The Mayor of London is a powerful position that is elected every four years. Sadiq Khan is the current mayor, and he is responsible for making London a better place for everyone who visits, lives, or works in the city. The Mayor of London is the executive director of the Greater London Authority (GLA), which was created in 2000 following the 1998 Greater London decentralization referendum. As an international ambassador for the UK's financial and professional services sector, the mayor also heads the City of London Corporation, the governing body for the Square Mile.
The GLA has general competitive power to promote economic, social, and environmental improvements in London. Londoners pay a city tax — collected by the London Boroughs and the London City Corporation — that helps finance the services provided by the GLA and its functional organs. The mayor establishes London's planning guidelines through the London plan and has the final say on major developments, with the power to review planning decisions made by districts. Ken Livingstone was one of the most influential mayors of London.
He oversaw the introduction of the Oyster electronic ticketing system for Transport for London services, as well as initiatives such as the congestion rate in London for private vehicles driving through central London from Monday to Friday, and the creation of the London Climate Change Agency, the London Energy Alliance, and the International Big City Climate Leadership Group (now known as C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group). Turnout in the London elections has tended to increase over time, from a low of 34% recorded in 2000. In just over two weeks, Londoners will go to the polls and will have to decide whether to vote for one of many parties or play it safe with George Galloway's “Rect”. The Mayor of London is responsible for ensuring that everyone who visits, lives or works in this great city has a great experience.
He sets policies to improve life in London and provides leadership across the city. The mayor is examined by the London Assembly and, with his Mayor's Office, he runs all of London.
