Archive for March, 2008

10 Candidates for Mayor

Published by Simon on March 29, 2008 in LondonSays. Closed

Following the close of nominations yesterday, 10 candidates have made it through to run as official candidates for the office of Mayor of London.

The candidates are:

  • Alan Craig - Christian Choice
  • Boris Johnson - Conservatives
  • Brian Paddick - Liberal Democrats
  • Gerard Batten - UKIP
  • Ken Livingstone - Labour
  • Lindsey German - Left List
  • Matt O’Connor - English Democrats
  • Richard Barnbrook - BNP
  • Sian Berry - Greens
  • Winston McKenzie - Independent

Our Election Guide page on the candidates for the election has been updated accordingly.

Remember, you have until the 16th April to register to vote in the mayoral elections. You can find out how to register here.

Meanwhile, tell us what you want to see from the next Mayor: email iwant@londonsays.org with your ideas for the next four years.

Mayoral News Round-Up

Published by Simon on March 25, 2008 in LondonSays. Closed

When Thom Met Ken - The Mayor interviewed on his transport and environmental policies by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke in the Guardian.

Vince Would Waltz Past Both Ken and Boris Into City Hall - Article advocating a Vince Cable Lib Dem candidacy for the top job.

Boris Johnson The New Buddha of Suburbia - An interesting piece in the Times explaining Boris Johnson’s “zone 5 & 6″ strategy.

A Guide to the Position of Mayor

Published by Simon on March 20, 2008 in LondonSays. 0 Comments

Reprinted from a recent article by Reuters, this is an excellent resource for determining the Mayor’s legislated powers:

  • The mayor is head of London’s government, with a 9 billion pound budget to run public transport, police and fire services and promote the capital’s economy.
  • He or she makes London-wide policies on transport, planning, policing, culture, the environment and economic development.
  • The official role is described as doing “anything that will promote economic and social development and environmental improvement in London”.
  • The mayor sets the annual budget and appoints all or some of the boards of public bodies including the Metropolitan Police Authority, the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and Transport for London.
  • The mayor gives the go-ahead to major building projects and manages Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square Garden.
  • The office is not responsible for council housing, schools, social services, hospitals and street cleaning.
  • The annual salary is 137,579 pounds. It is agreed by the London Assembly, with advice from the Cabinet Office.
  • The London Assembly is a watchdog that scrutinises the mayor’s work. It is made up of 25 members who are elected at the same time as the mayor.
  • The Greater London Authority is made up of the Mayor of London, the London Assembly and about 700 staff who support them. The first GLA elections were held in 2000.

You can find the full article here.

The Campaign Launches

Published by Simon on March 19, 2008 in LondonSays and Polling. Closed

The media has given blanket coverage to the launch of the Mayoral election campaign, and comments by the candidates at their campaign launches.

Each candidate delivered their opening arguments for the campaign:

Ken Livingstone highlighted his progressive policies and experience whilst deriding Boris Johnson as “right wing”.

Brian Paddick explained that he was best placed to deliver change.

Sian Berry vowed to repeal the “idiotic and illiberal laws” which stifle free speech in London.

Boris Johnson highlighted his policies on crime and housing, stating that Ken Livingstone’s time was over.

You can read more about the launches on MayorWatch.

Most press covered the back and forth between the Mayor and Boris Johnson on launch day. As the FT says, Mr Livingstone:

…questioned Mr Johnson’s competence on issues such as transport, insisting the election was “not Celebrity Big Brother” and warning that “the stakes for the future of London are very high”.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson:

…claimed the 62-year-old mayor, who has served two terms, was “too tired to be up to the challenge”, was “out of touch and had his day”, and “around whom the stench of corruption … grows clearer each day”.

You can find the full article here, and a similar take from the Telegraph here.

Against this backdrop, Sian Berry jointly announced with Ken Livingstone that their backers should pick each other in their second preference votes, as reports the PA.

Given that Boris Johnson appears to have opened up at 12 point lead in the latest YouGov poll, this is a clever electoral strategy from Berry/Livingstone.

