London elections 2021: What can the mayor of London do?

The mayor's role was originally envisioned to promote economic and social development

The mayor of London has the largest personal mandate of any politician in the UK, with a constituency of 6.2 million voters.

For the privilege, Londoners pay on average £365 a year through a proportion of their council tax.

The mayor cannot make new laws and is not responsible for taking the bins out. But they can raise taxes which, along with grants from central government, fund a £17bn budget.

The power of the Greater London Authority (GLA) comes from the mayor, with the London Assembly there to hold the mayor to account.

It's a high-profile job, currently held by Sadiq Khan, and it's up for re-election on 6 May. So what are Londoners voting for?

• The candidates standing to be London's mayor

Transport: Setting Tube and bus fares

The mayor has the power to put in cycle lanes on main roads

The mayor's principal power lies in the area of transport. He or she oversees Transport for London (TfL) which handles up to five million passenger journeys in the capital a day - when there's not a global pandemic.

The mayor is responsible for the bus and taxi network, the Tube, Overground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), cable car, and all other TfL services.

In this role, the mayor has the power to set fares, which is where TfL gets the majority of its funding.

London is one of the only major cities in the world that does not receive government funding to support the operating costs of its transport network. In comparison, fares on the Paris Metro make up only 38% of its income.

In addition, the mayor has some powers over who can use London's roads - the Congestion Charge and the Ultra Low Emission Zones both came from the mayor's office.

The mayor also has the power to put cycle lanes on London's main roads, although local councils are responsible for all other roads.

He or she also keeps a share of business rates to fund Crossrail - which is run by Crossrail Ltd, a company jointly owned by TfL and the Department for Transport.

Policing: Holding the Met to account

Met Commissioner Cressida Dick, left, is responsible for the day-to-day running of the police

Only about 30% of the Metropolitan Police's budget comes from the mayor - the remaining 70% comes directly from national government.

But the mayor officially acts as the police and crime commissioner for London, which means the mayor has a role in setting out how London is policed and staffed.

The mayor appoints the Metropolitan Police commissioner, who is in charge of the day-to-day running of the police, and holds them to account.

The mayor has similar powers over the London Fire Brigade, setting the budget and approving the London Safety Plan.

Finally, the mayor also works with different agencies and government departments to make sure London is prepared for storms, major fires and terror attacks.

Coronavirus: Limited powers

The mayor has limited powers over the response to disease outbreak emergencies, as the coronavirus pandemic has shown.

From the outset, the government and public health authorities took charge of hospitals and later, the vaccine rollout.

Mr Khan said he had been excluded from discussions on how to respond to coronavirus in the capital, but the government said it had kept local leaders informed of decisions throughout the pandemic.

While the mayor has no direct say on lockdown restrictions, Mr Khan played a public role in advocating for London in the recent local tiered lockdown system and the accompanying support packages.

Housing: The power of approval

The mayor has the authority to reject some building projects

The powers here tend to involve setting targets on numbers and affordability, and working on them with local authorities and developers.

The current mayor, Mr Khan, has received nearly £9bn in funding from central government to build 151,000 affordable homes.

He or she can also reject or approve larger house-building projects.

Most of this is set out in the London Plan, a huge document that was published earlier this month and which took most of Mr Khan's term to write.

Economy: Supporting culture in the capital

Some of the mayor's budget goes towards the management of Trafalgar Square

The mayor has few direct powers over the economy. Instead, he or she acts as a business hub, offering support and advice, and connecting companies with investors.

In some instances, the mayor can offer cash prizes for business working in areas they want to encourage.

Since 2007, the mayor has also had powers over "strategic planning". This means he or she can give permission to projects considered important to London's development.

The mayor is also expected to support London's culture and creative industries.

He or she runs the London Borough of Culture, which gives a different area of London a £1m grant each year to deliver a programme of activities.

Since 2016, the GLA has also employed a "night tsar", responsible for supporting London's nightlife, including safeguarding venues across the city.

Figurehead: London on the national and international stage

Ken Livingstone, then mayor of London, travelled to the Forbidden City in Beijing after helping secure the London 2012 Olympics

Since the office was created in 2000, the three men who have held the post have each carved out their own platform on the national and international stage.

The mayors have spoken for London in both crisis and celebration - perhaps best represented by Ken Livingstone's speech on the 7/7 bombings made in the lobby of a Singapore hotel after London's bid to host the 2012 Olympics.

Mayors are expected to promote London on the global stage, encouraging investment and tourists to flood into London.

You can find a list of all the candidates who have said they will be running for London mayor here.