Boris is the next Mayor of London

Boris Johnson is the new Mayor of London, his rivals conceded tonight. The Evening Standard in London is predicting that the Tory MP scored a stunning election victory to end Ken Livingstone's eight-year reign and round off a disastrous 24 hours for the Labour Party. Gordon Brown is sitting in the Downing street flat with his cocoa wondering where it all went wrong. Probably on the day a certain Tony Blair waltzed into his office in the House of Commons for the first time and almost immediately began a cheesy relationship. Gordon's antennae were on the blink that day!

So now it is Boris. The liberally-minded libertine-leaning fellow travellers of New Labour think Boris is a buffoon. Far from it. He is a very clear-headed thinker who will be a great asset for London. A character who can play the international stage. Gone will be the nasal drone of Ken Livingstone, a man who has been barely tolerated by the New Labour hierarchy. In his place will come a man who will be fair-minded but not favourful when it comes to distributing the largesse of London. You won't see many brown paper bags in Boris' office.

A new dawn begins.

Polling day for some of us

Those living in London get to choose a new Mayor today, plus electing those who ostensibly look after the devolved powers of the "London Region". Whatever else happens, I hope that Ken Livingstone has more time to spend with his newts!

As for the rest of us in England, some have elections others don't. I have a vote (actually two because I've got a proxy for my wife as Continental Airlines don't provide ballot boxes!) and I will be wandering off later today in the direction of the polling station. Being that this is Solihull, nothing that the hapless Prime Minister does will affect the outcome much as we are a Conservative/Libdem battleground. However, I do hope that he gets a proverbial bloody nose today.

Welsh councils are voting also and they should provide the best territory for giving Mr. Brown a big political raspberry!

O'Connor not 4 Justice 4 England (or London)!

Matt O'Connor, the substitute candidate for Mayor of London on behalf of the English Democrats, says he has halted his campaign to become mayor. O'Connor replaced Garry Bushell, the well-known columnist, social pundit and all-round diamond geezer. Appearing on Vanessa Feltz's radio talk show on BBC London, O'Connor complained about lack of publicity. I can't think what he is meaning, as he got quite a bit. The trouble was it was all about him and his past exploits in Fathers4Justice.

As Sir Alan Sugar might say on firing a hapless candidate in The Apprentice, "You're a complete shambles. You're fired!". The English Democrat campaign had an air of mystery laced with a we-know-something's-going-on-behind-the scenes inclination. It was badly thought out with little or no contribution from leading EDP people. O'Connor's website has been pulled leaving him saying, "With the benefit of hindsight I probably should not have stood for them".

I would have thought that the Kilroy episode with parts of UKIP turning into Veritas turning into whatever would have sobered the mind. Anyway, he's still on the ballot so it that sense nothing has changed. If O'Connor is right and he get's no more publicity he can't complain. He'll get the vote he would have got if he hadn't resigned!

Blair gives Livingstone a helping hand

A week today it is polling day in London for the mayor. Ken Livingstone looks like he is just a bit behind. Who else to get to help him out? Why Tony Blair, of course! All in the aid of securing victory for Labour, so Gordon Brown doesn't cut such a pathetic figure.

Three glorious sides of a dodgy triangle. All three corners pointing to trouble.

Come next Thursday, I say - DON'T VOTE LABOUR! If the 10p tax band fiasco is anything to go by, New Labour (and Ken's Maverick Labour) don't deserve any further time in the corridors of power. Now we know. Labour don't give a fig about the poor.

The last straw was seeing Yvette Cooper wingeing on TV about it all. She's got a nerve. She and her husband Ed Balls have seen to it that they feathered their own nests before even thinking of the weak and vulnerable. They should go and stand in the corner!

UKIP London Mayoral election broadcast

In the credit where credit is due category, I think Gerard Batten's UKIP message for London is very good. However, best will in the world, I can't help him or any of the other contenders, unless I buy the Bob Mugabe Box of Ballot Fixing Tricks. I can only vote in Solihull.

But here is the video, so at least Londoners who haven't seen it can see it here.



And for the English Local Elections here is Nigel Farage MEP speaking directly about some of the ills afflicting local democracy!

Cameron slaps down Boris over illegal immigrant amnesty remark

David Cameron has weighed in to the London Mayoral contest by effectively trying to silence Boris Johnson, the Conservative contender, on matters of immigration. Johnson said that he thought it would benefit the capital if illegal migrants were offered a one-off pardon. Cameron thinks this would just let others think they can come into the country illegally leading to demands for further amnesties.

Both sides have a point. The truth is, though, that we don't have total control over immigration now that the EU gets its 90 cents worth of nose-poking into the issue. Immigrants are required for our economy, because a lot of people won't work in the places and for the pay that the migrants are prepared to. The government is going some way to relieving the problem of unabated, unregulated immigration.

However, the Conservatives need to get to grips on this too. All the while that the government of the day knows little of the numbers here, then it feeds into the electoral success box of the BNP. I think that come the local elections on May 1st, it will be a wake-up call to these politicians. The BNP will score successful results in places. What then for David Cameron?

