Ken or Boris?

by **Ivan** Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:57 pm

First topic message reminder :

May 3 is the date set for the London Mayoral election. The three main candidates are Boris Johnson (Tory), who has been Mayor of London since 2008, Ken Livingstone (Labour), who was Mayor from 2000 until 2008, and Brian Paddick (Lib Dem). As Paddick is currently polling around 7%, I think we can discount him.

From 1986 to 2000, London had been the only major city in the Western world without its own elected authority. That was because when Labour regained control of the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1981, Thatcher, an enemy of democracy, decided to abolish it. She also abolished six metropolitan councils which just happened to be Labour-controlled. It's hardly surprising that she was a personal friend of General Pinochet, a man not noted for his democratic credentials.

Ken Livingstone was born in Streatham in London in 1945 and went to Tulse Hill Comprehensive School. He worked as a cancer research laboratory technician at the Royal Marsden Hospital. In 1971, he became a councillor in Lambeth, and he was the leader of the GLC from 1981 until its abolition in 1986. He was the MP for Brent East from 1987 until 2001.

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, a descendant of an illegitimate child of George II, was born in 1964 and went to Eton and Oxford, where, as a member of the Bullingdon Club (in the company of Cameron and Osborne) he spent a night in a police cell after trashing a restaurant. He became a journalist and was the Tory MP for Henley from 2001 to 2008. Once elected Mayor of London (on a salary of around £150,000 a year), he resumed work as a ‘Daily Telegraph’ columnist on a further £250,000 a year.

Johnson, who has campaigned vigorously against the 50% top rate of tax and has frequently defended bankers, is a serial adulterer, compulsive liar, racist, and even a thief, once being made to return an article which he looted from the home of Tariq Aziz in Baghdad. He has a reputation for running up exorbitant expenses, and in short, he’s thoroughly unsuitable for holding any office.

by Red Cat Woman Sat May 05, 2012 3:00 am

RED CAT WOMAN SAYS CONGRATULATIONS TO DORIS IN HIS WIN OVER OUR KEN

Even if i do not like the result it was still a very good win against the Tory swing

Ken or Boris? - Page 9 Secure14

by tlttf Sat May 05, 2012 10:47 am

A pleasure to hear Livingstone in pure labour fashion, rather than accept with grace his total failure to become mayor of London (though he had Miliband up his arse all the way) attack Boris. Is this a sign of things to come, or will he go back to breeding newts and other reptiles who could become a labour mp of the future?

by oftenwrong Sat May 05, 2012 11:49 am

Feel sorry for Boris. He's got Second Prize, because what he wants is to be Prime Minister.

At the precise moment when David Cameron is teetering on the edge of political outer darkness.

by **astradt1** Sat May 05, 2012 11:59 am

OT, I think Boris has the best of both worlds at the moment .......

Olympics coming will give him the opportunity to be in the public eye, if ever he needed one.

He is a position of power with little responsibility.

He can take the opportunity to snipe, at Dave, without affecting his position as mayor.

He can always blame the London Assembly when things don't go right.

And if Dave gets knifed in the back, as most expect to happen, he can resign the post of mayor and step into the breech on the back of his popularity in London........

by trevorw2539 Sat May 05, 2012 2:42 pm

Atstrad1quote

And if Dave gets knifed in the back, as most expect to happen, he can resign the post of mayor and step into the breech on the back of his popularity in London........

You are joking. If DC was stabbed in the back would he even notice. It would be business as normal. Maybe the millions of pinpricks by the public in the council elections will change things, but I doubt it. Crying or Very sad

by oftenwrong Sat May 05, 2012 6:40 pm

Ken or Boris? - Page 9 EC4D4E672D79085947856A19A45DE

"Is this sad loser going to be following me around for the next four years?"

by Mel Sat May 05, 2012 9:11 pm

"(though he had Miliband up his arse all the way) "

It must be catching as the same applies to Clegg up Camer-con's.

by **Ivan** Sat May 05, 2012 9:26 pm

though he had Miliband up his arse all the way

You can always rely on Tories to try and drag the debate down into the gutter where they live.

