London Assembly and Mayoral elections 5th May 2016

I really don't know what they're trying to achieve by means of these 'extremist links' attacks instead of talking about policy:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2016/apr/14/london-mayor-goldsmith-attacks-backfire-as-repellent-imams-tory-links-emerge

Or are they achieving their 'dog whistle' effect despite these embarrassments?

^^Lol at "raging bell"

This does look like a Trojan horse:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/a-bizarre-campaign-video-has-been-made-in-support-of-zac-goldsmith-a3227971.html

There was a post somewhere (I thought it was on here somewhere but not neccesarily on this thread) summarising how the two main candidates had voted as MPs on various issues. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Anyone know where it is?

London Mayoral voting intention:
Khan: 48% (+3)
Goldsmith: 32% (-4)
Whittle: 7% (-)
Berry: 6% (+2)
Pidgeon: 6% (+1)
(via YouGov)

George Galloway is on 0%.

Personally, I'm backing Galloway.

Personally, I'm backing Galloway.

Then he's no longer on 0%. :)

Momentum is building...

Personally, I'm backing Galloway

He's certainly working hard. Out and about. Seen his bus twice in 2 days in west London.

1 Attachment

From LOB:

Our final recommendation for Thursday’s Mayoral vote is:

1. Siân Berry (Green Party)

2. Sadiq Khan (Labour)

We have delayed releasing our recommendation for the best candidates to vote for in the London elections until after we had received a report from two of our members who attended the Cycling Hustings held last Friday.

We also recommend that you vote Green on your orange ballot for the London Assembly

Our reasons for these recommendations are relatively straightforward. Siân Berry has the best policies for cycling of any of the candidates for Mayor and it is important to support these with our votes. However, because Siân Berry has very little chance of winning the election for Mayor, we recommend Labour's Sadiq Khan as our preferred choice over the only other likely winner on May 5th: Conservative candidate, Zac Goldsmith.

The reason for this order has got to do with the specifics of the voting system for the mayor: the second vote is the one that’s going to influence the outcome, so needs to be between Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith.

Caroline Pidgeon has been a very close contender for the best cycling choice overall. We have been very impressed by her policies and commitment to making London bike-friendly. But the voting system here makes the tactical choice clear - we cannot recommend her for a place on the ballot because the first place is the “vote from the heart”, which Sian wins, and the second place, the "vote to avoid what you fear", is between Sadiq and Zac.

We have been disappointed by Zac’s public statements on transport and air pollution, with a lot of talk about electric cars (he even suggested that buses could be replaced by electric cars), but no commitment to ban diesels from London. He has failed to convince us that he is committed to building a city fit for people to live in.

It has been a disappointment to see a politician who was once editor of The Ecologist offer no coherent vision for a London designed around people. Goldsmith has made statements in favour of free car parking and publicly promised to review and revise Transport for London's consultation on a new cycle route through Regent's Park, even though the results was overwhelmingly in favour. He also suggested that newly built bicycle infrastructure schemes could be ripped out if not used. In short, he doesn't appear to care about the bike vote, apart from complaining that he was being “hounded” and “torn apart” by bicycle advocates.

Sadiq Khan is not our ideal candidate for Mayor. We were alarmed to hear him talking about “narrowing” cycle lanes during the campaign. However, we do not believe that Goldsmith will continue the cycling revolution which is only starting to roll out onto our city’s streets; a failure to select Sadiq Khan as a second preference might allow Zac Goldsmith in, which we fear would apply the brakes, and, worse, reverse the direction London is beginning to travel in.

This is not a partisan choice - we are very grateful to the outgoing Tory Mayor, Boris Johnson, for starting London’s cycling revolution, in the face of co-ordinated & very hostile opposition. We suspect, however, that Boris has done much more for cycling than many in his party are happy with. Goldsmith's refusal to endorse the majority of the outgoing Mayor’s ‘Vision For Human Streets’ seems to support our suspicions.

This is why votes for the Green Party on the London List Assembly ballot (the orange paper) is important - we need strong voices for good transport policy in the Assembly; we need to make the next Mayor, whoever it is, understand how much better our city could be if anyone aged eight to eighty was able to cycle safely and in comfort. The Green Party clearly has policies that will make London a city designed around people.

There’s also a ballot for your constituency member for the London Assembly. We haven’t had the resources to do any research on individual Assembly candidates and their policies. So this one is up to you. You could, naturally, write to your constituency candidates directly and ask them about their bike (and other) policies.

The Mayoral campaign has shown Londoners On Bikes that we must not take anything for granted. Great steps forward have been made, but there is a very real risk of backsliding unless the Mayor genuinely understands what needs to be done to make bicycles a real, not marginal, part of London’s transport infrastructure - our work will not end on May 5th.

