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

vote ken.

transport is better. the congestion charge is a resounding success. £25 if you're in a horror of a vehicle is fair enough.

he is the only one that takes on big business and government.

I don't particularly like him, and labrador boris is far more affable. but ken has my vote.

The thought of Boris as mayor fills me with terror. He's just not up to do the job, he has no policies and looks like a buffoon to the international community. I also think he's a dreadful snob and has probably hardly heard of the areas in which most of my friends and family live.

I don't like Ken, but I think he is competent.

AArrgh. I'm going to have to vote green first, Boris second. I was going to vote Brian second but then the Lib Dem helpers phoned me 4 times in 10 minutes - 2x with wrong number, 1 x to find out whether I'd voted and 1x to find out who I was going to vote for (err, secret ballot?) managing to completely wake up DD who now won't sleep again today and will be cross and overtired tonight. Not that I don't care about London obviously...

Maybe I just use the one vote...

Also, FWIW, I think Ken's affordable housing policies are a bit overrated. A lot of the local authorities try and push for higher %s or more social rent, and the GLA do a quiet deal with the developers which is lower. Not that it is necessarily a bad thing but also not a triumph.

sorry, meant up to the job, not up to do it

AArrgh. I'm going to have to vote green first, Boris second. I was going to vote Brian second but then the Lib Dem helpers phoned me 4 times in 10 minutes - 2x with wrong number, 1 x to find out whether I'd voted and 1x to find out who I was going to vote for (err, secret ballot?) managing to completely wake up DD who now won't sleep again today and will be cross and overtired tonight. Not that I don't care about London obviously...

Maybe I just use the one vote...

Also, FWIW, I think Ken's affordable housing policies are a bit overrated. A lot of the local authorities try and push for higher %s or more social rent, and the GLA do a quiet deal with the developers which is lower. Not that it is necessarily a bad thing but also not a triumph.

Sorry, slow computer and helpful DD. Didn't mean to post twice

Does anyone know if you can you vote for the same person as your first AND second choice? Or would that be silly?

You can but it will only count once.

More info here

NO! It will invalidate your whole vote if you put the same person down 1st and 2nd....

Oh shit really? Cos I've just done that. buggeration. Why doesn't it say that on the voting form?

Just checked on website:

"If you vote for the same candidate for both your first choice and your second choice, only one vote will be counted."

Phew - at least my first vote counted. Doesn't really matter about second vote I suppose - esp as voting for a minor party as second choice is effectively a wasted vote

Izzy whizzy I'm back to tell you why I think Ken is corrupt

Obviously, theres the alleged issue of instructing & paying public servants (those paid by you and me) to write articles in favour of Livingstone, in the last election. This is nothing but "a political abuse of taxpayers cash" and completely against the rules that surround the lobbyists and PRs (of which there are many) that work for him.

He runs london like his own "personal fiefdom", which is all very well, but I think that his cronyism means that the taxpayers pay over the odds for jobs that do not need to be done, and his lack of transparency over this is renowned. You only need to look as far as Lee Jasper to see that money does not, allegedly, go to the right people at the right time.

I'm not sure that Boris is the right person to lead London, but I think he is probably the lesser of two evils.

Ken: - competent and corrupt and has changed the mayoral constitution to allow himself to stand for a third time. His work is done in terms of transport, he's now power-crazed and sinister. Makes me truly angry that he's broken my life-long labour voting habits.

Boris: - incompetent and probably corrupt. Therefore will be incompetent at being corrupt, therefore a safer choice

I actually voted Brian as an anti-Ken measure, just couldn't vote Tory.

@Frauster- Ken hasn't changed any constitution. The GLA Act doesn't limit how many terms a mayor can stand for. I'm glad you think he's competent tho'!

@moodlum- I can only echo Mrs Mattie's sentiments. IMO no politician comes without his 'cronies'. There is a story in today's Times that says Boris isn't even going to give up his job as MP for Henley if he gets in, so he'll be doing the Mayor's job part-time and is even more likely to be reliant on 'cronies'.

@orangina- ot doesn't spoil your ballot if you vote for the same person twice. As LaPaz says- it just means that your vote just counts once (or not at all if you didn't vote for Ken or Boris).

I can't believe we have to wait until tomorrow night to find out the results!!!

Don't doubt that any politician, tory or otherwise, but agree with frauster that Ken seems pretty sinister, and you don't have to look far to his cronies to find significant misuse of funds, so I suggest that it might was to get these complacent embezzlers out, and replace them with marginally less complacent and less sinister cronies.

Surprised about the constitution, I'm sure I remember something along these lines when voting for the GLA to be set up. There's no way 3-term political offices should be allowed - has there ever been a successful UK precendent that didn't end up with complacency, corruption, jadedness and general f*ck ups?

How anyone with any conscience can vote for Boris is beyond me. He has been recorded as referring to blacks as "picaninnies" on at least three different occasions. He is a racist, homophobic elitist who hides his far right views behind his "funny" persona and ridiculous blonde, foppish hair-do.

I shudder at the thought of him being mayor of such a multicultural city. He does not give a shit about the everyday Londoner.

I voted Ken. He may not be perfect but he absolutely knows London inside out and cares deeply about the city.

Please, please don't let Boris win. He has hateful, hateful views.

Ken all the way.

His campaign was the one I most agreed with.

Go Boris Go

Ken for Mayor
Boris simply doesn't love London

Ken loves East London
he hates West London.

Hey Orangina- who did you vote for?

I can't believe the number of people who've said they were going to vote Green first and Boris second. The two just don't seem compatible to me at all. Boris has such shabby environmental credentials.

Good morning Izzy! I voted green in the end and that was it. I feel at peace with my decision ....
Ultimately I didn't want either Boris or Ken and didn't want to feel responsible for either of them getting in, despite the fact that it was always going to be one or the other....

I gave the greens my Londonwide vote. I like having them on the Assembley.