The London Assembly met for Mayor's Question Time on Thursday 26 February 2026, with the primary focus of the meeting being the consideration and approval of the Mayor of London's Final Draft Consolidated Budget for 2026-27. Despite several budget amendments proposed by various groups, all were defeated, and the Mayor's original budget was ultimately approved.

Final Draft Consolidated Budget 2026-27

The main business of the meeting was the consideration of the Mayor of London's Final Draft Consolidated Budget for 2026-27. Assembly Members debated the budget proposals, and several formal budget amendments were put forward by different political groups.

The City Hall Conservative Group, led by Neil Garratt AM, proposed a budget amendment that included a freeze on the Mayoral precept, a £15 million Pothole Repair Fund, a £1.5 million London Exploitation Board, and an additional £22.5 million for the Metropolitan Police Service. This amendment was defeated, with 9 votes in favour and 13 against.

The Liberal Democrat Group, proposed by Hina Bokhari OBE AM and seconded by Gareth Roberts AM, put forward an amendment focused on creating a salaried Disability Equality Champion role. This amendment was also defeated, receiving 4 votes in favour, 9 against, and 9 abstentions.

The Reform UK Group put forward several amendments. One, titled Toilets for Bus Drivers, proposed scaling down investment in Safe and Healthy Streets to fund toilet facilities for bus drivers. This amendment was defeated with only 2 votes in favour and 20 against. Another amendment, Addressing Knife Crime in London, proposed an additional £46.3 million for the Metropolitan Police Service by reducing staffing costs at City Hall. This amendment was defeated with 9 votes in favour and 13 against. A further Reform UK amendment, Reopening Broadmead Bridge, sought to allocate £27 million from the Safe and Healthy Streets budget towards the repair of Broadmead Road Bridge. This amendment was also defeated with 9 votes in favour and 13 against. Finally, a Reform UK amendment titled Saving Police Front Desks in London was defeated with 9 votes in favour and 13 against.

The City Hall Green Group, proposed by Caroline Russell AM and seconded by Zoë Garbett AM, put forward a budget amendment that sought to reprioritise investment within MOPAC (Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime) to focus on youth services and victim support, and to fund a London Renters' Commission. This amendment was defeated with 4 votes in favour and 18 against.

A further budget amendment, presented on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group and the City Hall Conservative Group, was moved by Gareth Roberts AM and seconded by Emma Best AM. This amendment was also defeated, with 10 votes in favour and 11 against.

Following the defeat of all budget amendments, the substantive motion to approve the Mayor's Final Draft Consolidated Budget for 2026-27 without amendment was put to a vote. This motion was carried with 9 votes in favour and 8 against. It was noted that as no amendments had been agreed by the requisite majority, the Assembly was deemed by law to have approved the Final Draft Consolidated Budget without amendment.

Mayor's Report

The Assembly noted the Mayor's Report, which covered the period from 1 January to 12 February 2026.

Questions to the Mayor

It was noted that all questions submitted to this meeting under the Mayor's Question Time procedure would receive a written response on 3 March 2026.

Date of Next Meeting

The next scheduled meeting of the London Assembly was confirmed as the Plenary meeting on Thursday 5 March 2026.

Any Other Business

There were no items of urgent business raised.

The meeting concluded at 5:23 pm.