• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

You are, as it were, 'King of the Castle.'

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

Certainly, I think Labour Members have great sympathy with the view about GOL and its inexorable growth and welcome the work of the scrutiny commission. I have one question which is about lessons out of the north-east referendum, which is I think touched by something you said earlier, and it is that, although that may be viewed as a defeat of the Government's agenda on devolution, it actually points to another very important area of work, which is working with the UK's other great cities, because I think there is still a very strong case that cities such as Manchester...

• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

That is not accurate, Mr Mayor. The Assembly is not a best-value authority and not subject to scrutiny by the Audit Commission.

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

I am just going to make this very, very brief point, and the Mayor was absolutely correct - when we arrived, within weeks we were faced with a Tory move which would have led us to, for four years, rowing about the cost of paper clips and arguing about all sorts of absurd things, and we took a decision to ring-fence the budget. What was so extraordinary then - and I must tell everybody here and remind everybody - is they then, having done that, went and took over £100,000 of that budget for themselves. In other words, they have...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

I am sorry, I never went along with any deal. That is inaccurate. You know I always opposed that deal.

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

Shall I bring us back to a common enemy in GOL and ask what you can do and we can do to persuade them to come and advocate their position publicly, so that we can scrutinise them? Secondly, what can we - and I put it deliberately as we - do to persuade the Government, now that we have lost the legislative platform of regional assemblies legislation for outside London, to increase the devolution powers to London's government?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

Leaving aside the interesting revelation that you do not read the answers that you send out in your name, and leaving aside the irony (which you may agree, perhaps, is an irony that UKIP Members of the Assembly having been elected to abolish this body, in their first act ring-fenced the staffing for your office and the Assembly's office, and made their first contribution by complaining at their lack of staffing levels, would you agree their commitment to slimming down London Government is a bit thinner than maybe even yours and mine is? Secondly, would you perhaps agree that it...

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

You mentioned GOL. Why have we got a GOL?

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

Yes, but at £100,000 worth of taxpayers' money. That is not what I had in mind.

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 17 November 2004

What about arbitration? Cannot you get somebody to arbitrate between both of you?