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Ken Shouldn’t Deny His Satisfaction At Beating New Labour

April 1, 2008 - Martin Hoscik@MayorWatch

Ahead of the campaign a lot of people thought Boris would be the accident prone candidate, putting his foot in his mouth whenever he opened it, instead it seems incumbent Mayor Ken Livingstone is the one getting himself into trouble.

Today he’s in hot water for an internet video in whch he describes his greatest political accomplishment as “taking on and smashing the New Labour machine in 2000 when Tony Blair wouldn’t let me run for mayor and just grinding them into the dust.”

His campaign are apparently saying the video was an April Fool though personally I lean towards the theory that it’s a piece of political positioning – alongside his pact with the Greens and their attacks on LibDem candidate Brian Paddick – to rebuild the coalition which brought him to power in 2000.

But setting those possibilities aside, why shouldn’t he feel pride in defeating a political machine which, with utter comtempt for Londoners, rigged a selection process and then attempted to smear him?

Ken would probably pick up more votes by dropping the April Fool line and admitting the obvious truth in the statement.

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