September 3, 2010

Could Boris become the George Lazenby of London Mayors?

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Non-fans might not realise it but George Lazenby, the second actor to play James Bond in the film series, was followed in the part by Sean Connery, the man he’d replaced. As Labour party members consider whether to adopt Oona King or Ken Livingstone as their 2012 candidate, it’s … [Read more...]

Freedom Pass holders don’t deserve to be a political football

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Mayors and would-be Mayors love talking about the Freedom Pass and you can see why - it’s a popular benefit of living in the capital with an appreciative user base of older and disabled Londoners who might be persuaded to vote for the Mayoral candidate who makes the most noise about … [Read more...]

Ken at the MPA

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What to make of Ken Livingstone’s appearance before the Metropolitan Police Authority yesterday? London’s former Mayor claims successor Boris Johnson is cutting the number of police officers by 455, an ideal issue for him to campaign on given the importance Boris made of the … [Read more...]

Mayoral term limits – they’re just wrong

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With term limits once again being advocated, MayorWatch editor Martin Hoscik puts the case against disenfranchising Londoners by restricting their choice of Mayoral candidates. When the House of Lords debated the 2007 Greater London Authority Act a coalition of Tory and LibDem … [Read more...]

MQTs: Tory scrutiny and the future of Mr Ray Lewis

Boris Johnson answers questions from the London Assembly. Photo: MayorWatch

The last Mayor’s Question time before September was a pretty cross event with Assembly Members in an unforgiving mood. Opposition AMs were unhappy about the levels of allowances for officers at the Fire Authority and LibDem Mike Tuffrey seemed to think the Mayor needed persuading … [Read more...]

Thoughts on Labour’s second Mayoral hustings

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Last night Labour held the second of their official Mayoral selection hustings with Oona King and Ken Livingstone facing questions from party members on a range of issues including crime, housing, congestion and the environment. (Telegraph London editor Andrew Gilligan has a write … [Read more...]

Thanks for the offer Lembit but do you mind if we don’t accept?

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Having been previously rejected by his own party members for the role of LibDem President and more recently the voters of his former Parliamentary constituency, it seems Lembit Opik can’t wait to offer himself to the voters of London as their potential next Mayor. Hopefully he’ll … [Read more...]

Thoughts on Oona’s Independent interview

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As I’ve said before, I think democracy is best served when candidates for any political nomination or office have to fight for it. That wasn’t the case in 2008 when Labour anointed Ken Livingstone and the Tory and LibDem selections produced huge majorities for the victors. Until … [Read more...]