Summary

The sixth annual London Councils summit took place at the QEII centre on 2 June 2007.

The focus of the event was Shaping London’s future - a  topic that provoked an energetic debate among the hundreds of delegates from across the capital’s boroughs drawn to central London on one of the sunniest Saturdays of the year.

The morning session

The morning session kicked-off with a unique insider’s perspective on the media and national politics from Steve Richards, chief political commentator for The Independent newspaper.

In an address enlivened with uncanny impersonations of both Gordon Brown and Tony Blair Mr Richards cautioned London’s councillors that, despite noises to the contrary, central government remained ambivalent about devolving power to local councils.

While councils could expect to be given more responsibility, the levers of power and lines of accountability would continue to lead directly to central government, he warned.

Mr Richards did have some good news for the capital, however, with his confident prediction of an early announcement on Crossrail funding once Gordon Brown formally takes over the reins as Prime Minister.