Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is calling for more control over taxes and public services to match the powers given to the mayors of New York and Chicago.
Mr Khan said that while his American counterparts control around half the funds raised by residents and businesses, him and the London boroughs combined only have control of 7%.
He also highlighted the fact the mayors of New York and Chicago administer a number of additional taxes such as stock transfers property, alcohol and tobacco.
He is calling on the Government to agree a new devolution deal for London to include new powers over national rail train services, tax raising powers, criminal justice and health services.
Mayor Kha, said: ‘London needs more control over the services that will help improve life in our city, such as housing, skills, air quality, health and crime. I’ve seen first-hand that Mayors in cities like New York, Chicago and Montreal are able to make huge improvements to the lives of the people they represent, because they have more control over services in their city.
‘London’s population is the same size as Wales and Scotland combined, but we have far less control over how our capital is run. London needs that control so that we can protect jobs and growth and make London a better city to live in for all Londoners.’
