#VoteBike - 2012 London Mayoral elections

If Richard Prior was a: alive and b: running for mayor, he'd get my vote. And do a better job than the others, I'd wager. Even dead.

Has having a mayor actually benefited anyone who lives in London who isn't the mayor or worked for their office?

It is a political post that, unusually for this country, people are elected to based primarily on their personality, not their party's manifesto or policies. In-spite of this for some reason the only two people who have held the post have been the most odious little cunts possible. What does this say about the people of London and their expectations? Why is it that people will still vote for such a pair of feckless, PR obsessed, tax-dodging arseholes?

because in the immediate term we have to choose a mayor or we are stuck with the one everyone else chooses.

Interestingly the Lib-Dems are against elected mayors - citing too much power in one persons hands. I agree, especially after I went to the Transport Hustings where I was incredibly impressed with the London assembly members who spoke on behalf of Green/Lib/Lab. I don't understand why we need a mayor when we have an assembly. The assembly is made up of different individuals and therefore it has more expertise across more areas than any one Mayor could be and most importantly it can be critical of itself.

In fairness to Livingstone, he is quite clear that he would prefer to have a Greater London Council again instead of an elected Mayor. He has said again and again that he deplores 'personality' politics, which he thinks the Mayor's role promotes.

So it's just the tories who like individual absolute rule then

And Tony Blair.

In fairness to Livingstone... He has said again and again that he deplores 'personality' politics, which he thinks the Mayor's role promotes.

The cunt is completely deluded.

^this.

The cunt is completely deluded.

That's the best summary of Ken I've seen so far. It beggars belief that some people actually take him seriously.

Didn't know this was in his manifesto

So it's just the tories who like individual absolute rule then

And Tony Blair.

One and the same

In fairness to Livingstone, he is quite clear that he would prefer to have a Greater London Council again instead of an elected Mayor. He has said again and again that he deplores 'personality' politics, which he thinks the Mayor's role promotes.

I think it will be good for Ken to suffer a second election defeat because it might just wake him up to the fact that he doesn't have a god-given right to run London, and that people just don't fucking want him around any more.

Ken has always been about personality politics. Or why else is most of his campaigning based on smears and lies about his opponents?

I am not voting this time. They can all fuck off.

lots of knee jerking in this thread!

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/mayor/boris-johnson-and-ken-livingstone-clash-over-cyclist-safety-on-london-roads-7665225.html

I was under the vague impression that Ken was pretty good up until I started actually reading what he's been saying on his campaign and now I just think he's a bit obnoxious and way too obsessed with beating Boris.

And he says he won't make any more of the new Routemaster buses and will commission electric buses instead. Bleugh. I like the new Routemasters, they're sexy.

You're put off because of what you read he apparently said in the papers? He's flippant with his language sometimes but all this shit about him being an anti-semite is unfounded.

People get sick of media trained politicians not saying anything, then they complain when they don't phrase everything neutrally.

People actually hate livingstone just *because
*

Ken has always been about personality politics. Or why else is most of his campaigning based on smears and lies about his opponents?

Don't know where to start with that. Johnson is shameless in this respect, and given carte blanche yet Livingstone is expected to be a perfect candidate. I'm not massively pro Livingstone, but he acts on his promises more than the other candidates will or do.

I'd love there to be a decent competition for Johnson, but I can't see why there's so much anger against Livingstone.

Labour is up in the London polls yet Ken is down. Who's voting Labour and for Johnson?

vote 1: Boris - weak candidate who im not so fond of but hes not Ken who is a disaster of a man and even more dishonest than boris, also, 3 terms in any kind of seat of power does democracy no good at all
vote 2: paddock/jones/independent woman - they arent ken

vote 1: Boris - weak candidate who im not so fond of but hes not Ken who is a disaster of a man and even more dishonest than boris, also, 3 terms in any kind of seat of power does democracy no good at all
vote 2: paddock/jones/independent woman - they arent ken

You should probably swap your votes around or there's no point, especially as you don't seem that keen on Johnson.

^This if you are that dissatisfied with the two main candidates then your first vote should be someone who isn't one of them. It would appear that a lot of the electorate have had enough of Boris and Ken but nothing will change if one or other of them are their first vote on the ballot paper.

The worst case scenario is that if this is a close run election between the front runners that they will potentially be the Labour and Tory candidates at the next mayoral election.

I don't like Ken very much at all as a person, I think he's an egomaniac and a self-publicist. But like him, I detest the idea that this sort of thing should be a matter of personality. Whether it's right or not, it is a role that carries some responsibility, and I can't comprehend how it is people actually think Boris is doing an acceptable job.

I also think the whole thing about Ken being an anti-Semite is ludicrous, unfounded and unfair. Whereas Boris Johnson's patronising and offensive attitude towards women is something that has been brought up by almost every woman from every party that has ever worked for him, from every party, and is conveniently brushed under the carpet by everyone.

I'm voting Green first, not just to register a protest but because I genuinely think Jenny Jones is the strongest candidate whose views and priorities most accurately reflect my own. Second for Ken, because for all his faults, I think a lot of the air of entitlement he carries, however unappealing, is because he does care so much about the city and its future. His public transport fare cuts combined with Jenny Jones' input on cycling would be a step in the right direction.

^This if you are that dissatisfied with the two main candidates then your first vote should be someone who isn't one of them. It would appear that a lot of the electorate have had enough of Boris and Ken but nothing will change if one or other of them are their first vote on the ballot paper.

The worst case scenario is that if this is a close run election between the front runners that they will potentially be the Labour and Tory candidates at the next mayoral election.

This.
people in this country don't really get how anything that isn't a first past the post voting system works. They go into the ballot box thinking of one candidate only realise and decide upon the second at the booth.
It's not a given that it must be a Tory or Labour victory either. After all, Ken's first term was as an independent against Labour's official candidate Frank Dobson.

I also think the whole thing about Ken being an anti-Semite is ludicrous, unfounded and unfair. Whereas Boris Johnson's patronising and offensive attitude towards women is something that has been brought up by almost every woman from every party that has ever worked for him, from every party, and is conveniently brushed under the carpet by everyone.

Whatever you say about Boris Johnson he has a great knowledge of language, he introduced a whole generation to racial slurs such as piccaninny which would have otherwise faded into obscurity. Just as he reclaims wiff waff as the english origin of table tennis, so does he remind us of our polarised class system and racial ignorance. Makes you proud to be british.

The fawcett society have a hustings tonight. They are "the UK’s leading campaign for equality between women and men." Look who is - and more importantly who ISN'T going.

•Ken Livingstone (Lab – mayoral candidate)
•Brian Paddick (LD – mayoral candidate)
•Jenny Jones (Green – mayoral candidate)
•Victoria Borwick (Con – assembly candidate)

http://fawcettsociety.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1271

I used to work for Fawcett. Ace organisation.