How surprising that the leader of the Labour Party supports a Labour candidate! How pathetic that one Tory thug in Southampton armed with an egg should be considered indicative of Ed Miliband's popularity. How sad that a supposed adult has to use language like "newt sucker", whatever that's supposed to mean.

I'll start recruiting again soon and see if I can find some new members for us, preferably people with some intelligence or at least a modicum of common sense.

by bobby Sun May 06, 2012 12:33 am

Mwl. Then Herr Camerons up Doris. their forming a bleeding daisy chain, leaving Paddick wondering why he wasn't invited.

by tlttf Sun May 06, 2012 8:30 am

Start your recruitment at he labour party headquarters (haven't they just bought a big brand new building), then there's a possibility that you'll get some more raving loonies of the left persuasion. Nothing quite like a bit of balance is there Ivan?

by Redflag Sun May 06, 2012 9:14 am

tlttf wrote:Start your recruitment at he labour party headquarters (haven't they just bought a big brand new building), then there's a possibility that you'll get some more raving loonies of the left persuasion. Nothing quite like a bit of balance is there Ivan?

It should be quite exciting to watch the Incompetent Tories move further to the right, and Scam..er..on will not have his so called friend sarcozy to depend on after today France will move to the left and with the right man in the job they should see some improvement in there economy more than what we will see in the UK, at least the new Labour headquarters have been bought with Union members and party members money not money from the Tories dinner parties which have made the UK the laughing stock of the world, and heaven knows what the rest of the Olympic officials from other countries will think of the UK voting an Idiot into City Hall we did manage to get rid of the assistant Mayor (or in other words the guy that done Bojo's job while he wrote his column for the Tory rag).

by **Ivan** Sun May 06, 2012 11:18 am

A tribute to Ken

Extracts from an article by Jon Lansman:-

"Ken’s greatest contribution to British politics was to take unpopular causes, notably issues of race, sexism, and homophobia, take actions and implement policies which made a difference to significant minorities, and over time see those causes taken into the mainstream of British politics.

Under Ken’s leadership, the GLC consulted with black and other minority ethnic communities, drew up equal opportunities policies, employed race relations advisers, and sought to empower diverse communities by awarding millions of pounds in grants.

The experience with gender equality was similar. Ken’s policies achieved real change in practice amongst the GLC’s large workforce. In the provision of services too, there was institutional racism. Only 2% of GLC housing lettings went to non-whites in 1981. For these policies, Ken was hounded by 'The Sun', 'The Mail' and 'The Standard' but that vilification reached a new depth with the involvement of the GLC in challenging homophobia, notably through its grant-funding.

Cheaper fares and all day free travel for pensioners on buses and tubes increased passenger numbers by 70%, raised revenue by 11% in spite of the 32% cut in fares, and cut the number of cars entering central London in the morning peak. New rail services like Crossrail and Thameslink were planned. And when Ken returned as Mayor, the process he’d begun continued, reinforced by congestion charging, his boldest and bravest move. Door-to-door services for people with disabilities and a more accessible mainstream network, cycling provision, the regulation of noisy and polluting lorries, the focus on safety and on pedestrian facilities are all part of his legacy."

For the full article:-
http://www.leftfutures.org/2012/05/a-tribute-to-ken/

by oftenwrong Sun May 06, 2012 11:44 am

But he didn't make the voters laugh, as Boris does. Sentiment triumphs over rational behaviour in show-biz and Politics, which aren't that much different from each other in the public mind.

by sickchip Sun May 06, 2012 11:53 am

Boris!!!!?????? WTF.

Are londoners that stupid? Kissing Bullingdon arse? Doffing yr proverbial caps to the toffs? Southerners in general bow down to the aristocracy and keep the Tories going.

Maybe the northern half of the UK should knock some sense into you southern numpties? A divided land? Fancy a civil war?

The UK is two states........London and the rest of us.

