Inspired by a reader’s email we asked candidates in May’s Mayoral elections how they’d mark the first decade of the Greater London Authority in 2010 and, less seriously, if those plans included a statue of current Mayor Ken Livingstone:
Gerard Batten, UKIP Candidate: “I would erect a statue of Dick Whittington, not strictly the first Mayor of London but a self-made man and a business entrepreneur whose efforts benefited London, his country, and who is someone we can still respect and emulate today. And of course I would include his cat so he would be instantly recognisable.”
Sian Berry, Green Party Candidate: “To celebrate 10 years of the GLA, I’d throw a huge party for all the 10-year-olds in London, with my friend Harry Bear MP, and loads of cake and jelly.”
“As for that statue, I think we’ve got quite enough white blokes dotted around London for the time being; I’ll think about it once I’ve got a statue of Sylvia Pankhurst!”
Lindsey German, Respect: “I would mark the first decade by doing what the old LCC used to do and build new and affordable council housing.”
“These new developments of council housing would be available to all who need them, and would be the memorial rather than having a statue. So the memorial should be something that benefits all Londoners, and I’d be quite happy if one of those developments was named after Ken Livingstone.”
Damian Hockney, One London Party Candidate: “We would set up HMP Palestra to house all those found guilty of misusing LDA money…
And in light of the failure of the costly solar panels and wind turbines on the LDA building to produce more than a pitiful amount of power, we would install Livingstone Memorial Treadmills for those in the prison to produce renewable energy.”
Boris Johnson, Conservative Party Candidate: “I would want to listen to the views of Londoners to find how they would like to mark the tenth anniversary of the GLA. j
As for Ken Livingstone, I would argue that he has already spent a lot of taxpayers’ money promoting himself over the last 8 years, I don’t think we need to spend any more.”
Brian Paddick, Liberal Democrat Candidate: “I would celebrate the event by giving Londoners free travel on the anniversary of the Greater London Authority. The GLA has made a positive difference to Londoners’ lives and what better way of celebrating this than by giving Londoners a tangible proof of how important London government is.
“As for a statue of Ken Livingstone, after the contempt he has shown Londoners, the only statue that deserves to be erected is one to allow Londoners to throw things at.”
