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London Zoo: London Mayoral Election

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  1.  (1462.1)
    YouGov has put Boris Johnson ahead in the polls. I suggest the inhabitants of London start packing and making alternative living arrangements just in case.

    The British press in characteristic style doesn't bother doing it's research on smaller political party candidates referring to Sian Berry as "Green Party Leader", when the Green Party does not even have a leader at the moment (we just voted to start having one though) and the closest thing we do have currently are 'Principal Speakers' of which there are two, and Sian Berry has not been one for some months now. She didn't seek re-election for the post last year.

    I'm not arguing for disproportionate reporting of smaller political parties but it would be nice if when the Greens do get a mention they would actually bother to check their 'facts'.
    •  
      CommentAuthorGreg SBB!
    • CommentTimeMar 18th 2008
     (1462.2)
    Comedy Boris and the fact that various opinion polls give the Conservatives a 43% standing in a general makes me wonder if the Great British Electorate pays attention to what politicians actually say.
  3.  (1462.3)
    Comedy Boris and the fact that various opinion polls give the Conservatives a 43% standing in a general makes me wonder if the Great British Electorate pays attention to what politicians actually say.


    It's a shame that Mike Read stepped aside to let Boris have a clear run, maybe if he wins Mike can be Director of Communications or Political Strategy or something. The Standard clearly has the knives out for Ken... I don't know how I'm going to be able to face working in a London run by that shambling bozo.
  4.  (1462.4)
    It's a shame that Mike Read stepped aside to let Boris have a clear run

    No it fucking isn't.
  5.  (1462.5)
    The worrying thing is the way this job seems to be no longer seen as one for a real politician by some parties.

    The Liberal Democrats have a policeman standing and the Conservatives have someone made entirely out of fluff who probably can't button a shirt without help.

    As entertaining as Boris is (and I do love seeing him on TV) I really think he would be a massive mistake. I think being MP for a part of the south where it costs £100,000 a year just to breathe suits him far better than London. He is with his own people there.

    As for Mike Read, presenting Top of the Pops is not a qualification to run a rather large city either. Putting forward candidates without a proper track record in London politics should be considered an insult.
  6.  (1462.6)
    As for Mike Read, presenting Top of the Pops is not a qualification to run a rather large city either. Putting forward candidates without a proper track record in London politics should be considered an insult.



    Aw, c'mon... what's not to love? He had some great policies:


    Let's train traffic wardens to exercise common sense and reward Londoners who work hard, rather than hitting them with constant stealth taxes.


    Parking tickets for lazy bastards only!
  7.  (1462.7)
    Boris Johnson - No doubt a nice enough bloke (for a chinless wonder who has managed to piss off *whole cities* with his ill-judged comments), but fuck me I'd rather have a drooling moron who regularly shits his pants than Boris as Mayor - the moron would do less damage.

    Sorry, newt-boy for me if only because he's made it easier for me to drive at 70mph through the middle of London, thereby guaranteeing a 'decent job' when I finally mange to hit a tourist.

    More seriously, suspected crony-ism and taking multiculturalism too far are small sins in my book for Livingstone. He hasn't destroyed London, which is always a bonus.

    *Edit* And yes, I know that's faint praise...
  8.  (1462.8)
    On the upside, should borris win (and I hope and prey to any god willing to take blood sacrifices that he won't) we can at least look forward to a really funny start to our next world war when he somehow manages to insult every significant military power on the face of the earth within two weeks of taking office.
  9.  (1462.9)
    At least in the mayoral campaign you have real choices. Unlike at the national level where it gets harder and harder to tell the difference between the three main parties. What exactly do any of them stand for now? Its all becoming a grey blur. Ken and Boris are proper characters that should ensure that politics is fun again. And Boris isn't as stupid as he pretends.
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      CommentAuthorliquidcow
    • CommentTimeMar 29th 2008 edited
     (1462.10)
    I knew as soon as it as announced that he was running that Boris would get in on the 'ironic student' vote. I found it depressing how many people on Facebook started joining 'Boris Johnson should be Mayor!' groups, especially people who I knew weren't at all Tory in their views, but had obviously decided to be 'wacky' rather than actually give a shit about real things.

    That said, on the whole I do sense a certain swing the right in public opinion recently, or maybe it's just my imagination. Lots of people in the press attacking the imaginary 'PC brigade' for example.
  11.  (1462.11)
    Last I checked hadn't PC been relegated to giving loo cleaners really silly job titles
  12.  (1462.12)
    And Boris isn't as stupid as he pretends.


    That's precisely the problem. If he were as stupid as he pretends, he would be relatively harmless.
  13.  (1462.13)
    The moment Boris Johnson entered the race, the Mayor of London election took the same tone as the Eurovision song contest.
  14.  (1462.14)
    This is related because it's a candidate for the London Assembly, elected at the same time as the Mayor.

    A BNP, which is basically a collection of racists, bigots, homophobes, misogenists and nasty minded shits, candidate has been deselected for suggesting rape isn't a serious crime. Deselected for causing controversy rather than his beliefs, the BNP try to claim they are not racist, homophobic, sexist and various other prejudices despite constant glaring evidence to the contrary.

    BNP removes 'rape myth' candidate
    Rape is simply sex. Women enjoy sex, so rape cannot be such a terrible ordeal.
    ...
    A woman would be more inconvenienced by having her handbag snatched.
    Then their leader says the person who made the comments 'acted honourably' in resolving the matter swiftly by standing down.

    Unbelievable...

    Last election they were 0.2% away from getting a seat in the assembly. All people in London should get their arses out and vote, there may not be much to vote for (I'd argue against that being a Green Party member) but you can go and vote AGAINST something. You can stop the fucking BNP getting into the London Assembly by voting for ANYBODY else.
  15.  (1462.15)
    The BNP are already in our local council (Barking and Dagenham) essentially because people round my way looked West towards Newham and started worrying. Perhaps not without cause, as it's not unexpected to be a bit worried about becoming surrounded by people who are 'not like me'.

    At the moment the BNP are playing on the fears that houses in this area are all going to immigrants rather than to the locals, which is an easy thing to think given the changing racial background of the area and the terrible lack of housing.

    It comes down to the usual things of poverty in the area (after the Ford factory closed there were a lot of unemployed) and that the changing faces and languages is happening so quickly - a form of future shock where the shock is the mobility of populations. The school where my brother teaches has 53% of pupils having English as an additional language (75% have special needs and his biggest problems come from, in his words, "the shameful white chavvy scumbags", an experience mirrored by my own in Newham).

    So it wouldn't surprise me in the least if a BNP got into the assembly.

    Thanks for the 'rape' link - I may well stick it in my blog, try and get the word out. Try and be a bit bigger than my one vote.

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