Mayoral elections

[lozzyloz]

But MP, click on the 2nd choice news story and see what she really looks like!

[SeanMacGabhann]

How many election promises has he broke? I know about the routemaster ones but most of them seem to go ahead..

and what is

based on? Isn't any mayor not going to be able to please everyone all the time? So you could level that accusation at anyone

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

Lozzy - that's Jenny Jones you plum!

[*Bob*]

Like Jah, I'll be voting for Ken but I like Paddick too. I think he's a serious candidate for the job and I like a fair bit of what he has to say. It's just a bit of a shame that a serious candidate is eclipsed a floppy-haired clown, entertaining though he may be.

The most bizarre yet strangely popular justification for voting Boris (put forward by those who intend to do so) is that "he's not as stupid as he seems".

[lozzyloz]

Scared the life out of me!! Definitely not voting green now.

[Townleygreen]

I'm definitely voting green - their candidate is even better looking than Boris!! No seriously, I think I will vote for Sian. She has the policies I support.

[EDOldie]

The choice for me is between an idiot (ken) a fool (boris) and someone who's actually done something very positive indeed for London in his previous professional career. As Ken was the anti establishment candidate in his first outing Brian Paddick clearly fulfills that role now. I would have thought that almost everyone on the forum would choose to vote for him for this reason alone, bolshy lot you are, he has very strong green credentials too and more chance of winning than the green candidate. Go on, stick your fingers up to the Labourtory party for once.

[AllforNun]

Travel cards, tube arrival times, bus arrival times, oyster cards, congestion charge, trafalgar pedestrianised.....bendy buses not so good.....all Ken's ideas (some of them stretching back to GLC days) and mostly bloody good ideas that make London tick...give the guy a break, who gives a shit if he is anti Eton / Old Boys club good for him.

[EDOldie]

Yes, but thats what he and anyone else in that position should be doing. Also it's not his fault he's totally unaccountable to anyone. But, and it's a big one, do we want to be governed in this way. My understanding is that Paddick, if he wins, will be more consultative and open himself up to scrutiny. Ken is effectivly an elected dictator. This is a system designed by the Labour Party when they thought poor old Frank Dobson was going to be Mayor and they ended up with Ken who left the Labour Party to stand, so guess what?? they changed the rules and let him back in so there was a Labour mayor of London. I'm convinced that Boris has a deal going with Labour so they retain it. Surely no one will vote for him?

[SeanMacGabhann]

EdOldie - I'm almost inclined to agree with you. But compared to the actual elected Labour party where anything except leadership is apparent, I'm seduced by the whole "I'm a leader, this is what I'll do, elect me and I'll do it" thing I get from Ken

i haven't been betrayed by much stuff he's done on the sly - but I'm all ears as to what that might be

It's not that Labour consult per se - but it's leadership by polls. Whatever Ken has done against the grain has, on the wholem been for the greater good. IMO of course. I don't think it can be called a dictatorship. If that were true, when he stood for reelection in the past he would have been turfed

[HonaloochieB]

Is Mr Tanna running again? I think it'd put ED on the map if a local drug dealer (OK, i think he'd prefer pharmacist)was elected mayor.

Anyhow I'm going for whichever candidate abolishes the bendy bastard buses.

[Asset]

Ken is a shyster.

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

Haha, she's a very nice lady I'll have you know! (Jenny Jones)

[barrymarshall]

ChavWivaLawDegree Wrote:

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> There is a Green candidate you know. She is

> actually quite good, despite being blonde.

>

> http://sianformayor.org.uk/

mmm, she's nice (yeah I know - shallow)

[mockney piers]

There's something of a the sarah greene in her prime, meet saffron burrows. What's not to like?

Can she teach me how to make my own solar power generator out of egg boxes and sticky back plastic while fending off a man-eating shark?

[AllforNun]

EDoldie - Well it's not really what everybody should be doing because no one else came up with ideas. They were all simple and have to a great extent made London run better, and most of them are focused on us and not big Business. A Con Mayor would probably re-take the Dome and use it to stage London's first ever arms fair, Saudi Royals get in for free. And paddick will use him extensive Grammar school education to spout of about the 'common man' while secretly tring to bring back an organic version of the British RAJ.

[blinder999]

Asset Wrote:

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> Ken is a shyster.

Although I think you may be right to a certain degree, I perhaps naively believe that he's in politics for the greater good, and not to line his own pockets.

I also think he's been very effective at keeping the Daily Mail hate-mongers at bay.

Until the Tories can find a convincing candidate, he's all we've got, but it will be interesting to see what happens when Ken finally packs it in.

[barrymarshall]

mockney piers Wrote:

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> There's something of a the sarah greene in her

> prime, meet saffron burrows. What's not to like?

> Can she teach me how to make my own solar power

> generator out of egg boxes and sticky back plastic

> while fending off a man-eating shark?

have you checked out her facebook page?

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

She's a nice person and the policies are right, so don't know why anyone would vote for anyone else. Ken will get my 2nd vote tho.

[Asset]

Even though I am not a Tory sympathiser, I quite like Bumbling Boris in a weird kind of way. Not sure how effective he would be as a mayor though. He does say he'd get rid of bendy buses although I doubt that would happen in reality.

Isn't Ken trying to re-classify ED as 'urban' rather than 'suburban' which would have an effect on the kind of things that can be built?

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

Sian Berry's supporters Facebook group has more info:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4305641550

So have a look before any of you think there are only 3 people in the race!

[Keef]

Asset Wrote:

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> Even though I am not a Tory sympathiser, I quite like Bumbling Boris in a weird kind of way. Not sure how effective he would be as a mayor though.

My thoughts exactly, but wouldn't vote for him.

I absolutely hate Ken, I think he's a nasty little man! That Dispaches programme was disgracefully one sided, but it still raised some intersting points, and he was invited to defend himself, but refused because he answers to no man!

[*Bob*]

Keef Wrote:

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He was invited to defend himself, but

> refused because he answers to no man!

That's nonsense.. quite the opposite, in fact. I've lost count of the amount of times he's done an hour phone-in Q&A on Beeb Radio London (Da Feltz's morning show). That's a full hour, presented by an (often) hostile host, facing any question that comes at him - on a reasonably regular basis.

There aren't many major league politician's you can say that about.

[Keef]

I meant he will not speak if he doesn't deem you worthy. Struggling to get my words out today, basically I'm saying he's an arrogant c**t.

[Mark]

Keef Wrote:

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> I meant he will not speak if he doesn't deem you worthy.

what do you base that on Keef?