Leonard Lloyd Duvall OBE (born 26 September 1961) is a British

Labour and Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candida ...

politician serving as the Leader of the Labour Group in the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

since 2004, and has been the Member of the London Assembly (AM) for Greenwich and Lewisham since 2000. Duvall is a former chair of both the

Metropolitan Police Authority The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) (2000–2012) was the local police authority responsible for scrutinising and supporting the work of the Metropolitan Police Service, the police force for Greater London (excluding the City of London Polic ...

and the London Labour Party Regional Board.

Early life and career

Duvall was born and raised in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...

. Duvall was a councillor for the

London Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

from 1990 until 2001, during which time he was deputy leader of the council, until 1992, when he became leader, a position he held until his election to the London Assembly. He was one of the founders of the New Local Government Network, chair of the Thames Gateway London Partnership, chair of the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government, vice-chair of the

Local Government Information Unit The Local Government information Unit (LGiU) is a local government membership body, thinktank and registered charity. Established in 1983 as a membership organisation for UK local authorities, the LGiU states that its mission is to strengthen local ...

, a non–executive Director of Millennium Experience Ltd, deputy chair of the

Association of London Government London Councils is the local government association for Greater London, England. It is a cross-party organisation that represents London's 32 borough councils and the City of London. It was formed in 1995 as a merger of the London Boroughs Ass ...

, a member of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

and Chamber of the Regions, chair of the

Commonwealth Local Government Forum The Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) is a global local government organisation, bringing together local authorities, their national associations and the ministries responsible for local government in the member countries of the Commonwe ...

(1998–2005), and in 1998 he was appointed an OBE for "services to Local Government in London and to the Thames Gateway Partnership".

London Assembly

He was first elected as an AM in 2000, and retained his Greenwich and Lewisham seat in the 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2021 elections. Duval is the only remaining London Assembly member to have served continuously since the London Assembly was established in May 2000. He is leader of the Labour Group on the London Assembly, chair of both the EU Exit Working Group and the GLA Oversight Committee, and Deputy Chair of the Budget and Performance Committee and the Budget and Monitoring Sub-Committee. Outside the London Assembly, he is a non-executive director of Tilfen Land, a property development company and a board member of the Royal Artillery Museums Trust, his father and grandfather having served as gunners in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

Daniel Morgan Inquiry

In 2021 Duvall was praised by the Panel investigating the unsolved 1987 murder of Daniel Morgan for giving effective direction while chair of the Metropolitan Police authority.The Report of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel
June 2021. Vol. 3

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duvall, Len 1961 births Living people Labour Co-operative Members of the London Assembly Councillors in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Officers of the Order of the British Empire