Why should anywhere north of london be governed by the tories - we didn't elect them.

by tlttf Sun May 06, 2012 12:01 pm

Never mind sickie, remember it was a local election, you get the council you vote for. In London Boris gets funding, he fights the government for maximum funding, he gets private funding, he gets things done (whether he personally gets involved or not). Hope your council gets things done for you, assuming of course you bothered to vote.

Ivan, get over it, the divvy is now finished and you quoting over what he did in 80's won't change the results, so no mayoral jihad against all things western is envisaged for the foreseeable future

by Redflag Sun May 06, 2012 12:55 pm

sickchip wrote:Boris!!!!?????? WTF.

Are londoners that stupid? Kissing Bullingdon arse? Doffing yr proverbial caps to the toffs? Southerners in general bow down to the aristocracy and keep the Tories going.

Maybe the northern half of the UK should knock some sense into you southern numpties? A divided land? Fancy a civil war?

The UK is two states........London and the rest of us.

Why should anywhere north of london be governed by the tories - we didn't elect them.

Its always the same SC if you remember it was the south that voted in Thatcher and again it was the south that nearly put Scam..er..on in, but your right the south have always been willing to doff there caps to the toffs maybe this shower of toffs will put a stop to that as they way they are running this country. Now you know why here in Scotland we will not vote Tory and why every time they get in we get a real hard time from the Tories.

by **Ivan** Sun May 06, 2012 2:57 pm

"On his worst days he was a better and braver politician than all the people currently pontificating on his character flaws. Ken will go down in history as one of the great big city leaders like Fiorella La Guardia in New York."

So writes Diane Abbott in 'The New Statesman':-
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/politics/2012/05/ken-will-be-remembered-one-great-city-leaders

by astra Sun May 06, 2012 4:16 pm

tlttf -

In London Boris (1) gets funding, (2)he fights the government for maximum funding, (3) he gets private funding

1/Does he?
2/Does he have to? this shower will give unto their own that which they wish
3/For which he is well "accommodated" (particularly in skirt!) If there as nothing in it for himself.......

by oftenwrong Sun May 06, 2012 5:40 pm

Fiorello. (Not Fiorella)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiorello_La_Guardia

by jackthelad Sun May 06, 2012 5:52 pm

Doncasters referendum on whether to keep an elected mayor or go back to the
old system was unanimous in favour of keeping the elected mayor, (61% for 39% against. Labour did really well in the council elections, so i gather people want to keep the mayor, but will get rid of the two faced independent mayor when he soon comes up for re-election. He was being interviewed on TV and when asked who would oppose him, he said a Labour candidate. Tories won't oppose in him, they know it will be a waste of time and anyway the Independent mayor while in office acts like a Tory. Roll on the Mayor elections, voters only get fooled the once.

by Mel Sun May 06, 2012 11:32 pm

tlttf. Voted Tory at the last election. Voted for Boris (Tory) and yet we hear the little voice saying "Im not a Tory supporter". лицемер!!!!!!

by blueturando Mon May 07, 2012 12:47 am

Would just like to congratulate Boris on another win...in the same way that I congratulated Labour on their council election wins

Well done Boris Smile

by **Ivan** Mon May 07, 2012 10:09 am

Well done 'The Evening Standard' might be more appropriate.

by Redflag Mon May 07, 2012 11:16 am

Ivan wrote:Well done 'The Evening Standard' might be more appropriate.

For helping with Doris's spin doctors to give legs to the smear campaign so I hope the Evening Standard are proud of themselves, the only people they have disadvantaged is the people of London as they will find out within the next few months when Doris tells the people he can not keep his election promises.

by oftenwrong Mon May 07, 2012 4:54 pm

Boris has the attention-span of a gnat, and will swiftly get bored with STILL only being Mayor of London, once his centre-stage role in the Olympics AND Jubilee has passed into folk-lore. (Been there, Done that!) Pretty soon he's going to begin agitating for Leadership of the Tory Party. But they won't have him, they know him only too well as the gadfly he clearly is. Either he'll publish a new political magazine or find another lady to romance, or choose to lead UKIP, or go and work for Murdoch.

by Redflag Mon May 07, 2012 6:28 pm

oftenwrong wrote:Boris has the attention-span of a gnat, and will swiftly get bored with STILL only being Mayor of London, once his centre-stage role in the Olympics AND Jubilee has passed into folk-lore. (Been there, Done that!) Pretty soon he's going to begin agitating for Leadership of the Tory Party. But they won't have him, they know him only too well as the gadfly he clearly is. Either he'll publish a new political magazine or find another lady to romance, or choose to lead UKIP, or go and work for Murdoch.

