The Court of Ken

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With just months to go before Londoners take to the polling stations to vote in the next Mayor of London, Dispatches investigates the current mayoral system and the way in which this office operates.

The investigation reveals how it enables one individual to wield a great deal of power with little accountability to the London Assembly, creating a position which can potentially be open to misuse.

As the current Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone holds a unique and powerful position in British politics. Commanding a budget of around £10 billion of taxpayers' money, he has the final say on the running of the capital's transport network, controls which parts of London are regenerated and chairs the city's development authority.

Martin Bright, Political Editor of the New Statesman, examines the lack of checks and balances on the mayor which allows him to create and instigate costly and controversial policies, at public expense without wider scrutiny or approval. He uncovers serious concerns about the role and influence of the mayor's special advisors and encounters a lack of transparency and flawed procedures at the heart of the London Development Agency, the public body which issues funds for regeneration.

Bright investigates how the enormous amount of public funds being expended on the mayor's marketing and advertising strategy - questioning the appropriateness and justifications for some of the spending. The film also reveals how the lack of accountability placed on the mayor allows him to push the boundaries of appropriate conduct whilst carrying out his professional duties.

Watch Ken Livingstone's 22 January 2008 press conference.

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