Boris Johnson last night notched up the Tories' greatest electoral success since John Major's surprise victory in the 1992 general election when he unseated Ken Livingstone as mayor of London.

:doh: :doh: :doh:

Dreadful, dreadful news. Still, I guess Londoners weren't voting against Ken/for Boris - but for change, down to dissatisfaction with the Blair/Brown Labour 'brand'.

Still, I don't doubt that Londoners are in for a tough time, and will regret this voting. I just hope Ken is kept in the administration - and I am pretty sure he will be...

If I hear one more person saying 'well, he was alright on Have I Got News for You' about Boris, I think I might cry. SO uninformed!

My husband and I are accelerating plans to move out!!

Glad you put a thread up. :ok: I was going to but didn't have time. I got very drunk after the elections, my partner and I have to walk up the road to the church to vote and then we are in town so he suggested a pub crawl. We made an event fo it :lol:

I'm not surprised Boris got in. He is a bit of a tw*t but I think it is all down to the loss of Labour popularity as seen in the other local elections, so in that respect Kens result was rather good. Neither of us voted for either, we don't think that much to Ken and we liked him as Independent but since he became affilliated to Labour he's lost his appeal for us. Hasn't done a bad job, but there are a lot of things he has done that have cost us money and the congestion charge really doesn't work. But where did all the money go that was collected? Plus he gave us bendy buses :doh: I used to like Ken years back, he's not a bad chap. Anyway Gordon Brown and his outrageous 10p tax scandal has cost Ken.

We noticed Boris was VERY popular round here. Then again he was the ONLY candidate who put his own literature in the door, we got nothing off anyone else. Shocking. :o

One thing I predicted was that the BNP would get a seat in the assembly and I'm not surpised because immigration is really a big issue here and a concern to many Londoners. None of the other parties seemed to put it on their agenda, which was a mistake. Whether or not the BNP handle it right is one thing, but them having a seat may mean it goes on the agenda so a reckon lots of folks would have done that as a protest. Doesn't matter if folks are pro, anti or partially pro immigration, the fact is that THE hottest topic round here and someone needs to actually address it instead fo running away.

We were disappointed with the Green party - considering they are supposed to stand for the environment, they were offerign little more than most parties - transport and anti- Heathrow expansion were offered by most - so did not stand out. Anything different that they did offer was a drop in the ocean really. Maybe their days are over as environment has to be on everyone's agenda now so there is no room for a single issue. :shrug:

Lib Dems - there seemed to be a lot of talk about the scandal surrounding the candidate, maybe it put folks off?

I think the most attractive proposition to many was the English Democrats promising to make St George's day into a National holiday. Why not? At least you get something out of them :D

Anything left seemed to do appallingly which does not bode well for the future to me, seems London has goen more right again. My local vote is a complete waste cos the Tories get in every year without fail, have done for decades it appears.

Are you a londoner as well Sara? Not a big fan of either Boris and Ken. I find it difficult to jedge what is in the mayor resposibilty and what is in the councils. ...or are they linked? In anycase, there is a lot to be desired in London. Used to be a great city.

I like his hair.

It would look a lot better if he put a brush through it though eh? :lol:

Absolutely,
as you say immigration is a hot topic, but the politicians don't seem as responsive to public opinion as they should be. As you say the lack of response means some vote for the BNP as a protest, it's about time the main political parties got their act together -Friank Field has been eloquently commenting on this issue for some time-He's kind of dull, but knows what he's talking about.

I'm from Yorkshire, but feel sorry for you lot with Boris-for some reason the word buffoon comes to mind-maybe he's not as dumb as he seems-well i doubt he could be, come to think of it.

:D

Glad you agree cos I for one am sick of folks pussyfootign around over immigration and it seems it's politically incorrect to so much as say it :rolleyes: Everyone has an opinion and is entitled to express it, but doesn't make you right wing if you have concerns. And yep, the other parties are mad to ignore it. Beleive me I hear nothing but moans about immigration everyhwere I go round here. And many folks are nto as reasoned and tolerant as we might like so they better do something quick.

Glad you feel sorry for us, I kind fo daon't care cos I hate London, I just ended up herecos I went to Uni here in 1988, as di dmy partner who went later and then we met, we had jobs so we stayed as you do. Don't come down here, you are best off where you are. :ok:

Barbie defeats Ken ffs.