They can have him anybody who wants him, although I would prefer him to be leader of the Tory party.

by blueturando Tue May 08, 2012 1:52 pm

Well done 'The Evening Standard' might be more appropriate..

Ivan...You're a bit of a 'Bitter Brother' really arn't you!!!

Labour win the council elections and it's a sure sign and message that the coalition is failing, but when Boris wins it's down to the press again....You're in danger of coming across as a sad joke.

In posting on this forum I am trying to understand what makes people like you staunch Labour supporters and what Labour stands for....but most of what I am getting is a 'blame everyone but ourselves' culture and a 'We must have power at any cost' attitude, and it doesn't matter if our policies are any good for the country, just as long as we have power.

Voters like me are disappointed with the coalition and if there was a GE tomorrow I wouldn't vote Tory....but it seems you and many Labour people are devoid of responsibility for your failings and I (and probably many other people) could never vote for a party like that. You're probably going to come back with something about the Tories blaming Labour for the global crisis or something like that, but in this case we are talking about Ken and Boris, so I hope you address the point

Ken didn't get re-elected because not enough people thought he was the best candidate for the job...Simple as!!!!

by Redflag Tue May 08, 2012 3:12 pm

blueturando wrote:
Well done 'The Evening Standard' might be more appropriate..

Ivan...You're a bit of a 'Bitter Brother' really arn't you!!!

Labour win the council elections and it's a sure sign and message that the coalition is failing, but when Boris wins it's down to the press again....You're in danger of coming across as a sad joke.

In posting on this forum I am trying to understand what makes people like you staunch Labour supporters and what Labour stands for....but most of what I am getting is a 'blame everyone but ourselves' culture and a 'We must have power at any cost' attitude, and it doesn't matter if our policies are any good for the country, just as long as we have power.

Voters like me are disappointed with the coalition and if there was a GE tomorrow I wouldn't vote Tory....but it seems you and many Labour people are devoid of responsibility for your failings and I (and probably many other people) could never vote for a party like that. You're probably going to come back with something about the Tories blaming Labour for the global crisis or something like that, but in this case we are talking about Ken and Boris, so I hope you address the point

Ken didn't get re-elected because not enough people thought he was the best candidate for the job...Simple as!!!!

For a Tory blue your very honest, and yet you have not said nothing about the smear campaign by Doris and the Evening Standard and of course Doris's FOUL MOUTH.

by bobby Tue May 08, 2012 3:55 pm

Be fair Red, blueturando is a bleeding Tory, and if he did read any smear campaigns he wouldn't believe them. In fact he would probably mention something about something Harold Wilson said 50 years ago

Blueturando is not as open minded as he would have us believe. He says he would not vote Tory if there was a General Election, and that may well be true, but don’t get taken in by him, as I genuinely doubt he would vote for any party that could lead to their demise.

He knows full well the Tory scumbags have enjoyed having the papers in their pockets and that BBC Television is now run by the Ex Governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten, a truer Thatcherite you could not find, allowing the Tories to be able to mount smear after smear against anyone who threatens the Tories, but for us to mention a truth such as that, Ivan is accused of being a “bitter Brother”.

by Redflag Tue May 08, 2012 5:51 pm

bobby wrote:

Be fair Red, blueturando is a bleeding Tory, and if he did read any smear campaigns he wouldn't believe them. In fact he would probably mention something about something Harold Wilson said 50 years ago

Blueturando is not as open minded as he would have us believe. He says he would not vote Tory if there was a General Election, and that may well be true, but don’t get taken in by him, as I genuinely doubt he would vote for any party that could lead to their demise.

