Mr Livingstone meets Nicky Gavron later today to discuss his offer to her of the deputy mayor position. Reports yesterday suggested Ms Gavron, a Labour councillor and assembly member, had accepted the position, but she confirmed she would consult the Labour party first. Members of the London Labour party are reported to be divided over whether to accept the job offers doled out by Mr Livingstone over the weekend. Mr Livingstone's announcement that he would like Lord Harris of Haringey to chair the new Metropolitan police authority does not pose a problem for the party, as it is a position decided by the assembly members and not the mayor's personal powers of patronage. Lord Harris will announce his decision tomorrow.
Labour is more concerned by the deputy mayor position, which is directly created by the mayor.
If Ms Gavron accepted, she would help lead London development and planning and share a certain degree of collective responsibility with the mayor. While Mr Livingstone has signalled his desire to rejoin the Labour party he was expelled from last month, the party fears that, should his administration goes astray, Labour members at its core could be tarnished by association with Mr Livingstone. Mr Livingstone will learn this week whether his attempts to create an inclusive, cross-party administration are to succeed. Liberal Democrat assembly member Lord Tope has indicated he is unlikely to accept Mr Livingstone's offer to head the fire and civil defence authority, preferring the Lib Dems to concentrate on equality and social justice issues. Mr Livingstone is also waiting to learn whether his former mayoral rivals Conservative Steven Norris and Liberal Democrat Susan Kramer will accept a shared responsibility for the transport brief, an area fraught with future conflict as the mayor and deputy prime minister John Prescott jostle over tube funding.