Ken Livingstone's campaign launch today proved one thing - that the mayor continues to be obsessed by his opponent. Whatever question he is asked by journalists, he always brings the subject back to Boris. This is an odd strategy for a hackneyed old campaigner like Ken to adopt. Normally in his position you'd expect a candidate to rise above the fray and either ignore his opponent or to swat him away like you would an irritating gnat. Instead, Ken builds Boris up at every opportunity, making idiotic allegations which make him - not Boris - look an idiot. Today's accusation was that Boris would take London back to the 17th century on the basis that he opposes the smoking ban, the minimum wage and is in favour of nuclear power. Astonishing. This is what passes for debate in City Hall.
Livingstone continues to prove that he has nothing positive to say about London. All he can do is throw out ever more outrageous allegations about Boris, none of which chime with the electorate. Meanwhile, Boris's campaign seems to be going from strength to strength. If anyone reading this blog is as sick of Livingstone as I am and would love to see his face when he loses, get in touch with the Boris campaign and offer to help. It's your patriotic duty!
54 comments:
Gosh! England had nuclear power in the 17th Century? I knew we were smart, but I'm in awe.
Who was in favour of nuclear power in the seventeenth century and what were their views on another runway at Heathrow?
I don't recall Samuel Pepys or John Evelyn mentioning either; perhaps the benefits of both were obvious.
BREAKING NEWS ON CONSERVATIVEHOME:
KEN IS GOING TO BE INVESTIGATED BY ELECTORAL COMMISSION.
Maybe he lusts after him.
Slightly off topic - but still concerned with obsessions:
We read that Heather Mills threw some water over McCartney's lawer (in front of a Judge no less!!). Now if you or I had done that then the old bill would be called in, on a case of assult. So how come she can get away with it?
The concept of 'gold-digging' floats across my mind with this long-running obsessive saga.
If Cameron wants to improve the status of marriage perhaps he could alter the divorce laws to redress the balance?
Perhaps Ken's medicinal tonics are getting the better of him...
Listening to Livingstone's rant about Boris sounded very similar to rants by Heather Mills about Macca, and Al Fayad about the Royal family.
As obsessed as you seem to be with the LibDems?
Ken's campaign against Boris
Some of the rejected ideas
He would take London back to the 16th century and everyone would have to say 'forsooth' and wear a ruff.
He would reduce the congestion charge to zero and issue free parking permits to his home counties friends
He would scrap all the buses and taxis and replace them with rickshaws pulled by poor Londoners.
He would rename The Thames, the temes.
There would be a North/South London divide. House prices in North London would collapse while South London prices rise to 15 x incomes.
All 'tax' receipts would be used to improve South London financial institutions, while THE NORTH is left impoverished as their manufacturing industries are starved of investment. South London would become very overcrowded as people move South looking for work. Boris would completely neglect his North London constituents knowing he need only keep the South and key parts of the West and East to retain power.
Then , drunk [oops,sorry Ken]on power he begins a competitive culling of unprofitable London football clubs. A bill allows bigger clubs to swallow smaller friendly clubs in a typical Tory Privatisation. Chelsea dominate the league as it now controls all south / east / west london clubs.
Think of the fate of poor North London miners eh? How many South London coal mines are there.. ?
Exactly. Boris will split the capital for a generation.
and..
He will not reinstate Lee Jasper.
hmmm i wonder if the 'chad' above is the same 'chad' who used to frequent ConHome spouting how much he disliked Cameron, then eventually joined UKIP...?
As obsessed as you seem to be with the LibDems?
True. And the LibDems handed Iain's ass to him on a plate in North Norfolk.
This bodes well for Boris doing a similar thing to Ken.
Jamie, I fear you have not got that quite right. There were other stages in Chad's political "evolvement". Forgive me if I have left any out but he went from forming his own party, renaming it, joining the Tories, loving Cameron, hating Cameron, leaving the Tories, reforming his own party, joining UKIP, leaving UKIP (or being asked to) and then (because he hates the EU so much) going to live in France.
As a Smoker I approve of the smoking ban. Makes total sense to me not to irritate others with my smelly habit.
Since the 'cough mixture' business I've been watching Livingstone with glee every time he appears on TV. Don't you think it's time the health fascists in his party gave him a lecture? After all, we all want him to draw a pension for as long as possible, and definitely as soon as possible.
