Under Ken as GLC leader 1981-1986

Ken Livingstone was leader of the Greater London Council 1981-86.

 

One of the reasons for Ken’s election as Mayor in 2000 was that voters knew that under Ken the Greater London Council stood up for all Londoners. Margaret Thatcher abolished the GLC because the Tories feared they would not defeat Labour in democratic GLC elections.

 

Popularity

Throughout the campaign to save the GLC from abolition all the major polls showed Labour in London consistently 10-20 per cent ahead of its standing in the country as a whole.

  • By the time Thatcher abolished the GLC 74 per cent of Londoners opposed abolition

 

Transport

  • The GLC’s Fares Fair policy cut London transport fares by 32 per cent
  • The Freedom Pass was extended and established in broadly its current form, following the 1981 GLC Labour manifesto that promised to extend free travel to the Underground, extend the operating hours and abolish the afternoon cut-off
  • Lower fares led to a 70 per cent increase in passenger usage, a six per cent fall in cars entering London in peak hours and an 11 per cent increase in London Transport revenues, despite lower fares.
  • Even after the House of Lords banned the original policy, the GLC persisted and launched a new initiative that cut fares by 25 per cent.

 

Equality

The GLC’s pioneering equal opportunities policies set standards which have now become mainstream.

  • The proportion of ethnic minority staff employed by the GLC rose by a third; the number of black firefighters rose from six in 1981 to more than 100 by 1985; the number of black apprentices and trainees rose by 30 per cent during 1984-85;
  • The proportion of women employed by the GLC rose from 17 per cent in 1981 to 21 per cent in 1984-85;
  • The GLC Women’s Committee funded more than 12 per cent of all full-time childcare places for under-5s in London;
  • The GLC also broke boundaries on lesbian and gay rights and the recognition of the Irish as an ethnic minority;
  • Financial support for ethnic minority arts organisations rose from £10,000 in 1981 to £2.5million in 1985/86.

 

The Arts

  • The GLC saw increased expenditure on the arts and moved funding away from subsidising ‘high’ culture alone, towards a more popular approach, including successful community and free festivals.

The secret of the GLC’s success was that it both met the needs of all Londoners on issues like transport, and stood up to bigotry.