It's odd I was chatting about the subject of London the other day-i haven't been for quite a few years, but i mentioned i had no inclination to go-and i'm not even sure why, cos generally i live travelling to cities.
I lived in Barnet for two years-some years back now, and loved London then, but my enthusiasm inexplicably waned over the years-for no particular reason.
I'm in a village called Hickleton near Doncaster-south Yorkshire-nothing special, but it's home.

He still has nice hair. :yep: :yep:

And it would be ruined by a comb SB!!!

Anyone will be better than ken :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Boris may not be the most serious of politicians but he will be surrounded by some great Tory advisors.


The whole local elections resukts have been brilliant for the UK :D :D :D :D :D

It's a disaster for London - that's 4 years of the tory party desperately trying to keep the racist, homobphobic, lying toff from making too many gaffs! Will they have time to even do anything positive in London - not that he had any clear policies in the first place.

How Brown and the Labour party have made such a mess of things is beyond me.

Oh well, once the Tories are back in at least it will remind everyone why they were so hated in the first place and hopefully give Labour time to realise it's not supposed to be bending over backwards to curtail civil liberties and helping the rich make more money.

Great post :ok:

Yeah I am quite a city person myself, at least I like one nearby and I like some scenery too. I come from Nottingham, have always spent a lot of time in the city there and lived and worked in it, or very close by in the more inner city areas as they were called. But ti was always friendly and not too huge and inpersonal. I'm quite a way out fo London, the suburbs, but I couldn't cope with the centre. I've always found ti too hard feeling and hectic, rude and glum. I go there every week to a hospital and the miserable faces are awful. Plus you can't breathe and it's so noisy.

Used to go up Camden and Acton as a student, and after leaving uni too as it had a good vibe and quite friendly, more down to earth and boho and the clubs and parties were great. It's nto the same now though, and I have no inclination to go really. Plus I figure I might be too old for the scene as it was and folks move on. I onyl stay here cos my partne rhas a great job and excellent pay, if that fell through then we'd be off to the Southwest liek a shot. And my area is ok, it's quite a green borough and we have a nic epark and huge gardens, considerign we are 10 mins walk from town. :ok:

Not been to Yorks much ( they don't like Notts folks much, I knwo why ;) but my uncle lived in Holmfirth until he died a few years back, very scenic. Spent a lto fo time in Sheffiled as partne rlived there and it's a godo place, the peaks are stunning too and easy to access (my dad was born in the Peak District, Matlock Derbys area) and I have a soft spot for the coast - Bridlington, Filey Scarborough is very scenic and I've doen bird wathcing on Flamborough head :D

As a Londoner, I am still :yikes:

After having debated this long and hard with friends and family, the proof - as they say - will be in the pudding for Boris, and we'll see what he has to bring to the table.

Unfortunately for Ken, he has been brought down by the recent Labour crisis...and by making some ill advised decisions e.g. favouring a few of his cronies.

As regards Frank Field - he's one of the last of the 'Old Labour' brigade...who are few and far between now. I guess Old Labour died with John Smith.

I am certain the next election will see a Tory result. Not because anybody has particulalry 'become' a Tory - but because those who do not have firm political convictions want to vote for a change...and that change will come in the form of David Cameron. Thankfully, this change will also hit the Conservative party in time, also...

I'm not a Londoner so i'm not sure i feel entirely qualfied to discuss the election - having not lived in London to see what Ken's impact has been. I will say that I love Boris though - i think he's sooo funny, and the episodes he chaired of HIGNFY (especially the full versions) are still some of the best TV I've ever see. would i want him to be mayor of my town....umm....no!

i did, however, read this interesting article this morning about Boris' election:

Bruce Anderson: Boris Johnson is a libertarian, but he is not a Tory - and he's unlikely to last the course

He is a man without core belief: without a political or intellectual compass

Gordon Brown could still recover if at least two out of the following three events were to occur. The first is the return of economic feel-good. The second, a transformation of his and his senior colleagues' personalities, so that when they address the public, they no longer sound like a convention of speak-your-weight machines, spiked up by the occasional Dalek. Finally, Gordon Brown needs David Cameron to commit a succession of gaffes.

None of that will happen. Instead, the electorate will grow more and more irritated, as if dealing with a grossly overstaying guest who ignores every hint to depart. It will soon be time for Mr Cameron to reprint a bumper-sticker last seen in the late Seventies: "Cheer up, the Tories are coming".

Cheering up, gaffes; Boris Johnson. A few weeks ago, prominent Tories were asking themselves which would be worse: Boris losing or Boris winning. Even on Friday, as the scale of the Labour defeat became apparent, some Tories wondered whether it would matter if Boris was defeated. There was a large Tory cake already. Did it really need to be crowned by a cherry with a self-destruct mechanism?

