• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MayorWatch

London News and Comment

  • NEWS

What’s Ken’s Game?

May 21, 2008 by Martin Hoscik

The Assembly might have been busy quizzing incumbent Mayor Boris Johnson but the media pack spent a fair chunk of the morning questioning each other about Ken Livingstone and his motives for attending Assembly meetings and Mayor’s Questions.

Most hacks seem to suspect that he’s positioning himself up as the natural candidate in 2012 perhaps with a first term Cameron Government suffering midterm problems and that this is the reason Boris is pushing for term limits to be introduced asap.

As Dave Hill comments “nothing Ken has done or written since his defeat suggests he is unduly downcast” at his recent defeat.

Some journalists have started to receive press releases and statements from a Livingstone related email address which has only fueled speculation that Ken is seeking to retake his seat at City Hall.

There was a bit of a rush by the press pack to speak to him after this morning’s MQT and Ken was more than happy to give quotes and comment on the performance we’d all witnessed.

I asked Ken about the mysterious press operation around him which he said was simply “long term acquaintances” helping him out and denied being what I termed the “leader of London’s unofficial opposition”.

His actions and statements are, he claims, simply him being an interested and concerned citizen and no-one should read anything more into them.

But Ken clearly knows this won’t calm down the speculation and wishful thinking on the part of his backers, not least because the last time “long term acquaintances” spent months running a shadow campaign he clocked up what he recently described as his proudest political achievement.

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Filed Under: Comment, Martin Hoscik

RECENT UPDATES

Tube and rail users to benefit from Oyster weekly fares cap

Mayor and TfL call on ministers to help plug funding gap

Tube to get full mobile phone coverage from 2024

TfL says Direct Vision Standard is already making HGVs safer for London road users




POPULAR

City Hall to move to Docklands as Mayor seeks to raise £55m for frontline services

‘Concern’ over TfL’s ability to deliver major projects in wake of Crossrail cost overruns

City Hall halts London Overground ticket office closures but many will still see opening hours reduced

Transport for London confirms bus cuts will go ahead despite passenger opposition

Copyright © 2025 · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy