Left-wingers in London will be surprised to hear shenanigans in City Hall have seen the Green Party and LibDems team up with the Conservatives in a battle to reduce Labour’s power. The usual process of deciding committee chairs after the London elections saw Labour demand a disproportionate number – despite winning just 11 out of 25 seats. In response the Greens, LibDems, and Tories ganged up to prevent City Hall’s committees being governed in a way that allowed Sadiq to get off the hook easily. When some socialists talked about a coalition of centre-left parties to game the system, this presumably wasn’t what they meant…

In response, Labour’s group leader Len Duvall has blasted the Greens and LibDems for “getting into bed with the Tories” and “betraying their progressive values”. Labour has now thrown a hissy fit, refusing to take any committee chairmanships, with GLA Tory leader telling Guido:

“It’s disappointing that Labour Members on the London Assembly have abdicated their responsibility to hold the Mayor to account. Instead of agreeing to a fair deal on the Assembly’s committees, ensuring all Londoners’ views are represented, they’ve refused to chair a single one. It’s only been a week since the election, but they’ve already let Londoners down.”

So much for that progressive alliance…