Boris or Ken - ramblings of a undecided voter - please help

[K20]

I want to vote for Ken (despite him being the labour candidate) again as I think he has worked hard to give London a modern identity and increase tourism, promoting London with good advertising and events.

Why should Boris the Buffoon ride his coat tails and be given all Kens good work to flag wave as his own? Crime, Environment, Housing, Greenbelt etc, obviously whoever is chosen will do their best for London - its all hot air to win votes, these type of changes will be made by whoever is London Mayor.

I feel I voted Ken in with gusto a few years ago on a wave of London Pride (not the beer) and that I should give him the job again. He's fearless of Government and will not be dictated to unlike ......

opinions please

exactly.

It is strange, LazyLine ... but it works. He has created an image which makes him popular and very easily recognisable. Those are qualities that have made him a serious contender in these elections. Also rather refreshing in a world where politicians seem to be stripped of all personality before being consider eligible.

Far more appropriate to elect a person who projects a buffoon image (which some might say was just a bit of character) then someone corrupt or an actual buffoon (like say George B). Much more alarming in my book.

i agree that it is a lacklustre seleenction but i do think ken has achieved alot with very little power. Boris does not have the same big vision for London and would leave alot more decision making to the local boroughs ... not good news in my opinion. Ken does indeed have his faults, but I think he is the only one of the lot of them who can make real changes for the better in London. Anyway, guess how I am going to vote!

Exactly! I think that a good leader for London should be able to be in control of the boroughs to a certain extent. I live in a very blue borough which would, given half a chance, have nothing to do with freedom passes, affordable housing, youth centres and other services. I think that the parochialism of the boroughs being autonomous would do london as a whole city a disservice.

Artichokes, I know that Sian will not win. But I do not like Boris or Ken, so I will vote with my heart. I don't want either of them to think they have a mandate from me, even a second preference.

Ken's Love in with dodgy Islamists, and aLL THOSE (err,umm, sorry chaps) lavishly funded jollies fact finding trips accompanied by large entourages has completely put me off.

Boris a risky vote. What has he actually achieved? Sacked as a journalist for fabricating stories, couldnt hack it as a management consultant, chronically unfaithful and lies about it. Offends left right and centre.Marvellous wheres my ballot paper?

Just think if Boris won and the Tories won the next election, 3 of the most powerful positions in the land (PM, Chancellor, London Mayor) would all be held by white males who were in the Bullingdon club. Jesus.

Boris as London mayor is a deeply worrying prospect
I don't think he's up to the job
am voting Ken 1st, then greens

I read that many Tories are dreading he gets it as he may well end up doing them more harm than good.

Despite the plethora of vote Boris signs stuck in local gardens... I'm voting for Ken again

This is the nearest Boris will get to my vote

i wil vote for ken, as pooka says, the oyster is brilliant, makes life so simple for everyone, and buses are cheaper.

i agree with the £25 congestion charge for 4X4s.

and no, i'm not starting a debate about them [grin}

Livingstone is embroiled in a corruption scandal - and certainly a hell of a lot of taxpayers' money seems to have been handed out without anyone checking where it has gone. And Ken's response to questions about this is pathetic. He thinks London is his personal fiefdom, and the budget is his to raid or hand out to his mates.

He sucks up to dodgy Islamists who support terrorism and hate women. Which is not a problem for Ken, because he doesn't like us much, either. Dh once had the misfortune to be in the gym same time as Ken - who was so pissed off the pool was being used for aqua aerobics that he swam through the all-female class, kicking people, including a pregnant woman, as he went. There are lots of other tales about his nasty attitude to women.

Boris may shag around but AFAIK no-one's ever mentioned any disdain for women. And I'm not aware of any criticism of Paddick wrt women.

Hmm, don't think I agree with you there swc. Bullindon Club is shorthand for massively privileged product of massively privileged parents. The objection is to the most powerful posts in government being monopolised by massively privileged people. This near-monopoly suggests that wealth and background can buy power. I think it's reasonable to find this objectionable.

Eh?

I'm going off to find out what proportion of the Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet went to public school and Oxbridge. I shan't bother with the senior judiciary as I know that the proportion there is around 90 per cent.

Oh, privilege is obviously a huge obstacle. That's why the shadow cabinet and Cameron's office are full of state school kids.

Voting Ken. Loving the congestion zone.

OK... this was dull and illuminating in pretty much equal proportions.

In the Cabinet, as far as I can make out, we have nine people who went to both public/independent schools and Oxbridge. On top of that, there are a further 15 who went to Oxbridge.

Oh, and the proportion for the judiciary (public school AND Oxbridge) is 81 per cent.

'Privilege', in this sense, means 'a special advantage'. That sounds like a public school/Oxbridge education to me - I know you're trying to argue that it's a disadvantage, but I really don't think that washes.

Haven't done the Shadow Cabinet but the figures for public school attendance would almost certainly be higher.

Boris is a buffoon. Ken has my vote for mayer, and I'll vote Green for the GLA. Really, I don't care who people vote for, as long as they do - otherwise the NATIONAL FRONT might get a seat on the GLA - they're standing in my area! I didn't even know they were a 'proper' political party until I saw it in the leaflet in black and white (pun there, see? ), I nearly fell off my sofa!!

mayor

On the GLA the Tories have tried to cut back the Freedom Pass and also to restrict free public transport for kids. I'm not elderly and my child won't need tickets for a while yet, my only problem is getting a buggy on the bus but I just think those things are wrong. And Tories' idea of cost cutting is to make those whose income only just takes them off benefits pay for everything.

I liked Livingstone's politics in the early 80s more than I do his politics now. I don't like the corruption and all that, and my problem with his mates is not that they're too left wing it's that I think they forgot what political principles are some time ago.

That said, my nightmare is that we wake up on Friday with a Tory mayor. I'm voting for Ken, and I'm voting Labour for the GLA as well. I'm voting for the best of a bad lot for policies on the city I currently live and work in, and on policies such as transport and services, not national government, not abstract principles.

As for the BNP, I'm disgusted that they're first in that leaflet, that the BBC Iplayer was offering their party political broadcast on download. And that they were leafleting my tube station this morning.

On 2nd preference, if you feel there's a candidate of principles you share who's not really in the main contest, put that candidate first and then transfer to your preferred candidates who are likely to be in the second round. I hope all those Green voters and some of the Lib Dem ones will transfer to Ken because I think it's very possible that the next Mayor will be decided on 2nd preferences and someone will get less 1st round votes but more total when 2nd prefs transfer.

And another thing!

kerala was talking specifically about the bullingdon club. Now, they really do seem like a bunch of over-privileged, feudally-minded, vulgar, pugnacious little tits. That's not class hatred, that's fact.