Looks like I will have to lay off the claret for a while, as this blog seems to have become completely Daliesque.
Ken will be asking Boris about his plans for dealing with bubonic plague very soon and also enquiring how he intends to deal with the Great Fire of London. Did that start after a 17th Century nuclear accident? Perhaps we should be told.
Anyway, possibly the 17th Century theme is an attempt to eradicate Paddick, as the police force didn’t exist in those days or an attempt to wish away those large London landowners. Mary Davies and her fields must be more palatable to Ken than her descendant, The Duke of Westminster. The beneficiary of all those buildings built on those fields.
Ken will soon be accusing Boris of wanting the revival of Tyburn? “Come to Marble Arch for public hangings”. It is all getting very surreal.
This and someone called Chad, who (or is it whom) I have never heard of. I thought it was Verity who hated the E.U. but went to live in France
If you were a candidate you would spend the whole time obsessing about the Lib Dem. At least Ken knows who the opposition is.
"And the LibDems handed Iain's ass to him on a plate in North Norfolk."
Look, matey, why don't you swear in English, eh? Instead of in affected sub-American. Arse, sonny, arse.
The Conservatives were obsessed by Labour's spending plans in 1992, I remember. Made up a lot of lies about them. CRD in the thick of it, and there was this unprincipled chap called David Cameron working there at the time.
Has Boris explained why he agreed to give the address of a journalist to his fraudster mate Darius Guppy so that Guppy could beat him up?
LoL! You're right, I do seem to keep myself busy.
What can I be up to? ;-)
Iain, he also said he was going to join the Lib Dems at one point as well. I think it was after UKIP, but I'm not sure.
I don't think he'd have been particularly welcome with us either but, y'know.
To topic, I sort of concur, it's a weird strategy for Ken to be running and highlighting Boris. Regardless, going negative so early with no real positive message at all can only help his opponents. And given that despite the hyperbole, he does have a point about Bumbler, I think the other opponent can only benefit, don't you think?
Official: Boris to extend the Sedan Chair exclusion zone to Pall Mall and Hyde Park...
Also, expect instances of plague and great fires to see a threefold increase.
I have it on fact that it was the Great Fire of London that started man-made global warming.
Anonymous [7.10] If she did it in front of the judge it is unlikely she will get away with it. She could be prosecuted, in due course, for contempt of court. But another judge would deal with that part of the case.
ahh Iain, regarding chad, i stand (soon to be sleep) corrected! i tired of it after a while and stopped taking an interest, hence not being fully in-the-know.
oh and chad, i'm sure you could be planning to nuke a small central african nation, and no-one would be interested.
Will Boris be reducing the duty on Gin, so we can realy enjoy the 17th Centuary atmosphere.He could also relax Health & Safety laws to allow boys to crawl up chimneys.
Livinstone is washed up and belongs to a different world.
The only reason they were using horses and carriages (and sedan chairs, thank you, 10:05) in the 17th Century is that our ancestors were so much more environmentally aware than we are today.
And wouldn't you just know it? Someone called Gabriel Egan has already drawn attention to Shakespeare's green credentials.
In The latest addition to Routledge's Accents on Shakespeare, the author writes, "There may seem to be a huge ideological chasm between Shakespeare's pre-industrial, pre-scientific world and our present day concerns about pollution and climate change, but Gabriel Egan points out that In curious ways, the new ideas about nature and animals have analogues in old ideas expressed in Shakespeare's plays."
Doesn't it just make you want to scream?
David Boothroyd really ought to stop peddling Lefty misinformation about Boris.
Boris didn't supply the journalist's address - and the explanation is here:
http://freebornjohn.blogspot.com/2007/07/boris-johnson.html
This was even discussed on Have I Got News For You - link:
http://www.geocities.com/borisjohnsonfanclub/hignfy/
And the pertinent part is: "During his first appearance on the show, way back in 1998, Boris was ridiculed for his involvement with conman Darius Guppy, who tried to divine from Boris the address of a journalist who was investigating him. Boris did not provide this information (indeed, he could not find it)".
Considering the Left keep harping on about Boris' appearances on HIGNFY it's amazing they missed this.
