As renewed rumors circulate of Ken Livingstone’s return to the Labour fold, MayorWatch calls on Nicky Gavron not to stand down as the Labour Mayoral Candidate.
Ms Gavron has won the right to represent her party in the forthcoming elections; she won a fair ballot against serious and far better known candidates. She served London well for three years as Ken’s Deputy and deserves better than to be cast aside by the machinations of Tony Blair and the NEC.
Of course, London is no stranger to Labour’s gerrymandering. In the build up to the last Mayoral election, Blair conspired to ensure that Ken Livingstone was not the official candidate. It is now apparent that the Labour leader intends to deploy the same shameless tactics to ensure that Livingstone is the candidate in 2004.
How does Livingstone seriously intend to campaign as the official Labour Candidate having spent the last 4 years opposing their privatization of the Tube, clashing with Ministers over funding?
How can Tony Blair endorse the candidature of a man who publicly opposed one of the party’s flagship policies? A man whose selection he previously, and publicly, opposed and campaigned against?
The sad truth is that for the last 2 years Mayor Livingstone has had one overriding priority; re-admittance to Labour.Ms Gavron is a politician of principle – she is perfectly within her rights to adhere to these principles and refuse to stand down. Neither London nor Labour democracy would be strengthened should she do otherwise.
