Mayor's sexy ebusiness move 'impotent'

London mayor Ken Livingstone has been criticised over his appointment of an ebusiness advisor.

Colin Jenkins' role will be to advise the Greater London Authority on encouraging dotcom businesses to move to the capital. Jenkins is on secondment from carrier Energis, where he was director of strategy. The company will continue to pay his salary over the course of the secondment.

Mark Simmons, senior analyst at Bloor Research, said that the appointment was a waste of time. "Ecommerce will grow at its own rate, with the correct investment from the industry. This is a cosmetic move. Ebusiness is 'sexy' at the moment and the mayor wants to be associated with it," he said.

Jenkins will also attempt to address the capital's IT skills shortage. However, Simmons said that the ebusiness advisor, like Livingstone, would be impotent because the root cause, taxation, was not in his jurisdiction.

"IR35 has killed off the skills pool in the city. I can't see how this advisor can add value to what's happening in the market, especially as the Government has its own ecommerce tsar," he said. He added that Livingstone's strained relations with the Cabinet are unlikely to help.

First published in Network News

See also:

London mayor appoints e-advisor

The appointment of an ebusiness advisor by London mayor Ken Livingstone has received a mixed reception from IT industry groups.  25 Jan 2001

Europe to knock down ecommerce barriers

Ecommerce will be allowed to flourish in Europe from next year under European Commission plans to sweep aside political red tape.  12 Jan 2001

Europe set to shape online economy

Paul Ayres, the founder of Netscape's North European operation, propounds his views on why Europe is about to lead even the US in technology innovation.  22 Nov 2000

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