He knows full well the Tory scumbags have enjoyed having the papers in their pockets and that BBC Television is now run by the Ex Governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten, a truer Thatcherite you could not find, allowing the Tories to be able to mount smear after smear against anyone who threatens the Tories, but for us to mention a truth such as that, Ivan is accused of being a “bitter Brother”.

He must be bleeding heavily since last Thursday then bobby, the smear campaign against Ken was PLUCKING NASTY but what does that say about the people that where doing the smearing not a lot, in fact you could say it came from the LOW LIFES of the Tory party and that includes the likes of blue and the Evening Standard.

Im starting to see that bobby do not trust a Tory it is something we will have to watch in the future, if he would vote Tory if there was a G.E. tomorrow then that just proves he is not that smart as he would have us believe he is.

Did you know the BBC are reporting and some of there programs are under DURESS with the threat of breaking it up and cutting more from its budget, that is why is some of the reporting is been done with handcuffs on and tends to look like its leaning to the right, Chris Patten is one of Thatchers little darlings YUCK. pig

by Mel Tue May 08, 2012 9:35 pm

blue. Your quandary regarding why we are staunch Labour supporters and what the Labour party stands for.

It really is very simple. We believe in fairness, we believe in looking after ourselves of course,but not at the expense of our fellow beings as the Tories encourage. Thatcher and Camer-con are guilty it is plain to see.
Greed is the enemy. I'm not saying that all Labour supporters are NOT greedy because unfortunately a Tory by the name of Thatcher encouraged greed to the nth degree, you cannot deny that. However the main thinking is fairness and Blair had the right idea where he attempted to be fair to both the rich and the poor, hence the gap stayed the same.

Every Tory party in office past and certainly present created high unemployment. Camer-con today let it slip by saying "we must help business by making it cheaper to emply people". Now that explains everything, cheap labour makes huge profits. We are not talking small business here and neither is Camer-con.
Labour spent plenty and we had 10 wonderful years of growth, low interest rates, a well run health service, lower crime rates, help for the families with tax credits, help for the sick and disabled, help for poor pensioners. Had it not been for the Clobal Crisis we would be well on the way to paying off the borrowings that were used to so much good for the majority.
What have the Tories ever done for the middle and lower classes? Not a lot. What have they done for the wealthy? taken from the majority to give to the few. Tories all talk about cutting taxation on the basis that companies will not come to the UK and that some would leave if taxed too much. What nonsence, they avoid and in many cases evade paying their taxes in any case so that squashes that theory straight away.

This lot are only here for the short term and Tory ideology is being implemented daily with the help of Glegg. Boris won by the skin of his teeth which says little in view of the fact that the media /press killed Ken off by slating him on his tax situation. They are all the same in that respect except Ken was found out. Finally Boris won because he distanced himself from the Tories.
If you fail to understand now then I feel sorry for you.

by Adele Carlyon Tue May 08, 2012 9:58 pm

For me it always comes back to something really simple...
People are put together in one of two ways, those with a social conscience and those who are just self centered greedy bastards. I'm glad to say that I'm the former, and I'm sad for the latter, they're to be pitied!

by trevorw2539 Tue May 08, 2012 10:37 pm

Adele Carlyon wrote:For me it always comes back to something really simple...
People are put together in one of two ways, those with a social conscience and those who are just self centered greedy bastards. I'm glad to say that I'm the former, and I'm sad for the latter, they're to be pitied!

I'm one of the latter, but it's never done me any good.

Anyone noticed the Government again say that are going to defy orders to open NHS documents for the public to see. Fairness and openness my... erm.....foot Embarassed

by Adele Carlyon Tue May 08, 2012 11:10 pm

With any luck, some tory somewhere with a sense of what's right (are there any?) Wink

will leak the Risk Register!

by Redflag Wed May 09, 2012 9:09 am

Adele Carlyon wrote:With any luck, some tory somewhere with a sense of what's right (are there any?) will leak the Risk Register!

