The new voice of the capital’s councils tells City Hall Editor why ministers must now let London have more freedom

HE Government must “grip tight” to more devolution if it wants to limit the damage of Brexit to the British economy, the new London Councils chief said today.

Claire Kober, who took over as chair of the body last month, said handing over more powers to London was going to become an “economic necessity”.

She argued that mini sters had a responsibility to help the capital thrive as it effectively supported the rest of the country financially.

“At a time when central government is understandably going to be very consumed by Brexit and what happens next, there’s a really compelling pitch for public services and fiscal devolution in the capital,” she said.

The Haringey council leader, now the official voice of the capital’s town halls, said the boroughs had to convince the Government they could deliver.

“We understand our city, I think we have a much better idea of how we do that than someone working in a back office in Whitehall. If you devolve these powers, we can actually do it.”

The Labour council leader, who took over from Jules Pipe — now City Hall’s deputy mayor for planning, said Brexit could not just be about “managing decline”. In an interview with the Standard, she said: “The country has spoken, you’re looking to capitalise on the opportunities. There are going to be challenges along the way.”

Although London voted overwhelmingly to Remain, five boroughs and 1.2 million Londoners chose to leave the European Union. “There are people who think this is a city that doesn’t have anything for them, it doesn’t hold any possibility for their future,” she said.

“Unless we can ensure that London continues to promote a socially successful as well as economically successful city then we will have failed.”

Tackling the housing crisis would be key to delivering that success, she said, while councils across the capital had to show “bold” leadership. She backed Sadiq Khan’s aim to build 50,000 homes a year — even amid fears Brexit will slow house-building.

“It’s right to set the ambition and then do everything you can to move towards that,” she said. “The boroughs are absolutely serious about playing their part in creating that pipeline.”

Ms Kober also described the Mayor’s ambition of 50 per cent of all new homes being affordable as “totemic”. She said: “If you say our target is only 30 per cent why would any developer ever come along and say well we can deliver 35? Having a target that sets your intent is really important.”

She added that boroughs would have to consider difficult solutions. “London needs to be building in greater density than it has done for a generation. This is controversial but it means making the case for a changing skyline. If we believe our city is going to be affordable then we absolutely have to recognise there have to be trade-offs.”

Several London councils, notably Bromley, have faced criticism over their failure to deliver their share of affordable homes. Ms Kober said: “We’ve got to recognise that London as a city doesn’t stand still. Anyone who exhibits borough leadership by saying this is what this place is like, because it was like this 30 years ago, just doesn’t quite get it.”

Ms Kober supported Tessa Jowell in the Labour nomination to be Mayor, and there have been rumours that is why Mr Khan did not give her a big job at City Hall. “For me it was very much about the opportunities that might be presented by having a woman Mayor of London,” she said. “But from the point Sadiq won the nomination he worked really close with us.”

She also plays down suggestions that she could be a future Labour mayor, pointing out that no council leader has gone on to be nominated. “You can’t plan politics in that way. We’re all ambitious people because we want to effect change for the people that put us there. It’s dishonest to say, ‘No never in a million years’, because everyone is ambitious, but is there a blueprint, is there a secret plan?” She shakes her head.

She agrees that having a female PM — even one of a rival political party — has its benefits. “The idea there isn’t a glass ceiling there any more is completely fanciful, so having women role models, whether in business, politics, media or culture, is just hugely important.”

Ms Kober took over Haringey council eight years ago in the wake of the Baby P scandal — when by her own admission the borough was a byword for public service failure. She admits its transformation has been a long-term process, marred by incidents such as the London riots. “This is not something you can simply spend six months on and all of a sudden everything is right.”

But she is confident that her team is improving services and building confidence in the borough.

“I’m massively proud that our borough, that is too often known for the wrong reasons, is the one that trips off people’s tongues when they say where are the regeneration opportunities in the next decade.”