Newly-elected London mayor Boris Johnson has pledged to work closely with local authorities to improve life for people in the capital. Speaking at his first visit to London Councils leadership committee on Tuesday, Mr Johnson pledged to ‘put aside the pointless jealously of powers' and ‘threats to use mayoral perogatives', and instead work closely with the councils ‘for the interests of the people of London'. He also called for regular public meetings between council leaders and their borough police commanders so local people could voice any concerns about anti-social behaviour. Mr Johnson said he would not be ‘doctrinaire' about housing quotas and was prepared to be flexible with the councils. The mayor has signed a charter with London Councils to work more closely together. The charter was signed this week by Mr Johnson and London Councils chairman Merrick Cockell at the London Councils leaders committee. The leaders of all of London's 33 councils and the mayor will now meet twice a year for a congress as part of the agreement. A delivery board will also be created to bring together the leaders of all of the capital's public services, including local authorities, the police and the NHS. ‘Our vision is to work together to develop solutions to the big challenges facing the capital,' said Cllr Cockell. ‘We are excited at taking this first step, and look forward to working with the mayor to deliver on the city's ambition.' Mr Johnson said: ‘Over the next few months we will build on this and deliver a city charter for London which will look at a wide range of important policy areas that can make a real difference to governance in the capital.'
