Showing posts with label London Mayor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London Mayor. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Ken on 'The incompetence of Boris and the crisis for Cameron...'
Former Mayor Ken Livingstone sums up the chaos of two months of Boris Johnson running London.
When the story broke on Thursday, Ken gave support to the Tory who beat him, saying Boris was right to 'stick by his man' unless and until the allegations produced evidence.
But with Boris's choice of Deputy Mayor Ray Lewis forced to resign after it was revealed he wasn't even a magistrate as he claimed, Ken told the BBC Today programme this morning:
When the story broke on Thursday, Ken gave support to the Tory who beat him, saying Boris was right to 'stick by his man' unless and until the allegations produced evidence.
But with Boris's choice of Deputy Mayor Ray Lewis forced to resign after it was revealed he wasn't even a magistrate as he claimed, Ken told the BBC Today programme this morning:
In a mere two months in office Boris Johnson has already suffered the second resignation from among his most senior officials - Deputy Mayor Ray Lewis following Deputy Chief of Staff James McGrath two weeks ago.Spot on Ken!
In my entire eight years in office I suffered only one enforced resignation of any of my most senior officials, Lee Jasper - and that only after seven years.
This extreme contrast shows vividly the incompetence of Boris Johnson and his administration.
It is an equal crisis for David Cameron who, it should be remembered, chose to make his first photo opportunity as Tory leader with Ray Lewis.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Four stories that tell you all you need to know about today's Tory Party...
Four stories from today's trawl of the net reveal more than I need to know about the state of the Conservative Party under David Cameron's leadership:
First, two black Conservative Party members with a shocking tale of how they were treated like animals when they turned up for an annual meeting.
Next, Boris Johnson forced to apologise over a racist article published in The Spectator when he was editor.
The Tory choice to be Mayor the most diverse city in the world was quite rightly taken to task by a leading black lawyer.
One of the truly offensive Spectator articles claimed black people have smaller brains and are less intelligent. It claimed:
Third story (which may of course not be entirely unrelated to the second): The BNP calls on their supporters to vote for Boris Johnson as their second preference in the election for London Mayor.
Two telling points to note on this one:
1. The BNP did not endorse the Conservative candidate in previous Mayoral elections but are willing to tell their supporters to vote Boris Johnson in this one.
2. Last week, Labour's Ken Livingstone won the support of a very different minority party who advised its supporters to vote Ken as second preference.
For good measure, here's the fourth story:
A Conservative councillor on Tyneside has today been forced to resign after suggesting euthanasia as a way to cut the cost of caring for vulnerable children!
The common thread in all four stories...the Tories are still the same old nasty party.
First, two black Conservative Party members with a shocking tale of how they were treated like animals when they turned up for an annual meeting.
Next, Boris Johnson forced to apologise over a racist article published in The Spectator when he was editor.
The Tory choice to be Mayor the most diverse city in the world was quite rightly taken to task by a leading black lawyer.
One of the truly offensive Spectator articles claimed black people have smaller brains and are less intelligent. It claimed:
Orientals ... have larger brains and higher IQ scores. Blacks are at the other pole.In another Spectator article, black American basketball players were described as having
arms hanging below their knees and tongues sticking out.You may recall that earlier in the campaign, the Tory choice to run the most diverse city in the world, was forced to apologise for articles he personally wrote in which he described Africans as piccaninnies with watermelon smiles.
Third story (which may of course not be entirely unrelated to the second): The BNP calls on their supporters to vote for Boris Johnson as their second preference in the election for London Mayor.
Two telling points to note on this one:
1. The BNP did not endorse the Conservative candidate in previous Mayoral elections but are willing to tell their supporters to vote Boris Johnson in this one.
2. Last week, Labour's Ken Livingstone won the support of a very different minority party who advised its supporters to vote Ken as second preference.
For good measure, here's the fourth story:
A Conservative councillor on Tyneside has today been forced to resign after suggesting euthanasia as a way to cut the cost of caring for vulnerable children!
The common thread in all four stories...the Tories are still the same old nasty party.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
More bile from Bojo's best mate...
