Ken Livingstone, who has developed a healthy respect for Ed Miliband, told the BBC Today programme earlier this week that his only criticism of the Labour leader was that he paid too much credence to “discredited Blairites”. There are a number of reasons as to why Labour did well in London, yet Ken Livingstone lost, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘London Mayor’
A tribute to Ken
May 5th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.Enoch Powell (who thanks to a recent revelation and in part to Ken may now be described as a onetime member of the LGBT community) said “all political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure“. Ken’s career may have ended in defeat yesterday, but it was no [...]
Evening Standard – the Boris Johnson free sheet
May 3rd, 2012 by Rainsborough.Never mind the Leveson Inquiry, with its focus on the Murdoch Mafia operation which has held successive Governments and Prime Ministers in thrall, for other parts of what used to be called Fleet Street, it is business as usual. As Londoners go to the polls, or perhaps don’t go to the polls, it is worth [...]
The politics of hate in Tower Hamlets
Apr 20th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.Tower Hamlets Labour Party is like nowhere else. Throughout London, every constituency party campaign team is doing its best to get the vote out for Ken. They recognise that for the party nationally and in London, that is Labour’s political priority. But here the local vendetta takes priority. Against Lutfur Rahman, independent Mayor overwhelmingly selected [...]
Real Londoners, not actors
Apr 14th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.“Another new depth plumbed in the mayoral campaign“, said Labour Uncut. And so it was… by them and by the Guardian diary, by the cuckoo in Labour’s nest, Dan Hodges, as well as the most hostile anti-Labour press in years. Ken stands accused of fake tears and using actors in his excellent broadcast. Except that [...]
Standard journalists at loggerheads over pro-Johnson reporting
Apr 13th, 2012 by Keith Wright.Anyone who’s picked up the London Evening Standard in the past few weeks will be painfully aware that it is living up to its nickname “The Evening Boris”. But leaked correspondence seen by Left Futures would suggest that not all at Standard HQ are happy with this. Last month Darryl Chamberlain drew attention to the shift [...]
Which side are you on, boys?
Apr 10th, 2012 by Conrad Landin.The Daily Telegraph supporting Boris Johnson? Surely not! For many, Andrew Gilligan’s promotion to the paper came as a relief. No longer would his hysterical opinions be broadcast to the capital’s retreating commuters as a point of course. But when self-proclaimed Labour supporters take to its pages to shaft their own party less than a [...]
Moving on from ‘Ken and the Jews’
Mar 29th, 2012 by Ken Livingstone.The last week saw my relationship with the Jewish community in the headlines. I agree with those including in my own party who want to break out of the “drama” of “Ken and the Jewish community” – it’s time to move on from that, onto something less headline-grabbing but more dynamic. I understand the dismay [...]
Ken and the Jews
Mar 27th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.Unlike Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian, I shall be voting for Ken Livingstone to be London’s Mayor, I shall be out campaigning for him and I shall be arguing against those in Labour’s ranks who, from the outset, have sought to undermine and damage his campaign. He offers the best policies for London and his [...]
Londoners won’t be fooled by the anti-Ken Livingstone spin
Feb 23rd, 2012 by Rabina Khan.The polls are showing the two leading contenders for London mayor – Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson – running neck and neck. Predictably, sections of the rightwing media have started reaching for the proverbial dog whistle; playing politics with race and religion and appealing to a diminishing band of bigoted voters who respond to the politics [...]