It is very unedifying seeing such policy differences between Conservatives. Not because we shouldn't have a debate, we should. But because it gives the impression they don't know what they are doing. I hope we can get a detailed, fair and workable policy outlined without soundbites and spin.

Boris to win by a whisker!

According to the Guardian, Boris Johnson is likely to win by the slimmest of margins. Today's Guardian/ICM poll gives Johnson a two-point lead overall - 51% to 49% - once second preferences have been allocated under London's alternative voting system. That is the narrowest possible margin of victory. But a win is a win!

The New York Times journos have taken him to their hearts, bless 'em! They quote the self-confessed "buffoon" as saying ""My friends, as I have discovered myself, there are no disasters, only opportunities. And indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters." Sounds like George Bush could have said that! Well, maybe not.

Mingling with potential voters in Borough Market, he sampled an oyster at a stall. “Oysters for everyone!” he boomed expansively. “I promise to oysterize all of south London!” Searching for money to buy a magazine, Mr. Johnson excavated from his pocket some coins and a grubby piece of cheese. Asked what he could offer as mayor, he reeled off, “Optimism, energy, dynamism and creative ideas!”

Boris has got on the first rung of his international publicity campaign. With Boris in charge, London won't need to pay for any publicity for the 2012 Olympics, they'll just wheel Boris out!

David Cameron backs 'brilliant' Boris!

"I don't always agree with him but I respect the fact that he's absolutely his own man", says David Cameron. I suspect that the admiration temperature only shot up the scale when the polling results came! Boris is in the lead, over Ken Livingstone, that is.

This election will be very interesting. I hope Boris wins, partly because Ken Livingstone has had his day (too much cronyism!) and partly because London requires a mayor who will be larger than life. I bet that it won't be just Londoners talking about the Mayor of London. Boris may appear on Jay Leno's Tonight Show. He may well visit other cities around the world and be remembered and not forgotten.

The one thing Boris has shown is that you can put a bit of fun into politics but also be serious as well. Jeremy Thorpe, the past Liberal leader, was an excellent mimic. He could make Lord Boothby think he was talking to himself! But Thorpe was very scared of being naturally funny. It was a pity, I think. I'm glad Boris can be his own man, seen by the public as such, and not moulded by a creepy coterie of spin merchants and message massagers!

The London mayoral line-up!

Further to my previous postings on the candidates, the list is now a comfortable TEN! The drop-outs are John Flunder of the Senior Citizens Party, Dennis Delderfield of the New Britain Party, and Chris Prior from the Stop Congestion Charging Party. Plus, of course, Damien Hockney, leader of One London.

A new entrant is Winson McKenzie, standing as an Independent, having been a serial party member (he's been in half the parties in the list!). He'll float like a butterfly and sting like bee, because he has the policies the others can't see!

Hope there won't be too many punch-ups!

Damian Hockney quits London mayoral race!

Well, it's going to be a kind of ten green bottles, etc. One down, twelve to go. Damian Hockney, One London leader, has quit saying, "The BBC, ITV - they give a kind of what I would call uncritical patsy coverage". They do, don't they.

What they don't get is that most people don't vote now. It's only us pure bred political creatures that seem interested. It's a very incestuous relationship - media and politicians.

Hockney's remarks could easily have fitted Ron Paul's campaign. Uncritical patsy coverage, I like that. Agree with it mostly. There's a lot of it around, excluding the fine John Humphrys, who gave that weaseler Straw a few dodgy moments this week.

The race continues...........

The Boris, Ken and Uncle Tom Cobley handicap stakes

Boris Johnson is a Conservative who has broken quite a few moulds. Ken Livingstone is a socialist who has cracked many moulds. This mayoral contest in London seems more about personalities than about policies. Is Boris bananas, bohemian or brilliant? Is he all three? Much is written about his perceived character, but not so much on his political ideas. Red Ken, Cheeky Ken, or just plain KEN! is a man living on the edge. Tony Blair tried the full-frontal Caesar attack, then aped Brutus, but still Ken stood standing. I think Londoners would have a fit if the mayor was boring. Nothing to talk about in the offices or cafes or bars.

The others in the contest are equally flamboyant, controversial, or mould-crackingly suitable. The Liberal Democrats have an openly gay ex-police chief in Brian Paddick, the Greens have Sian Berry (who is encouraging "EU citizens" to vote). Respect has disrespectfully split and is in two parts, one with Lindsey German as a Left List entrant and the other called Respect Renewal (not standing). UKIP is flying the flag with Gerard Batten, the BNP has its London leader in Richard Barnbrook, and the English Democrats have picked ex-rooftop protester Matt O'Connor. Added to them is Alan Craig of the Christian Peoples Alliance and Damian Hockney of One London.

Ten politicians hanging on the wall, or will it be sitting on the fence? Either way, this is probably the most mixed bunch of candidates any electoral contest in the British Isles has seen. And it has just five weeks to run!

In the late entrants enclosure is John Flunder of the Senior Citizens Party, Dennis Delderfield who has announced he would stand for the New Britain Party, and Chris Prior from the Stop Congestion Charging Party.

And them to the mix and you get a baker's dozen! Happing voting, London!

London Elects!