Evening Standard hack Andrew Gilligan launches yet attempt tonight to damage Ken Livingstone and promote his mate Boris Johnson to be Mayor of London.
Gilligan's latest bile targets a range of individuals and organisations who support Ken: from Doreen Lawrence OBE, the mother of murdered schoolboy Stephen Lawrence to Greenpeace and the New Nation newspaper.
Gilligan claims none of them declare their 'interests' in backing Ken for Mayor.
True to form given Gilligan's agenda, tonight's front page fails to mention his own interests in promoting Conservative candidate Boris Johnson.
Gilligan fails to mention that when he was under fire at the BBC for dodgy reporting, it was The Spectator, that staged a 'Save Andrew Gilligan'
dinner at top restaurant Luigi's stuffed with prominent Tories.
And who was The Spectator's editor at the time?
Step forward Boris Johnson.
Andrew Gilligan also fails to mention that after he was forced to resign from the BBC, he was even given a job by The Spectator: where his editor was Boris.
Now he's on The Standard, it's not surprising that Andrew Gilligan is so keen to return the favours and campaign for his old mucker.
Any self-respecting journalist would wish to declare such a clear interest in promoting a particular candidate...but not Gilligan who seems incapable of understanding why Londoners back Ken Livingstone.
It's hardly surprising that decent people feel they have an 'interest' in stopping a Tory who wrote about African people as
'piccaninnies'.
No wonder Doreen Lawrence OBE gave her opinion that Boris Johnson is 'not an appropriate person to run a multi-cultural city like London' and that if elected Mayor he would destroy London's unity.
Like decent people everywhere, Mrs Lawrence was shocked by the 'piccaninnies' revelation. And of course, it was not the first time the Lawrences had cause to feel offended by Boris Johnson...I'm sure they've not forgotten Boris's attack on some of the Macpherson Inquiry recommendations as 'born of political correctness'.
And remember, the Macpherson Inquiry was set up by Labour after the 1997 General Election: for years the Tory Government denied the Lawrences an inquiry into the racist murder of their son.
It's no surprise either that environmental organisations like Greenpeace fear a Boris nightmare.
You only have to look at Ken's vision for a Low Carbon London...
Or his light bulb amnesty, which offered a free energy-saver for every Londoner.
Or his bold plan to increase the congestion charge for Chelsea tractors and the biggest gas-guzzling sports cars - a sensible move described as 'bonkers' by Boris Johnson.
Last week, Greenpeace understandably welcomed Ken Livingstone's Climate Change Action Plan for London.
John Sauven, director of Greenpeace said no other leader was on the same page as Ken Livingstone in showing how the largest city in Europe can combat climate change.
Other environmental pressure groups spoke warmly of Ken's climate change plan.
The Green Party'sPrincipal Speaker welcomed it. And Friends of the Earth's Director Tony Juniper went on record saying: 'Hats off to Ken Livingstone for continuing to show political leadership on tackling climate change...'
Like Greenpeace, their 'interest' is surely returning a Mayor who regularly demonstrates that he is prepared to take the tough action needed to protect London -unlike Boris Johnson, who even opposed the Kyoto Treaty.
But you're not likely to read that in the London Standard...
Gilligan's latest bile targets a range of individuals and organisations who support Ken: from Doreen Lawrence OBE, the mother of murdered schoolboy Stephen Lawrence to Greenpeace and the New Nation newspaper.
Gilligan claims none of them declare their 'interests' in backing Ken for Mayor.
True to form given Gilligan's agenda, tonight's front page fails to mention his own interests in promoting Conservative candidate Boris Johnson.
Gilligan fails to mention that when he was under fire at the BBC for dodgy reporting, it was The Spectator, that staged a 'Save Andrew Gilligan'
dinner at top restaurant Luigi's stuffed with prominent Tories.
And who was The Spectator's editor at the time?
Step forward Boris Johnson.
Andrew Gilligan also fails to mention that after he was forced to resign from the BBC, he was even given a job by The Spectator: where his editor was Boris.
Now he's on The Standard, it's not surprising that Andrew Gilligan is so keen to return the favours and campaign for his old mucker.
