Standards Board and Government Office for London to be scrapped

As promised the Government Office for London is to be abolished. Admin costs alone are £16 million a year but there is also the £168 million on wasteful "programme expenditure." The Government will also "consider the case for abolishing the remaining Government offices." The case seems pretty strong to me.

Conservative London Assembly leader Roger Evans would also like the London Select Committee abolished and Ministers give evidence to the London Assembly instead.

The Standards Board is to go. Good riddance. It costs £8 million a year. But it is also an affront to local democracy. Of course councillors have to obey the law. Of course each Council with have its own constitution and the rules will have to be followed. But the real sanction is voting dud councillors out of office. Nor should good councillors have to go through the ordeal of groundless complaints by trouble makers wanting to settle a score.

The Board's Code of Conduct has got endless subjective stuff in it. You "should not behave improperly". Who decides what constitutes behaving improperly? Shouldn't it be the voters? You "should respect the
impartiality and integrity of the authority’s statutory officers and its other employees." What if there is a clear situation where such respect is not merited? "Individuals should not be subject to unreasonable or excessive personal attack." Who decides what is "unreasonable." "You must not bring your office or authority into disrepute while acting in your official capacity." Again, who decides? Over and over again we seem to have unelected cabal getting in the way of an elected councillor and his accountability to his electorate.