I would also like to point out - in the interests of balance - that Comrade Livingstone has also tried his hand working in the media - but less successfully than Boris! A recent BBC4 documentary showed a clip of him advertising Red Leicester cheese [that's enough to put anybody off cheese!]. He also wrote restaurant reviews for the "Evening Standard" - the newspaper he accuses of supporting "Fascists" [what a 1930s word]. Moreover, he's still on the books of an after dinner speaking agency. [The way things are going he should have loads of spare time - after 1 May!]
Is Comrade Livingstone so desperate that he's resorting to Yellow Peril smear tactics against Boris instead of concentrating on positive information on his own policies?!
Ken's campaigning for the foreign vote, after all it seems half the world can vote for London Mayor these days.
Johnny Norfolk - that was funny!
Verity: the Globe Theatre was slap next door to a bear-baiting arena. No record of the players picketing it.
"patriotic duty" ... come off it Iain! Remember what the last resort of the scoundral is.
I am a patriot.
I want Ken to wipe the floor with Boris.
I see no conflict.
An interesting range of comments here!
In no particular order, I can confirm that this blog has always been Dale-esque; if Chad wants to be famous he could go to Florida which isn't in the EU and is where the world's most famous chads can be found; watching what the LibDems are up to is a part of what a 'blog like this needs to do; and yes, the Heather Mills business does indeed look ever more like a case of premeditated gold-digging.
Meanwhile, back with Ken and Boris: this clear obsession with Ken's only real opponent shows that he is in reality very seriously concerned that he will lose. He knows it is looking more likely by the week, and it is playing on his mind. He's getting panicky.
Would Paddy Briggs go and lie down in a darkend room. How you can support that nasty people hating man just proves to me how shallow your thoughts are. Livingstone has always been part of the problem with this country.
There's an excellent piece about Ken's campaign here...
http://tinyurl.com/3e46sg
@ Jill, London
"David Boothroyd really ought to stop peddling Lefty misinformation"
I don't see why that should be so. For me he's rapidly becoming an alternative comedy show, as such he's worth every penny. I haven't laughed so much in years. Anyway, at least it's clear what his position is.
Paddy Briggs needs to get his medication sorted rapidly. First he says "Remember what the last resort of the scoundral (sic) is."
Then he says "I am a patriot"
Is this the first public confession that he is a scoundrel?
Paddy Briggs drives you nuts doesn’t he from his implausibly bouffant crown to his billowing jowls swollen with an excess of sweet delicacies, besotted with Paddy Briggs and his moth eaten leftism. He is the physical incarnation or moral cowardice treachery and as ever the key to the traitor is his vanity
You may wonder Briggs why it is that so many of the left are nauseated by Ken Livingstone . This springs from his deliberate decision to ignore moderate Islamic opinion and throw in his lot with extremists who counsel death for apostates women homosexual and ...well anyone they do not like . He did this for one reasons which was to acquire the Muslim vote by sectioning it away from the growing good relations it previously evolved with the Jewish community .He has sponsored clerics who publicly admire the execution of innocent Jews and he has done so just as he has sought to divide black and white people in London because his political future lies in victims and tribal hatred. He has insulted Jews deliberately partly because of the traditional Labour anti Semitism but mostly to suck up to radical Islam and co-opt it inot his carrerr and the progress of left gangsterism in London al la George Galloway.
He sickens and nauseates all good people and I will include in this most of the Labour Party , certainly Gordon Brown , who plodding and out of his depth though he might be, is not an evil, man . Nick Coen . Martin Bright cannot stand him ...This is a man most of the Labour Parry have to hold their nose to stand next to and a victory would usher in a London of racial divides corruption and City hall slush finds for years
Boris has to win , he is a flawed man but a good and talented man and he will do great things for London.
All of London
Boris Johnson agreed to supply the address of a journalist to his fraudster friend Darius Guppy so that Guppy could have him beaten up. His first concern was that the beating would not be severe, and his second concern was that his involvement would not be disclosed.
This is unchallenged fact. Boris Johnson has yet to explain his actions.
Iain, why do you care as a non-London voter?
What a ridiculous question. I work in London, my business pays taxes in London, I use London's transport system. Enough for you?
Blimey, keep your hair on! I actually think Ken has had it this time unless Boris blows it. Will be interesting to see if he does - I am not convinced he actually wants the job and think the Tories would have been better off with Steve Norris as a candidate who is more in tune with London's needs. But don't underestimate Paddick if he gets some coverage.
I voted for Steve Norris twice. He could be the Mayor tomorrow, of this city or plenty of others, in terms of his ability to do the job.
