#VoteBike - 2012 London Mayoral elections

I wouldn't quite call it an act, but i think Boris's clowning is a deeply cynical strategy to force the world to engage with him on his terms and avoid having ever to properly account for himself. He's the candidate least likely to concede to reasonable demands. I'm only glad he lacks Ken's ability to lead and make things happen or he'd have done a lot more damage.

I think Boris has every chance of leading the Conservative party one day, win or lose. It is certainly, and increasingly blatantly, his ambition. Which may sound laughable but so did Boris as mayor of London.

Off topic but thats such a fucked up video isnt it? Strangely brilliant.....

What has Aphex Twin got to do with this?

??

Yes, Boris is a clown.
And yes, Ken's one as well. Some people just seem to have forgotten he's been in charge for 8 years not so long ago and did not achieve much either.

Yes, Boris is a clown.
And yes, Ken's one as well. Some people just seem to have forgotten he's been in charge for 8 years not so long ago and did not achieve much either.

Sorry, are you saying Ken didn't achieve much in his 8 years as Mayor? Has history been rewritten already?

blah blah blah, what is awesome at the moment is that the tories are going down, blah blah blah

Sorry, are you saying Ken didn't achieve much in his 8 years as Mayor? Has history been rewritten already?
It's just a personal opinion. You're free to have yours...
Boris got the job for a reason.

I think Boris has every chance of leading the Conservative party one day, win or lose. It is certainly, and increasingly blatantly, his ambition. Which may sound laughable but so did Boris as mayor of London.

I think thats definitely his aim, has been for a while but I think he lacks support within the parliamentary party. Central Office were utterly fucking thrilled when they persuaded him to go and be London Mayor. He will get back in as an MP but will never lead the party i reckon

So, are we all going to get together for an election night pardy?

So, are we all going to get together for an election night pardy?
I initially planned to stay home to polish my shotgun waiting for a revolution, but I could do with a "we're screwed anyway let's get pissed" alternative...

Agreed, but I prefer to be screwed by the labour.

i will vote green 1st choice.

and lib dem 2nd choice.

whatever the outcome i am quite pleased as one way or another we have managed to get cycling on / up the political agenda.

so well done everybody.

Voting Green 1st and Ken 2nd. but have a sneeky feeling that Borris will win (hope not)

Just that most people are stupid and stupid people will vote for Borris

It's either Ken or Boris, if you vote, first or second preference, for neither of them then you have to accept that your votes will have no effect on who becomes mayor. Which is entirely your right.
How any London cyclist can tolerate the thought of Boris remaining in charge of TfL is beyond me though.

How any London cyclist can tolerate the thought of Boris remaining in charge of TfL is beyond me though.

which is why, despite being broadly a conservative i am struggling to come to terms with voting for Johnson

So, are we all going to get together for an election night pardy?

When I was living in Berlin we had an all-night Club Mate-fuelled election night party for the 2010 general election. I think this one will ultimately be just as disappointing, and I don't want to spend another Friday feeling like that.

which is why, despite being broadly a conservative i am struggling to come to terms with voting for Johnson

What a dark night of the soul that must be

I'd rather not know the results I think!

Actually, the results aren't in til Friday from 4pm.

Going back a few pages but...

I'm voting UKIP

I was wondering if you were serious, Josh?

Morbid curiosity, I haven't come across anyone who has actually admitted voting for them before.

Quick things that people ought to know before voting!

http://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/where-vote - London Elects tells you where you can vote
http://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/how-vote - London Elects explains how to vote

You don't need your Polling Card to be able to vote.

If you have recently moved house - if you've registered at your new address you can vote there. If you've not, it may be worth heading back to the polling station for your previous address, you might still be registered there. If you ring the relevant councils before 5pm, you should be able to get through to the Electoral Registration section, who will be able to tell you if you are on the register. Otherwise, just go to your local polling station, the staff there are happy to help.

If you're a postal voter and you've not sent your postal vote in yet, deliver it to any polling station in your voting area before the close of poll, and it will be counted. If you've lost it, get to your council's town hall before 5pm and they will be able to issue you a new postal voting pack.

If you have a medical emergency before 5pm, you can get a emergency proxy vote. I don't know what hoops you'll have to jump through to get this though. Sorry!

Please do go and vote, even if all you do is spoil your papers. The number of spoilt papers is counted, so it is an effective way of saying none of the above to an extent.

I hope that this is helpful!

Is it just me or is that Independent woman a bit gorgeous?

Still, I'll vote for the newt guy and the rather patronising green woman.

I was cycling along the Lea River today and a BNP van went across a bridge with loudspeakers imploring people to vote for them.

WAC, I thought.

But then they started playing Jerusalem, and obviously my heart swelled up with pride.

Going back a few pages but...

I was wondering if you were serious, Josh?

Morbid curiosity, I haven't come across anyone who has actually admitted voting for them before.

a friend of mine voted UKIP in the last general election. even more bizarrely he said he doesn't agree with their stance on europe! but he was best aligned with their policies on law and order, tax, housing etc when he read all the manifetos.

i pointed out that in a general election, the UKIP parliamentary candidate has zero chance of success and the only reason anyone would vote for them would be a single issue antieurope protest vote - the one issue on which he didn't agree with them.

he doesn't agree with their stance on europe! but he was best aligned with their policies on law and order, tax, housing etc when he read all the manifetos.

What kind of fuckwit votes purely on a manifesto? Manifestos are largely for people who don't take an active interest.

The content of a manefesto is meaningless without contextualisation. People actually read them as if they are an objective document, like a menu or a contract, and then think they've done their duty reading a leaflet once every 2-4 years