King promises ‘end of cronyism’

Oona King brought her campaign to become London’s next Mayor to City Hall this morning when she sat in on Mayor’s Question Time – her first such visit since Boris Johnson’s election in 2008 – and spoke to journalists about her plans to “end cronyism” at City Hall.

Ms King said London’s government was perceived to be tainted by cronyism, a state of affairs she blamed on Mayor Johnson and former Mayor Ken Livingstone who is also hoping to secure Labour’s 2012 nomination.

The former MP said if elected she would want to see an independent commissions body to scrutinise all Mayoral appointees. She also spoke in favour of a two-term limit for Mayors and suggested her own party had been wrong to oppose a LibDem/Tory amendment to the 2007 Greater London Authority Act.

That amendment led to Livingstone claiming his political opponents were trying to legislate him out of office rather than take him on at the ballot box.

She also committed herself to hooding regular press conferences if elected as Mayor, reversing Boris Johnson’s decision to scrap the weekly event.

The Labour Party will announce their candidate to take on Boris Johnson in September.