Dave Hill, who’s been tirelessly pounding the streets for the Guardian covering the mayoral campaign, does a good job of outlining the reasons why you should vote for Ken today, and why, despite his near-miraculous personality makeover during the course of the campaign, Boris Johnson is not suitable to be mayor of London. Hill’s piece is certainly likely to prove more persuasive than this uncharacteristically patrician article by Steve Richards in the Independent today, who seems to come perilously close to suggesting that anyone plumping for Boris Johnson is not worthy of the franchise.
Still wavering? Check out our extended interview with Livingstone from last year. The charges Ken’s many critics have laid against him—cronyism, arrogant disdain for his opponents, the worrying tendency to forge alliances with unsavoury characters as some kind of tokenistic anti-imperialist gesture—are justified, and have done a good job of diverting closer attention to the mayor’s record this year than he has experienced since taking office in 2000. Yet as our interview makes clear, Ken lives and breathes London; he has a rock-solid grip on policy detail, a vision for the city that is in tune with its nature as one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the world, and most refreshingly, a practical rather than ideological approach to the roles and responsibilities of executive office.
Gleeful smiles all around the Oatibix this morning - Oh Happy Day ! -New Labour properly rumbled at last
Gordon Brown’s Groucho Marxist promise to ” listen and lead ” begs the question of exactly how much cash these 5Th rate Fagins have already shared with pet market researchers, management consultants and focus groups to date ( BTW does anybody, other than the former chancellor, know ? )
Mindful of the fact that apart from stuffing their own shiny-suited pockets, New Labour’s towering achievement so far has been to significantly increase the threat of terrorism in the UK , while boosting membership of the British National Party ( though some credit for the latter should also go to Jasmin Wotsit-Brown -it was too astute of Sky News to invite this fantastically stupid woman on to debate Boris’ victory last night : ” He does not belong here ! He is not one of us ! He belongs in Henley ! ” ); were there any honour left among thieves, the noble thing for the cabinet to do now would be to listen and leave
Luckily, London responded to the May Day call. Not so easily fooled
as the many not the few of our over institutionalised ( terrified of personal freedom ) left-wing press , voters recognised the unmitigated privilege of having a candidate quite so intelligent and competent as the gorgeous, pouting Boris Johnson for Mayor - ” he is the white Obama ” - as one political commentator text-messaged soon after midnight.