Lets us hope your right Adele there must be a Tory some where that has a conscious and leaks the Risk register, on the other hand why are they not releasing it will make people wonder WHY? and then draw the only conclusion they can "Its Lethal" more than likely it would cause a G.E and that is why there running SCARED. :affraid: :affraid: :affraid:

by **Ivan** Sun Nov 25, 2012 2:51 pm

Despite Johnson’s promises before the Mayoral election, 31 fire stations in London are to close and hundreds of jobs are to go. Same old lying Tories, say anything to get elected, nothing ever changes.

http://snipelondon.com/scoop/up-to-31-fire-stations-to-close-across-london

by Redflag Sun Nov 25, 2012 7:58 pm

Ivan wrote:Despite Johnson’s promises before the Mayoral election, 31 fire stations in London are to close and hundreds of jobs are to go. Same old lying Tories, say anything to get elected, nothing ever changes.

http://snipelondon.com/scoop/up-to-31-fire-stations-to-close-across-london

Come on Ivan did you really expect anything to change where a Tory is involved ?? the next thing will be the police. lol!

by **Ivan** Tue Dec 11, 2012 7:42 pm

The next time you hear a Tory hypocrite going on about “waste of taxpayers’ money”, or trying to tell you that Tory councils offer good value for money, remind them of this:-

“Boris appoints £127k adviser to work less than 30 hours a week”

Johnson has appointed a Chief Economic Adviser on £127,000 a year, to work less than 30 hours a week. He was accused of being "out of touch" after the appointment of Gerard Lyons, former chief economist at Standard Chartered, only a few weeks before Tube fare rises in the capital. Johnson already has a Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise in Kit Malthouse.

Len Duvall, Labour leader in the London Assembly, commented:-

“It's truly staggering that Boris has appointed yet another person on an astronomical salary. Paying someone £127,200 a year to work part-time demonstrates how out of touch he is with the life of ordinary Londoners. What makes this worse is that Boris already has a Deputy Mayor for Business, and has London & Partners whose job it is to attract overseas trade and investment. We need to know what Mr Lyons will be doing for this huge sum of money, why he needs to be paid so much and what process the Mayor went through to appoint him.

At a time when the Mayor is hitting Londoners with another inflation-busting fare rise, with plans to do the same for another decade, it is astonishing that he can find £127,000 a year to fund yet another political appointment. Under Boris we have seen the number of political advisers on over £100,000 increase. With deep budget cuts to our emergency services, it is totally inappropriate to spend this amount of money on one person.”

http://www.itv.com/news/london/2012-12-11/boris-appoints-127k-adviser-to-work-less-than-30-hours-a-week/

by oftenwrong Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:06 pm

London's burning, London's burning.
Fetch the engines, fetch the engines.
Fire fire, Fire Fire!
Pour on water, pour on water.

London's burning, London's burning.
Fetch the engines, fetch the engines.
Fire fire, Fire Fire!
Pour on water, pour on water.

London's burning, London's burning.
Fetch the engines, fetch the engines.
Fire fire, Fire Fire!
Pour on water, pour on water.
Pour on water, pour on water.
Pour on water, pour on water.

by Redflag Wed Dec 12, 2012 12:25 am

oftenwrong wrote:London's burning, London's burning.
Fetch the engines, fetch the engines.
Fire fire, Fire Fire!
Pour on water, pour on water.

London's burning, London's burning.
Fetch the engines, fetch the engines.
Fire fire, Fire Fire!
Pour on water, pour on water.

London's burning, London's burning.
Fetch the engines, fetch the engines.
Fire fire, Fire Fire!
Pour on water, pour on water.
Pour on water, pour on water.
Pour on water, pour on water.

Sorry OW London will just have to burn the Tory cuts put paid to the Fire Engines, but then again the Tories will not have to worry as SHYTE doe not burn lol!

by bobby Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:43 am

Redflag said: the Tories will not have to worry as SHYTE doe not burn lol!

Hello Red, Fear not, shyte if left long enough will burn when dry, but until that happens a major by product of said shyte will burn very effectively, Its called Methane Gas...

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