Any self-respecting journalist would wish to declare such a clear interest in promoting a particular candidate...but not Gilligan who seems incapable of understanding why Londoners back Ken Livingstone.
It's hardly surprising that decent people feel they have an 'interest' in stopping a Tory who wrote about African people as
'piccaninnies'.
No wonder Doreen Lawrence OBE gave her opinion that Boris Johnson is 'not an appropriate person to run a multi-cultural city like London' and that if elected Mayor he would destroy London's unity.
Like decent people everywhere, Mrs Lawrence was shocked by the 'piccaninnies' revelation. And of course, it was not the first time the Lawrences had cause to feel offended by Boris Johnson...I'm sure they've not forgotten Boris's attack on some of the Macpherson Inquiry recommendations as 'born of political correctness'.
And remember, the Macpherson Inquiry was set up by Labour after the 1997 General Election: for years the Tory Government denied the Lawrences an inquiry into the racist murder of their son.
It's no surprise either that environmental organisations like Greenpeace fear a Boris nightmare.
You only have to look at Ken's vision for a Low Carbon London...
Or his light bulb amnesty, which offered a free energy-saver for every Londoner.
Or his bold plan to increase the congestion charge for Chelsea tractors and the biggest gas-guzzling sports cars - a sensible move described as 'bonkers' by Boris Johnson.
Last week, Greenpeace understandably welcomed Ken Livingstone's Climate Change Action Plan for London.
John Sauven, director of Greenpeace said no other leader was on the same page as Ken Livingstone in showing how the largest city in Europe can combat climate change.
Other environmental pressure groups spoke warmly of Ken's climate change plan.
The Green Party'sPrincipal Speaker welcomed it. And Friends of the Earth's Director Tony Juniper went on record saying: 'Hats off to Ken Livingstone for continuing to show political leadership on tackling climate change...'
Like Greenpeace, their 'interest' is surely returning a Mayor who regularly demonstrates that he is prepared to take the tough action needed to protect London -unlike Boris Johnson, who even opposed the Kyoto Treaty.
But you're not likely to read that in the London Standard...
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Boris faces conflict charges as Ken opens poll lead...
Despite this week's disgraceful Dispatches hatchet-job and the never-ending daily bile spat out by the London Standard, Ken Livingstone has opened up a poll lead over Boris Johnson in the campaign to be Mayor of London.
And Saturday's Guardian turns the spotlight on Boris Johnson who faces a conflict of interest charge and interesting revelations about who's paying for his campaign HQ...
The latest YouGov/ITV London poll was taken after the Dispatches programme this week and puts Labour's Ken on 44 per cent, Tory Boris Johnson on 40 per cent and LibDem Brian Paddick on eight per cent.
Good to see Londoners standing up to the barrage of outrageous attacks on their Mayor. Londoners know Ken and trust him to do what's best for London.
It's already the dirtiest campaign ever mounted against Ken Livingstone - and I expect the daily venom against him which oozes from the London Standard to intensify as the campaign hots up.
But Londoners have come to expect outrageous personal and political attacks on Ken's integrity and they see straight through them.
I hope Londoners will go on rejecting the lies and unsubstantiated allegations. If Ken is judged on the real issues such as what he has delivered on transport, crime, affordable housing, the environment and community relations, he'll win hands down on May the First.
* Meanwhile, Boris was on the campaign trail today - but not in London.
The Tory chancer's visit to his constituency in Oxfordshire serves to highlight how close Boris is to London issues.
So close in fact, that he didn't bother to turn up once for the crucial House of Commons on the £16 billion Crossrail line which has been given the go-ahead by the Labour Government.
And Saturday's Guardian turns the spotlight on Boris Johnson who faces a conflict of interest charge and interesting revelations about who's paying for his campaign HQ...
The latest YouGov/ITV London poll was taken after the Dispatches programme this week and puts Labour's Ken on 44 per cent, Tory Boris Johnson on 40 per cent and LibDem Brian Paddick on eight per cent.
Good to see Londoners standing up to the barrage of outrageous attacks on their Mayor. Londoners know Ken and trust him to do what's best for London.