By choosing this clown, the mis-named "modernisers" in the Conservative Party have revealed that they are nothing of the kind.
It's a disgrace that they put forward someone who can't do this job. If Livingstone has any sense at all he will make this the issue.
I must be fair and say that Ken does have a sort of vulpine charisma.
Swigging Brasso and Old Spice, his eyes follow Boris around the room as he desperately seeks to work out how his rival, who always looks as though he has just fallen through a hedge backwards, could possibly be beating him.
This is the most fun election ever.
Pre-election, even more than at most times, Ken's strategy is to conceal his real objective. When he first took over the GLC, for example, he had just been elected as a follower of the leader he then overthrew. This time, making Boris his opponent of choice seems aimed at eliminating Paddick before too many second preferences are being taken into account. The move to stymie that would be for Boris and Paddick to recommend each other as second preferences. On the polling at present that would mean a win for Boris; but it could attract Paddick because it would mean that if Boris did not win, Paddick would.
As a Labour supporter living outside of the capital, I hope that Boris does indeed triumph. I think people will see the bumbling idiot and think I don't want a similar Eton twit in charge of the country.
Anon, it is you who are the twit.
David Cameron is the best debater since Disraeli and the best warrior/tactician since the Duke of Wellington.
Eton provides the best education this country has to offer and it is about time we had men with trained intelligence in charge instead of the second rate, clueless bunch of yobs who are the present government.
I know it will be hard but drop the chip on your shoulder.
For all his street smarts, chutzpah and vulpine charisma, Ken isn't a patch on Boris who has huge intelligence, panache and a humanity Ken can only dream of.
We don't need fewer Old Etonians in charge, we should cram the ruddy front bench with them and we should also have far more jokes.
David Boothroyd - Boris Johnson stated in 1998 – on public broadcast television [BBC1’s HIGNFY] that he didn’t supply the journalist’s address [as per the link in my previous post]!
On the subject of unexplained actions – but relevant today not harking back to the 1990s – many people would like to know why Lee Jasper – one of Comrade Livingstone’s City Hall appointees – did not explain his actions to the London Assembly? Can you elucidate on that?
"David Cameron is the best debater since Disraeli and the best warrior/tactician since the Duke of Wellington."...well angelneptunestar you are certainly doing your bit for us having "far more jokes".
Newmania said...
"Paddy Briggs..."
I fear you're wasting your time with Briggs. He seems utterly impervious to facts.
"the traditional Labour anti Semitism"
Not true. Before the 1967 war the Israeli foreign minister (Abba Eban, if I recall correctly) toured European capitals seeking support for Israel. He subsequently remarked how he was met with indiffernce everywhere except in London where Israel received enthusiastic support from the Labour government.
The Jew-hating trait to which you refer stems from the time of Militant infiltration and has now very largely been adopted by the nulab traitors.
David Boothroyd said...
"Boris Johnson agreed to supply the address of a journalist to his fraudster friend Darius Guppy so that Guppy could have him beaten up."
So? There is no shame in beating up journalists - bunch of dribbling inadequates. In fact, there should be legislation to make it a public duty.
angelneptunestar (c/o Broadmoor)said...
"David Cameron is the best debater since Disraeli and the best warrior/tactician since the Duke of Wellington."
Ha Ha
Most hardcore Labour Party supporters are obsessed with Boris Johnson. Oxfam's Antonia Bance, for instance, is convinced Boris a gay-hating reactionary. She writes: "Most people still know that the Tories don’t really feel very comfortable with the gays (Boris gave some rather wonderful proof of that the other day)."
For Anon. March 20th.
Mmmm, I see your point. He is better than that.
Hi - perhaps your readers would be interested in the website http://idreamofboris.blogspot.com/
a spoof of the popular idreamofbarack website so popular in the US.
Thanks
Antonia Bance is wrong about Boris Johnson being a gay hating reactionary. Boris is the most liberal, tolerant guy you can possibly imagine and he doesn't hate anybody.
Now that Boris is wearing lovely suits and has his hair done nicely, the sobs from the lefties have redoubled, as they gaze hopelessly at his picture.
Sales of the DVD "Trop Belle pour Toi" have sky rocketted, as Ken's aides rush to buy it, under the mistaken impression (because of the title,) that it is the life story of Ken's main rival.
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