At the beginning of Boris's campaign, some of his own advisers sounded like a housemaster's report from a generation ago. "Boris has shown signs of improvement. I only had to beat him three times this term. But he is still far too ready to play the fool. On a bad day, he can be a bigger nuisance than any boy in the school." There was a further anxiety. Did Boris sincerely want to win or, when he had lost narrowly and hilariously, would he turn to his agent and say: "That was fun. Now: 50 per cent extra on all my fees?"

Then everything became serious and so, to widespread surprise, did Boris. He not only had his hair mown; he kept his tongue curbed. Much of the credit is due to Lynton Crosby, the Australian political enforcer. Whatever caused Mr Crosby's ancestor to be transported, it must have been something formidable. In 2005, Crosby advised Michael Howard's Tories to talk about immigration in a way that attracted right-wing voters without alienating the more liberal-minded. This was the "dog-whistle" technique: a sound audible to the dog which would not grate on passing humans. In 2008, Mr Crosby moved on, from the dog whistle to the dog lead. He kept Boris under control.

Lynton Crosby's ticket-of-leave has run out. He is returning to Australia. This creates a vacancy. Now that Bertie Wooster is in City Hall, who will be Jeeves? It is a vital role, for unless Boris has undergone the sort of personality change which might save Gordon Brown, there is a basic problem. He is a man without core belief: without a political and intellectual compass.

He does have core instincts: three of them, two attractive. He is a libertarian and a hedonist; he is in favour of everyone having a good time, especially himself. But he is not a Tory. There is no reverence for institutions or tradition: no interest in history. Tories approach British history with a mixture of sentimentality, allegiance and hard thinking. Boris's response to that would be derisive laughter. If he were 10 years younger, he could easily have been seduced by Tony Blair, another man who uses charm as a substitute for intellect and reliability.

Boris's third, less attractive core instinct is selfishness. Just below the bumbling exterior lies a ruthless ambition and an almost complete lack of interest in anyone else's well-being. Up to now, he has been able to get away with this by exploiting his charm. Over the years, Boris has convinced himself that he can charm his way out of any blunder, any inconvenient commitment, any deception. To be fair to him, it has worked: thus far.

It will not be enough to see him through the next four years. Mayor Boris has two assets: the ambition – he will not want to fail – and a brain. Narrowly missing a First in Greats, he did not fall short because of stress arising from overwork. Yet there is one problem with the brain. It has hardly been used. Boris has never written a closely argued article: never tried to think his way through a complex intellectual question. When he is not clowning and goofing, he is remarkably inarticulate. He will take a dart at an issue, offering his solution in a slangy stumble. When someone points out the obvious flaws in his suggestion, he quickly becomes peevish. From now on, he will have to do better than that.

Fortunately, the Mayor has few powers. Boris can concentrate on planning, transport and crime. As regards planning, he has some further good instincts. Detesting old London, bourgeois London, Imperial London, Ken Livingstone was happy to violate its skyline. Though he will not find London brick and leave it marble, Boris believes that it should be the Flower of Cities. He will have to work out how to reconcile aesthetics and economic development. This means listening to the experts without accepting everything that they say. It means lots of meetings, hours of concentration, evenings of paperwork. Above all, breaking the habit of a lifetime, it means thought.

The same will be true of transport. On crime, however, where he has much less executive authority, Boris's qualities might prove useful. London's crime crisis could only be brought under control by a myriad of local initiatives. Mothers who do not want their sons to join gangs and carry knives: council estate residents who are fed up with drug dealers and who want their sink estate to swim: men who have come from the mean streets, sometimes via prison, and who are now desperate to discourage youngsters from repeating their mistakes. Boris could be the Mayor to encourage all those active citizens. He could use the Mayoralty as a bully pulpit on crime.

He must also ensure that there are more police, deployed much more effectively. London also needs a new Metropolitan Commissioner. Ian Blair, the small change for Tony Blair, lacks the moral depth to give his force proper leadership.

Crime brings Boris one further advantage. A number of Ken Livingstone's lefty intimates made off with public funds. Their offences could take six months to expose. That will give Boris the political initiative and, as it were, time to think.

But there should be no long delay in turning thinking into results. This weekend, some Labour MPs were finding consolation – in Boris. A year from now, they hope to be saying: "Twelve months ago, the voters of London chose an Etonian, a toff twit in a Bullingdon Club tailcoat, to be their Mayor. They would not vote that way today. The country should not repeat their mistake."

