A flying start for Boris

albert hammond bootleg

For those of us who live just within the london boundary and hence end up being stuffed an extra 300 quid a year council tax for no visible return, even the recognition that zone 6 exits is encouraging. The whole london mayor malarky is as remote here as westminster politics is in Cumbria. I've long been thinking of starting an independence movememnt..

Tiny Tim

Looks like everybody was impressed! Check this out:

You Bet - Boris For Mayor!

Bookmakers William Hill have shortened the price of Boris Johnson becoming the next Mayor of London from 2/1 to 15/8 following his speech at the launch of his campaign. Ken Livingstone is the odds-on favourite at 8/15.

“For the first time Ken Livingstone has a real battle on his hands, Boris Johnson is a genuine candidate and it looks like we are in for a cracking contest,” said Hill’s spokesman Rupert Adams.

Jenni Jones

I've just moved to London but wasn't going to bother registering to vote in London - I am now - go Boris go!!

Richard Irons

Boris Johnson has made so many U turns and contradictions in his statement launching his campaign for Mayor of London that it is no wonder he has such a clearly well merited record for ‘buffoonery’ - managerial and policy incompetence. Boris Johnson now states that he will not get rid of the congestion charge, while previously he totally opposed it, writing: “In these dark days of the New Labour tyranny, when the maniac Ken Livingstone is charging you an extra £1,200 for the privilege of using the Queen’s highway”. (Life in the Fast Lane p185) He now claims ‘I will be the greenest Mayor, far greener than Ken.’ (Evening Standard 3 September). A claim that is ridiculous given than he opposes even the Kyoto treaty on climate change: ‘But of all the tough-guy acts that Bush has performed in his first few months, of all the pieces of exuberant Reaganism, nothing has so intoxicated the world with hate as his decision to scrumple up the Kyoto protocol and use if for putting practice in the White House… ‘Because we still need a rich, confident America; not just to provide the cash for the global military leadership that the United States has to give from the Gulf to Kosovo, but also to keep the world economy moving…. If America were to meet its Kyoto targets now, it would require a cut of 30 per cent in emissions, and how, exactly, is that supposed to work in the current economic downturn…. It would exacerbate the recession, and when Bush says no, he is doing what is right not just for America but for the world.’ (Lend Me Your Ears p318) He now declares that he strongly supports Crossrail, London’s most vital transport project, but he failed to participate in the vote on it in Parliament. He strongly supported the Iraq war before deciding later to change his position – after tens of thousands of people were dead. He supported the election of George W Bush in 2000 and his re-election in 2004 – now he thinks it was a mistake London has no need of a Mayor who takes wrong decisions and then has to change them, but one who takes the right decisions at the time they need to be made – as Ken when he supported Kyoto, opposed the Iraq War, supported congestion charging. Boris Johnson is not simply extremely right wing. He is also incompetent.

Novus

Blah blah blah Richard Irons: put the Compass dossier down. We've all read it, we've all found it hysterical, we've all marvelled that someone actually got paid real money to put it together and we've all wondered at the mindset of those who thought it could ever purport to be a serious document. Your remarks are pretty much self-debunking for anyone who actually understands English and has the requisite attention span to read the whole article from which quotes have been pulled, so I'll get to the point that I came here from my reader to make: who's idea of a "serious haircut" is that sported by Boris this morning? It looks exactly like his hair's always looked!

Novus

Hee ... having made a crack about English I should take responsibility for that "who's idea" solecism there. An editorial oversight, I assure you... ;)

Alex, London

Impressive start Boris ... keep it up. What's promising/amusing is sense of desperation in the intentions of Red Ken's supporters trying to bebunk Boris (eg., Compass, Richard Irons). They're just as certain as I am that Boris will win.

Perry

Go Boris, - GO!!

Mel

Let's here it for ... BORIS !!!!

By©Muhammad Haque

By©Muhammad Haque
1550 GMT
London Wednesday 5 September 2007

It is very wrong of anyone to even suggest that Crossrail equals solution to the people of London’s transport needs. The Crossrail hole Bill as it is in the UK House of Commons, lacks relevance and is in essence a hugely hyped up too for profit-grabbing Big Business to grab hold of public cash for private looting. The transport needs do deserve serious attention. The Crossrail Bill does not contain the answers. It is irresponsible of anyone to claim that making a stand as a poodle for the Big business lobby for Crossrail amounts to evidence that we need for suitability to seek election as mayor of onion. There are far too any examples of huge sums of public money being wasted on grand plans that come unstuck. Boris Johnson will be discredited even before he starts the campaign proper if he cannot show that he is up to the task. I will debate CrossRail and London transport needs with him on any platform. Does Boris possess enough gravitas and thought to care and to respond? And what is Matthew doing allowing banal pugs for Crossrail to be posted on the Spectator web site without rigorous responses?

Simon Allen

I read all the comments about Boris's views on Kyoto, Iraq, George Bush etc and I am confused. Does London have an independent foreign policy? I thought that the role of mayor was to ensure the delivery of services in London. Clearly I am mistaken. Britain is a small island with less than 1% of the world's population and a slow growth economy. It always perplexes and annoys me that the British think that their Prime Minister has the right and the ability to take a major part in world affairs. It is even more infantile and arrogant for Londoners to think that their mayor has any influence over global climate change, the leader of the US or the Iraq war.