Three years ago, six east London boroughs came together to deliver the best Olympic and Paralympic Games in recent history. With the momentum still bubbling from that success, new partnerships have been formed in this region.

For some time now, I have been working with leaders and mayors in our neighbouring boroughs to discuss how we could achieve more for our residents.

The Local London Sub-Regional Partnership was formed earlier this year, publishing a pioneering prospectus detailing devolution proposals in key policy areas such as housing, employment and health.

Last week, I marked another step forward when I joined the leaders of five other councils to launch the North East London Strategic Alliance. This will provide a further voice to strengthen our arguments, lobby government and complement the work already under way.

Each borough has its own individual strengths and challenges. Local politicians are often better placed, with their local knowledge and experience, to make decisions that are right for their boroughs, than a civil servant in Whitehall. This work has grown in importance with the threat of further cuts to our budgets from central government.

Our part of London is the centre of huge regeneration and much exciting change. We will drive much of London’s growth and are a priority for investors. However, we also share many challenges. The housing crisis is felt more acutely here than anywhere else, there are still too many people who are long term unemployed and life expectancy is lower. This is why it is important our boroughs maintain a strong voice and fight for more of a say as to how decisions affecting residents are made. More from Sir Robin