How closely does Boris pay attention to the various bits of paper he’s asked to sign and how well does he know the legislation under which he governs London?
Both valid questions after he signed a Mayoral Decision claiming that Assembly Members were “appointed” and were subject to terms and conditions of employment.
The document states: “Under section 24 of the GLA Act the Mayor and Assembly must jointly agree the terms and conditions on which the Assembly Members are appointed.”
Those of you who’ve read section 24 of the GLA Act know it makes no mention of agreeing terms and conditions for Assembly Members, merely requires the Greater London Authority to pay them and the Mayor a salary and expenses.
As you might expect, the suggestion of them being appointed has raised eyebrows among Assembly types keen to forge themselves an identity separate to the Mayor’s.
And the claim that they labour under a set of employment terms agreed by Boris provoked a slightly stronger and emotive response that a strict editorial policy dictates cannot be repeated here.
If Boris was up to speed on the GLA Act he might have questioned whether he really did appoint AMs, and if so ponder why he didn’t appoint himself a Tory majority on the Assembly.
Unless of course he is up to speed, but was merely skimming the document placed before him?
Still, we can at least rest assured that Policing Deputy Stephen Greenhalgh not only reads but questions the papers he’s asked to sign.
In July he scrawled: “Can I understand level of debt?’ at the bottom of one, a question presumably indicating he wanted to know more, and not, as some unkind souls suggested, that he was questioning his own comprehension of the sums involved.
