Gareth Thomas: Give London ‘city state’ powers, says Labour MP as he joins mayoral race

 
New contender: Gareth Thomas, MP for Harrow West, said capital should get more devolved powers
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A London Labour MP threw his hat in the ring for the mayoral contest today with a call for the capital to become a “city state” with greater devolution of powers.

Gareth Thomas, MP for Harrow West and a former minister, said City Hall — and Londoners themselves — should have more control over the services they depend on.

He said it was right the capital contributed financially to the rest of the country, but that Londoners should get their fair share. Mr Thomas accused Mayor Boris Johnson of “largely ignoring” the poorest parts of the capital, which include some of the most deprived wards in the country.

He said: “There’s been a lot of talk about devolution of power from London to other parts of the country and that’s right and proper, but I’m keen to push more devolution of power to London and, crucially, to Londoners.We’re at a point now where the UK is no longer just a union of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, but actually a union with the city state of London. That needs to be recognised.

“We’re the centre of British wealth-creation and that’s rightly redistributed across the UK. But I do think Londoners deserve more in return. They deserve a better quality of life.”

He joins a crowded field in the Labour mayoral contest, including former minister Tessa Jowell, MPs Sadiq Khan, David Lammy and Diane Abbott, and transport journalist Christian Wolmar.

Mr Thomas, a former shadow London minister, said the capital should have control over its own minimum wage, which could be brought up to the £9.15 Living Wage.

The MP, chairman of the Co-operative party, suggested that commuters could be given more power to hold Transport for London management to account, possibly through greater representation on the board.

He called for a big expansion of credit unions so that Londoners could have more control over their own financial services.

They could also be involved in decisions on whether rent controls were brought in, on school standards, access to health provision and police budgets.

“Londoners should have more control and more of a say over the services they depend on,” he said.

Mr Thomas also said that wealth should be redistributed within the capital. “I want to make sure that Londoners get their fair share of their city’s success. At the moment many don’t,” he said.

“We have some of the poorest wards in the UK and that issue has been largely ignored by Boris.”

He added that letting London keep a share of its own stamp duty, as well as giving it powers to boost enterprise, would mean City Hall had the funds to “sort out” the issues Londoners face.

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