Diritto Pubblico Comparato ed Europeo

Sommario

1. Una devolution di responsabilità e non di poteri? – 2. Finanziare la modernizzazione della London Underground: a) la “parziale” privatizzazione. – 3. Segue. b) Il contenzioso dinanzi alla High Court. – 4. Segue. c) La soluzione della vexata quaestio. – 5. I trasporti, un settore cruciale. – 6. La nuova strategia urbanistica (cenni). – 7. Tirando le somme ...

Abstract

This article provides an outline of the novelties that have been recently introduced in London’s local government structure following the approval of the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It focuses the reader’s attention on the relationship and conflicting powers between the new directly elected authority of London (mainly the Mayoralty and connected bodies) and central government departments, particularly in public transport policy-making. The dispute on the modernisation of the London Underground, as defined by the High Court, and the planning of a complex congestioncharge scheme as recently presented by the London Mayor Ken Livingstone, underline a limited endorsement indeed of management powers to the new Mayoralty and are a substantive source of conflict in new intergovernmental relationships. The model for London is going to be implemented in other big English metropolitan areas as well: in 1997 it was one of the most important New Labour commitments, as we can read in the electoral manifesto “Britain Deserves Better”, and more recently (see the last general election manifesto of June 2001) it was connected with another very important question i.e. new regional government in England. On this issue, which can be defined as English devolution, the Government has decided to deal with this awkward issue by publishing a White Paper (May 2, 2002) that shall pave the way to forthcoming legislation and shall be the basic document for metropolitan local government reforms in the future.