves the mayor, and by extension Londoners, overly reliant on a good relationship with central government. Effectively, that means being of the same party. This is hardly the Platonic ideal when it comes to devolution and all too often reduces the mayoralty to at best a bully pulpit and at worst a talking shop.
In the comment pages, former Conservative Party chair Sayeeda Warsi accuses Suella Braverman of trying to ignite community tensions over Saturday's pro-Palestinian march. Homes & Property Editor Prudence Ivey urges sellers who refuse to budge on the price of their substandard home to get real. While Guy Pewsey warns not to expect modesty from Barbara Streisand's glorious doorstopper of a book.
And finally, where to feast like an American in London this Thanksgiving. Because you can't all come to my mom's house.