As can be seen from the 2004 results, there were only around 25,000 votes between the Green, Conservative and Labour second preference results (in that order) - if the Berry/ Livingstone strategy peels off a similar number of voters from Boris Johnson, then it may serve to deny him the top job and keep the incumbent in place.

iWant

Published by Simon on March 14, 2008 in LondonSays. Closed

Below is a copy of the letter which we have sent to the London press, inviting Londoners into the debate about our capital’s future.

Dear Sir,

7.5 million people call London home. It is an exciting, multi-cultural, and vibrant city.

As the Mayoral elections fast approach we at LondonSays.org, an independent, cross-party think-tank, believe that it is important that Londoners are given an opportunity to have their say, and to put their views forward.

We shall be presenting each candidate for Mayor with a manifesto of ideas, not tied to political doctrine but independently written by experts, guided by a desire to see the best for our great city.

Ordinary Londoners should be able to have in say on the issues that the next Mayor of London should be focusing on too.

We would like to invite you to contribute to the debate by visiting our website: www.londonsays.org, dropping us an email at: iwant@londonsays.org, or by joining our Facebook group and letting us know what is important to you.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The iWant campaign is going to directly feed into the work which we present to the people who want to run our city. A new section will be added to the site soon to reflect the views which you share.

Please get involved.

Getting Out The Vote

Published by Simon on March 13, 2008 in LondonSays. Closed

LondonSays today releases its first publication, Getting Out The Vote.

The publication features an article on increasing political involvement, Project 2010, written by LondonSays patron Cllr Merrick Cockell, and also a guide to the 2008 London Elections by LondonSays co-founder Simon Fell.

The articles reflect the importance which LondonSays puts on the political process and of increasing voter turn-out in order to forge a better politics, more reflective of London’s diverse make-up.

Cllr Cockell, speaking about the motivation behind his article said:

Local government is only ever as vibrant, effective and relevant as the people elected to run it. London needs to attract talented, committed people from all its communities, however defined, who want to help improve public services and the lives of local people.

Simon Fell, who authored the Guide to the 2008 London Elections said:

People need to know how to vote, and how to make a change in governance which best reflect their beliefs, needs and aspirations. The guide which we have produced offers in simple language a route towards making that change, and building a London which truly reflects its citizens.

You can download Getting Out The Vote here.

Please get in touch and let us know what you think.

Martin Linton MP

Published by Simon on March 6, 2008 in LondonSays. Closed

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Martin Linton, Labour MP for Battersea, Balham & Wandsworth has kindly agreed to be the fourth patron to LondonSays.

Martin has lived in his constituency for 30 years, having been elected as the MP in 1997 following 11 years as a local councillor. Prior to his election as an MP, Martin worked as a journalist on a number of publications, including The Guardian.

Passionate about London, Martin takes a great interest in transport, housing, childcare, the funding of political parties, electoral reform, the media, education and the arts.

We are proud to have a figure of his stature on our team.

Simon Hughes MP

Published by Simon on March 4, 2008 in LondonSays. Closed

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LondonSays is proud to announce our third patron, Simon Hughes MP.

Simon has been MP for Southwark & Bermondsey since 1983, and has held the position of spokesman for the Environment, Education, Health, and Home Affairs for his Party. He is currently the President of the Liberal Democrats, and also acts as the Lib Dem Shadow Leader of the House.

In 2004 Simon ran as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London, emphasising his commitment to securing the Olympic Games for London and transport in particular. Though unsuccessful in his bid, Simon fought a respected campaign, many of whose ideas were picked up by Ken Livingstone upon his re-election to office.

Simon is well regarded and respected as a spokesman for his constituency and London as a whole. We are proud to be able to add him to our team.

UK Polling Report Guide

Published by Simon on March 3, 2008 in LondonSays. Closed

The ever excellent UK Polling Report has published a guide to the Mayoral Elections here.

The entire site is certainly worth a visit, and Anthony Well’s efforts in detailing each candidate for the position of Mayor, assembly seat, and tracking the latest polls are excellent.