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/comme...rse-821138.html
If Boris's mayoralty did slide giggling beneath the waves, the embarrassment could damage the Tories' prospects. Conservatives must hope, therefore, that the less Wodehousian aspect of his character become apparent, which they may. In contrast to Gordon Brown, it is not certain that Boris will fail.

Interesting article there Jo, cheers :ok:

Must say Boris has always struck me as a bit of a fool at times, but then again maybe also as a maverick who doesn't tow party lines. Mayeb that has attracted people? I do recall when the London Mayor thing first started, we had a whole host of independent characters standing rather than party political ones and I feel that is how it should be. Now almost everyone is party affiliated. Maybe Boris seemed more independent - he is certainly on his own planet. :D I just hope that folks haven;'t voted for him cos they found him funny on the TV cos if that is the case, they won't be laughing in 4 years time :lol:

On a serious note, from what I gathered, Boris ticked all the boxes - crime, environment, transport etc - he sent out better election literature than everyone else. And I happen to know of folks who voted for him cos they were tired of Ken and felt that Boris was the ONLY other candiidate who had a chance. Also I knwo quite a few folks who did the tactical vote where they voted for their minority party as thei rprotest for 1st choice, then put Boris or Ken in 2nd choice. This election was decided on 2nd choices I think. I wasn't personally shocked that he won - hed' have been my bet at the bookies.

Must say my partner and I a some of our friends round here don't care too much about the Mayor as we feel quite alienated from London and the benefits that the Moyor supposedly gives to London. This is because we live right on the outskirts - I'm in the Hillingdon and Ealing constituency - and don't benefit form many of things inroidced in the centre, but we still pay our Council Tax money to the Mayor (some top up I think). This riles us somewhat. We'd rather not be considered part fo London. I am closer to Bucks and Berks than I am Central London. In fact I spend more time in Bucks and Berks (drinking and eating) than I do in London, and feel more a part of that than London.

I am also concerned about the fact Boris hasn't strongly articulated his regeneration policy. Ken was doing great things to regenerate the East of London...and it would be a great shame if this work was left unfinished.

There are so many parts of the city that need a cash injection, better transport and some sort of business rate incentive for businesses to invest in the area.

Seems a great shame to me that London still has so many woefully underdeveloped areas.

I agree, especially when you consider the how wealthy and developed some of the areas are. Never seem to see much cash injectied where I am, cos folks consider it a wealthy borough but there is a world of difference between say an area 15 mins drive away with millionaires houses and a private road, and the estate I live in, and even worse the ones 15 mins in the other direction. I find my borough quite bizarre in that respect. Every time they 'regenerate' they bulldoze greenbelt and public places and facilities like pubs and slap up a load of boxy posy new flats at extortionate prices. They forget that that brings in another 100 people to the area, and their cars and kids!, but don't think that they might then need more community, health and social facilties and services.

I haven't forgiven the people who authorised th edemolition fo my old social club where I played snooker, pool and had a good time (and it kept kids off the streets too cos they could join with parents) and added a load of flats. They are charging the earth for them but they are not that good and I certainly would not pay what they want to live in that road. :unsure: 250k for 2 bed to view the cancal, gaswroks and industrial estate - and be 5 mins from a very rough road. No thanks.

I don't live in London myself, but go there a lot, and to me, despite his faults (cronyism, arrogance, dubious extremist friends), Ken Livingstone has made London a much better place. He succeeded in making people take buses again (bus use falling everywhere else in country except London), London has become one of the UK's few real cycling cities, and has made real strides on regeneration, affordable housing (forget immigration, lack of affordable housing is London's biggest problem) and real progressive policies on the environment. The man had a vision.

Johnson on the other hand is vague, without a vision and despite his intelligence in other ways, he showed a poor grasp and naivety of many issues during the campaign ('no strike deal' with RMT for tube, cost of bringing back Routemasters, etc). The campaign was very personal and Boris also shamelessly played to more right-wing audiences by going for unnecessary hard rhetoric on immigration.

Ken's bad luck that the campaign coincided with the local elections and a time when voters wanted to punish Labour at the polls...in normal circumstances Ken would have got re-elected...

In the meantime, I expect to see Boris and the new London Assembly Tories trying to water down affordable housing policy, ignoring regeneration and only taking an interest in environment when it suits them (protecting back gardens in the outer bits of London that voted Tory).

Boris will have a very short honeymoon period though...a lot of tricky issues heading his way v soon...and I doubt he has the nous that his predecessor had in dealing with them...