After the election, a key decision for whoever is Mayor will be whether to retain Andrew Gilligan as Cycling Commissioner (or Cycling & Walking Commissioner as some of the candidates, and Gilligan himself, have suggested), and, if not, who should replace him. We believe that Andrew Gilligan should be retained.

However, given Gilligan’s history with senior figures in the Labour Party (the ‘dodgy dossier’ affair, and his later work for the Standard during the 2008 Mayoral election campaign), we think it is highly unlikely that Sadiq Khan will retain him, if elected. Therefore, we think it is important that Londoners On Bikes lobby hard for a suitable candidate after the election.

The obvious choice is Christian Wolmar, given his expertise and public statements in recent weeks for the Mayor to be brave and push through major cycling infrastructure projects. Another option is Chris Boardman, who has become a powerful advocate for cycling, and has experience of managing teams and projects.

Looking to the future, at all the work still to be done, once again, our final May 5th recommendation is a vote for 1. Siân Berry (Green) and 2. Sadiq Khan (Labour) & vote for the Green Party on the orange Assembly ballot.

Happy voting from all the LOB team. We'll be back in touch with you after the election to decide what LOB does next.

How depressing.

From the LCC

That's from Londoners on Bikes (LOB), not the LCC. The LCC, as a charity, can't make recommendations like that.

Sorry.

No worries.

I'm more or less asingle issue voter today. With housing not transport being the issue.

A couple of housing policy summaries

http://www.sadiq.london/homes_for_londoners_manifesto

http://www.sianberry.london/news/30-04-16-a-real-plan-for-homes/

Should we have received a polling card or do we turn up with ID?

You should have received a polling card if you've registered (well, re-registered since the change in rules came in). If you're not on the register (individually), you can't vote.

I registered when we moved a year ago - they kept sending someone round to get OH to register (which she didn't) but they confirmed I was ok. Unless you had to reregister since then, I reckon I should have one.

Modified D'Hondt FTW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CU3F3ToIIg

If you think you're registered but haven't received a polling card you should turn up with ID and try and vote anyway as you say. The system is very far from perfect.

That's from Londoners on Bikes (LOB), not the LCC.

Will try that - don't want Zac to lose to that terrorist oik if I can help it...

You don't need a polling card to vote if you're registered you'll be on the list. You just need to make sure you go to the correct polling station for your area, give them your name and address and they'll let you know if you can vote.

Yep,

I've just done exactly that.

Please note that if you live in Barnet, everything is fucked. They've printed the wrong lists and have been turning people away all morning. Not even taking a polling card or any other form of ID has been sufficient to ensure a vote. Barnet have now issued a statement that anyone who was turned away should return after lunchtime when they've received the up to date lists.

The polling card isn't necessary. Nor is taking ID although it can be useful if the polling agents inside don't believe you are who you say you are.

I voted this morning without my polling card and without having to show ID. Just told them my road name, house number and name. I did remember the number on my polling card which makes it easier for them to find you in their lists.

Also, the one or more people standing outside the polling station (wearing a coloured rosette) are the tellers. They're volunteers from political parties and are there to identify who has voted (by looking at your polling card and writing down the list number) so that later in the day they can round up their known supporters who haven't voted (by visit, text, email, etc) and give them a prod.

You're under no obligation to speak to the tellers or give them any information. I normally say hello but when they ask to see my card (which I rarely take anyway) I tell them no.

Tellingly (no pun intended) the only teller outside my polling station this morning was wearing a blue rosette.

The tellers also, allegedly, use the numbers taken to know who is an active voter and will prioritise active voters in their campaigning. So if you want more door knocks or leaflets through the post then give them your number.

Evening Standard spit comes out in favour of Zac, saying Khan's campaigns been combative. You couldn't mek it up!

A polling card or ID shouldn't be necessary. Indeed it wasn't in my case either, name and address was sufficient.

Alas, in the clusterfuck of Barnet, a lot of people weren't on the lists so even those who held a polling card and ID to corroborate it were turned away from voting. In an early statement, they urged people with polling cards to return as they would honour these and later said business as usual as updated lists had been provided.

Of course the trouble with this is that polling clerks usually cross people off the list to prevent the Irish Vevo situation. Now, with multiple lists there's a chance for people to double vote. I think there's definitely going to be a legal challenge to the outcome in Barnet. They may need a do over.

For the record, all of the tellers in my area appear to be Green. I support them but also respect the convention of the ballot so declined to identify myself. I'll probably get a text later.