Nicky Gavron - Former Deputy Mayor of London
Nicky Gavron has been at the forefront of developing land-use, transport and environmental policies for London for over two decades.
She was elected as a Labour councillor in 1986 and as a London Assembly member from 2000 onwards. Throughout the 90s, she was the leader of the London Planning Advisory Committee (LPAC) where she commissioned research and formulated policies for the development of a sustainable London, including the initial strategy on congestion charging. She was heavily involved in shaping what was to become the new strategic authority for London.
With its establishment in 2000, Nicky became the first statutory Deputy Mayor of London. In this role, she worked closely with Mayor Ken Livingstone to set up the GLA's working processes and policy framework. In particular, she led on shaping the London Plan - the first long-term strategic plan for London (and its subsequent review). In her first term she also established the GLA Children and Young People's Unit and the Hydrogen Partnership.
Re-appointed as Deputy Mayor from 2004 until May 2008, she became responsible for leading London's response to climate change, introducing a set of groundbreaking policies and strategies to reduce C02 emissions covering waste, water, energy and transport. These are brought together in the revised London Plan and the Climate Change Action Plan. Initiatives include the establishment of the London Climate Change Agency, the Better Buildings Partnership and the C40 Large Cities Leadership Group - forty of the world's largest cities collaborating to cut carbon emissions.
In 2006, Business Week Magazine cited her, along with Ken Livingstone, as one of the twenty most important people in the world in the battle against greenhouse gas emissions. The magazine said that "[she aims] to turn London into a model of a sustainable future for all the world's great cities."
Nicky was re-elected as a London Assembly member in May 2008. Following the change in administration, she is now Chair of the London Assembly Planning and Spatial Development Committee.
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