On the local election results as a whole, what was the actual turnout? I have a suspicion that a lot of Labour voters stayed at home and that the results weren't quite the ringing endorsement of the Tories they first appear (and I'll honestly admit that the poor turnout for other local and general elections when Labour have done better hasn't been too much of an endorsement either!).

I agree, he did at least have a vision unliek Boris who as you say will be in for a very tough time once they get down to the nitty gritty of things after his honeymoon period.

Thing with London is that PT is still awful especially the underground. It's such an old system and it would cost biliions to rebuild. Had it nto survived WW2 we'd have a new one like many European cities, but it did and maintining it is a nightmare. It's juts nto big enough to contain the volume fo people anymore, neither are the roads and it doesn't matter what they do with the congestion charge - folks still have to get to London. I have to go each week by car for hospital treatment, luckily I don't pay the charge but woudl be pissed of if I had to as I am going there for essential stuff nto for a jolly. What happens with the congestion charge is that the areas just outiside the zone get even worse - as I experienced last week :rolleyes:

I don't see how the transport cna improve without major investment and rebuilding. The buses, no matter what you do, are still stuck in traffic as there are just too many people in London now, or havign to go there. And on the cycle lanes - great idea Ken, but I've seen where they start, then just suddenyl end in a dangerous place, then start a bit later. Unless they are continuous and make cycling safer they are a waste fo time IMHO. Honestly, there is one near Kings Cross that is literalyl a few meters long.

Boris' first act as Mayor of London

What a prat doing that without consulting the transport union! :doh: :doh: :doh: Who will enforce it exactly? It will just cause more confrontation and danger for the public and staff when the offender is asked to get off. It's a nightmare travellign on transport as it is, as staff don't do anything and you wait for the police EVERY time by which time it is too late. I expect mugs like me will get their council tax put up to enforce something stupid :rolleyes:

I thought drinkign wa sbanne don there anyway, hence folks liek me in th epast sneakign vodka in their coke cans and evian vottles to look liek we were nto drinking? :lol:

I am a Londoner. I found Ken to be a curate's egg of a Mayor and I don't really know what to make of Boris. There are similarities between them: they are both public showmen who regularly display an unattractive side to their characters in their private and semi-private lives and their utterances and with the company they keep (Ken especially on the last one).

There is no doubt that Boris is a formidable intellect, but whether he has the discipline and focus to make something worthwhile of that intellect only time will tell.

He has a huge responsibility, not only to Londoners, but also to his party as the most visible litmus test of what a Tory in power is like over the next year or so before the General Election. He is also seen to be very closely associated with Cameron.

If he bogs up he will be worth millions of votes to Labour in London and beyond. I imagine that he and Cameron have enough sense to know that so that Boris will be under a lot of pressure from his friends and colleagues in the Conservative Party to make a success of it.

Interesting times.

Interesting post.

Makes me wonder if Boris then will really be in the driving seat as Mayor or will be tightly puppetted by Cameron and Co. :unsure:

The stakes are potentially very high for the Conservatives with Boris as Mayor.

I doubt he will be a puppet, he does not strike me as being someone who would react at all well to that. It is also worth remembering that he is likely to know Cameron pretty well (personally and by reputation), having been at school and university with Cameron during the 1980's but always a year or two ahead of him being slightly the older of the two. Cameron is party leader now, but I suspect that his ability personally to pull rank on Boris is not as great as it might be and that it would require subtlety to say the least. Boris is no doubt ambitious, but he knows that when push comes to shove he can earn a living away from politics so his desire to cling to the greasy pole is unlikely to be financially motivated.

Boris has the potential to be a damaging loose cannon. Were I Cameron I'd be pleased, obviously, by his win but not a little nervous. Boris makes it much more difficult for Cameron to keep his powder dry, which surely he wants to. Rather than expecting to be able to tweek the puppet strings if Boris looks to be heading off course, I might be thinking of an alternative possibility of distancing myself from a failed Johnson Mayorality should the need arise.

Like I said, interesting times.

Of course, if the economy is not working for millions of Brits and Gordon Brown still tries to behave like he did when he was Chancellor (chiselling away out of the limelight, popping up when the news is good and either attempting to piss off or looking and sounding like a stuck record or a rabbit in the headlights when it is bad) rather than a Prime Minister (giving some semblance of leading from the front and presenting a coherent message) then Boris could have a cellar full of skeletons that would make him newsworthy in Austria before he did any harm to Cameron.