It's already the dirtiest campaign ever mounted against Ken Livingstone - and I expect the daily venom against him which oozes from the London Standard to intensify as the campaign hots up.
But Londoners have come to expect outrageous personal and political attacks on Ken's integrity and they see straight through them.
I hope Londoners will go on rejecting the lies and unsubstantiated allegations. If Ken is judged on the real issues such as what he has delivered on transport, crime, affordable housing, the environment and community relations, he'll win hands down on May the First.
* Meanwhile, Boris was on the campaign trail today - but not in London.
The Tory chancer's visit to his constituency in Oxfordshire serves to highlight how close Boris is to London issues.
So close in fact, that he didn't bother to turn up once for the crucial House of Commons on the £16 billion Crossrail line which has been given the go-ahead by the Labour Government.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Boris Johnson gets a roasting over 'piccaninnies' disgrace...
If you're sensitive about strong language, probably best not reading this account of an event this week which saw Boris Johnson, the Tory candidate for London Mayor, get a public roasting for describing African people as 'piccaninnies' with 'water-melon smiles...'
Monday, January 21, 2008
Channel 4 wields the hatchet on Ken Livingstone...
I missed tonight's much-trailed Dispatches programme on London Mayor Ken Livingstone, which apparently took six months in the making.
Fellow-blogger Luke Akehurst who did see it confirms my suspicions that Channel Four presented a disgraceful hour-long hatchet job, long on one-sided comment, but woefully short on fact.
Ken's achievements in helping make London one of the world's most vibrant cities over the past eight years are there for all to see.
But can anyone tell me when Londoners - or any of us - will be shown the TV documentary resulting from a similar six months research into Tory challenger Boris Johnson...?
No.
Didn't think so.
Fellow-blogger Luke Akehurst who did see it confirms my suspicions that Channel Four presented a disgraceful hour-long hatchet job, long on one-sided comment, but woefully short on fact.
Ken's achievements in helping make London one of the world's most vibrant cities over the past eight years are there for all to see.
But can anyone tell me when Londoners - or any of us - will be shown the TV documentary resulting from a similar six months research into Tory challenger Boris Johnson...?
No.
Didn't think so.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Tory Boris backs Conrad the Crook
No surprise to see Boris Johnson backing convicted crook and Tory peer Lord Conrad Black. The former media tycoon was told by a Judge today that he faces eight years in jail when he is sentenced for multi-million pound fraud.Boris, Tory hopeful in next year's elections for London Mayor, apparently provided Lord Black with a character reference.
Labour MP Karen Buck has lodged an early day motion questioning Boris's judgement in backing someone convicted of stealing on such a massive scale.
You can read Karen's EDM HERE.
There's also this live blog with a blow by blow commentary as the sentencing drama unfolds...
Meanwhile, look out for Boris backing other jail-birds such as former Tory high-flier Jonathan Aitkin, former Tory Leader in Lincolnshire 'Honest' Jim Speechley...or maybe even Boris's predessessor as Tory candidate for London...
Yes, step forward the one and only 'Lord' Jeffrey Archer.
UPDATE: C4 News says the Chicago court has sentenced Black to six-and-a-half years in prison...while the BBC asks "Did he get off lightly?"
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Boris can never be credible candidate when he describes black people as 'piccaninnies'...
Difficult to see how Boris Johnson can remain a contender for London Mayor after the Guardian reveals today how he describes black people as piccaninnies and talks about water melon smiles of Africans.Thankfully, our country has moved on from the 1950s generation of my parents when terms like that were widely accepted.
Today, I suspect as many white Londoners as black Londoners will find Boris's colourful language offensive. I hope they agree with the mother of murdered Stephen Lawrence that he is not fit to be Mayor of our multi-cultural capital city.
David Cameron's quest to find a credible Tory candidate to take on Ken Livingstone has been seemingly endless and everyone knows he was scraping the barrell when Boris agreed to stand. But if thinks the answer to Ken is Boris, his judgement is worse than anyone thought possible. Mr Cameron needs to once again back to the drawing board...
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