London Assembly | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 3 July 2000 |
| Leadership | |
Deputy Chair | |
Group leaders | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 25 |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Committees | List
|
| Elections | |
| Additional-member system (Mixed-member proportional representation) | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 4 May 2028 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| City Hall,Newham,London | |
| Website | |
| london.gov.uk | |
TheLondon Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of theGreater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of themayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the mayor's annual budget and to reject the mayor's draft statutory strategies.[2] The London Assembly was established in 2000. It is also able to investigate other issues of importance to Londoners, publish its findings and recommendations, and make proposals to the mayor.
The Assembly comprises 25 members elected using theadditional-member system ormixed-member proportional representation system. A majority in the chamber (usually 13) is needed to pass measures. Elections take place every four years, at the same time as those for themayor of London. London is divided into 14 geographical constituencies, each electing one member. Each voter casts two votes - one for election of the local member; the other as a party vote. A further 11 members are elected from party lists in such as way as to give each substantial party a share of seats that approximates the party's share of the party votes cast across the whole of London. The 11 seats are allocated using a modifiedD'Hondt allocation.[3] A party must win at least 5% of the party list vote in order to win any seats. Members of the London Assembly have thepost-nominal title "AM". The annual salary for a London Assembly member is approximately £60,416.[4]
Since its creation in 2000, sixteen Assembly members subsequently were elected to theHouse of Commons:David Lammy,Meg Hillier,Diana Johnson, andFlorence Eshalomi for Labour;Andrew Pelling,Bob Neill,Angie Bray,Bob Blackman,Eric Ollerenshaw,Victoria Borwick,James Cleverly,Kit Malthouse,Kemi Badenoch, andGareth Bacon Peter Fortune, for the Conservatives;Lynne Featherstone for the Liberal Democrats andSiân Berry for the Green Party.
One Assembly member,Jenny Jones, was elevated to theHouse of Lords as the Green Party's firstlife peer in 2013, continuing to sit in the Assembly until May 2016.Sally Hamwee,Graham Tope, andToby Harris were already peers when elected to the assembly, whileLynne Featherstone andDee Doocey were created life peers after standing down from the Assembly.
Val Shawcross, AM forLambeth and Southwark, unsuccessfully contestedBermondsey and Old Southwark as the Labour parliamentary candidate at the 2010 general election, andNavin Shah stood unsuccessfully as the Labour candidate forHarrow East in 2017.Andrew Dismore,Graham Tope, and the lateRichard Tracey are all formerMPs later elected to the assembly.John Biggs, formerly AM forCity and East, served as the directly electedmayor of Tower Hamlets from 2015 until 2022.
London Assembly elections have been held under theadditional member system, with a set number of constituencies elected on a first-past-the-post system and a set number London-wide on a closed party list system. Terms are for four years, so despite the delayed 2020 election, which was held in 2021, the following election was held in 2024.
In December 2016, an Electoral Reform Bill was introduced which would have changed the election system tofirst-past-the-post.[5] At the2017 general election, theConservative Party manifesto proposed changing how the Assembly is elected to first-past-the-post.[6]
However, since the general election of 2017, which resulted in a hung Parliament with the Conservatives and theDemocratic Unionist Party in aconfidence and supply arrangement, no action has been taken with regard to the electoral arrangements of the London Assembly, and the 2020 election, delayed to 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, was held on the current electoral system of AMS (constituencies and regional lists).
| Political party | Assembly members | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2021 | 2024 | |||
| Labour | 9 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 / 25 | |
| Conservative | 9 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 / 25 | |
| Green | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 / 25 | |
| Liberal Democrat | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 / 25 | |
| Reform UK | 0 | 2 | 2 / 25 | ||||||
| UKIP | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
On 12 December 2018, followingPeter Whittle's departure from UKIP, he andDavid Kurten disbanded the UKIP grouping and formed theBrexit Alliance group.
In March 2019, following the departure ofTom Copley andFiona Twycross to take up full-time Deputy Mayor roles,Murad Qureshi andAlison Moore replaced them asLabour Assembly members. The end of the term in office for AMs was extended from May 2020 to May 2021, as no elections were being held during theCOVID-19 pandemic.
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevor Phillips | May 2000 | May 2001 | Labour | |
| Sally Hamwee | May 2001 | May 2002 | Liberal Democrats | |
| Trevor Phillips | May 2002 | February 2003 | Labour | |
| Sally Hamwee | February 2003 | May 2004 | Liberal Democrats | |
| Brian Coleman | May 2004 | May 2005 | Conservative | |
| Sally Hamwee | May 2005 | May 2006 | Liberal Democrats | |
| Brian Coleman | May 2006 | May 2007 | Conservative | |
| Sally Hamwee | May 2007 | May 2008 | Liberal Democrats | |
| Jennette Arnold | May 2008 | May 2009 | Labour | |
| Darren Johnson | May 2009 | May 2010 | Green | |
| Dee Doocey | May 2010 | May 2011 | Liberal Democrats | |
| Jennette Arnold | May 2011 | May 2013 | Labour | |
| Darren Johnson | May 2013 | May 2014 | Green | |
| Roger Evans | May 2014 | May 2015 | Conservative | |
| Jennette Arnold | May 2015 | May 2016 | Labour | |
| Tony Arbour | May 2016 | May 2017 | Conservative | |
| Jennette Arnold | May 2017 | May 2018 | Labour | |
| Tony Arbour | May 2018 | May 2019 | Conservative | |
| Jennette Arnold | May 2019 | May 2020 | Labour | |
| Navin Shah | May 2020 | May 2021 | Labour | |
| Andrew Boff | May 2021 | May 2022 | Conservative | |
| Onkar Sahota | May 2022 | May 2023 | Labour | |
| Andrew Boff | May 2023 | May 2025 | Conservative | |
| Len Duvall | May 2025 | Incumbent | Labour | |
The Assembly has formed the following committees:[1]
The Police and Crime Committee was set up under the terms of thePolice Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 in order to scrutinise the work ofMayor's Office for Policing and Crime, which replaced theMetropolitan Police Authority.[7]
These maps only show constituency results and not list results.
The London Assembly also operates a London Youth Assembly (LYA), which is made up of young people from across London. Each London borough elects or selects a representative and deputy representative to serve on the assembly.[8][9] The procedure for choosing a representative is different in each borough, with some boroughs electing representatives while other representatives are selected by their localyouth forum or council.[10] Representatives are aged 11 to 19, or 11 to 25 if they have a disability or special needs.[9][8] A representative may be known as a London Youth Assembly Member (LYAM) and a deputy representative may be known as a Deputy London Youth Assembly Member (DLYAM).[9]
Ashan Khehra served as Chair of the London Youth Assembly (LYA) between 2024-25.He was elected unanimously in April 2024. He previously served as the LYA Member for Hounslow. Khehra has oversaw efforts to re-establish the Assembly following a period of inactivity. During his tenure, the LYA introduced several new initiatives, including the London Youth Achievement Awards, developed in partnership with the London Assembly to mark its 25th anniversary. He also implemented a shadow cabinet within the Assembly, intended to provide a structured way for young people to engage with and contribute to discussions on city-level policy.The current Chair is Hugo Maxwell who is the LYAM for Bromley.
