Ken's personal fiefdom
Peter Hoskin 9:12am
If you missed the Today programme's interview with Ken Livingstone, make sure you tune in when it's available on Listen Again – some quite startling revelations were made.
When asked whether he headed a “personal fiefdom”, Livingstone seemingly assented and went on to say that (and – for now – I'm quoting as closely as typing-whilst-listening will permit): “That's exactly what Tony Blair set out to do .... I was originally opposed to it at first”. Since taking up the role, however, his views have changed. Now – as he expressed in the interview – he believes the Mayoral set-up has distinct advantages over those operating through “networks” of Sir Humphries and civil servants.
What's more, Livingstone thinks that – against all signs – there's true accountability built into the position, but that this only takes effect during election time: “I am accountable to Londoners; they watch me the whole time and if they don't like what they see they'll get a new mayor”. Well, yes, he's strictly correct. But – when the Mayor's term of office is around 4 years – this is accountability with a long, long time lag. Which is surely similar to no accountability at all.
All of which backs-up the main conclusion of Martin Bright's investigation into Livingstone: that the next London Mayor – whoever it is – needs to rapidly reform the role of Mayor itself. There's no place for a fiefdom in 21st Century London.
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Comments
White Rose
January 24th, 2008 10:42amOf course it was what Blair and Labour intended from the outset for London. A Labour fiefdom. But they failed because Red Ken and his henchmen saw their opportunity. What we got was corrupted socialism. I seem to remember that the Tories failed to notice. Who else spoiled their ballot paper first time round? So, who do you want to be the "Sheriff of Nottingham" figure for London in May? Ken, Boris or Brian? Whichever it is has no power to alter the ground rules e.g. limited terms
Sempronius
January 24th, 2008 10:58amThe real problem is the system that allows someone like Ken Livingstone to get a stranglehold on London in the first place. We have no tradition in this country of giving executive power over seven million people to a single individual. London as a whole should be governed as a county council or a devolved region like Wales, and let the mayor stick to opening fetes.
Chuck Unsworth
January 24th, 2008 11:05amLivingstone is, by now, an appalling embarrassment to the New Labour 'movement', given the many recent revelations about his personal activities and those of his henchpersons - sorry, 'colleagues'. It's doubtful if any Labour MPs would really wish to associate themselves with him and his cronies - the political toxicity is all pervasive - and he is a spent force. Witness Kate Hoey's recent public comments. She is one of the few Labour MPs with any real spine. Londoners will almost certainly vote 'against' Livingstone rather than 'for' anyone else, in much the same way as votes were cast when New Labour came to power. Public revulsion is an enormous influence.
J H Holloway
January 24th, 2008 3:30pmLet me give you an example of Livingstone's belief in accountablity. Last year he pushed a bill through parliament called the Supplemental Tolls Bill. (Google it).
This gives him the power to toll all London's arterial A-roads right to the edge of Greater London, regardless of the wishes of local councils.
If he gets back in, he fully intends to rush this schemein, using the silver cameras already erected for the Low Emission Zone that starts on 4th Feb
However, he won't tell the electrorate that's what he intends to do this side the the mayoral election in May.
Remember, he pulled the same trick with the withdrawl of the Routemaster. The plan was never mentioned in 2004 campaign, but was announced two months after Livingstone got back in.
He won't admit the plans for mass-tolling either, even though the infrastructure is in, the laws have been passed and the contract with IBM already signed.
When I asked the press office to 'catagorically' rule out the use of the LEZ cameras for tolling London's A-roads, the official line was 'we have no plans' to do so.
No, Ken. No plans until the May 2nd 2008.
Fergus Pickering
January 24th, 2008 4:17pmDoes all this mean that Boris will be Mayor. And when he's finished being Mayor he can have a shot at being Prime Minister. And thgen he could grant Independence to Liverpool. And then....
Nicholas Millman
January 24th, 2008 9:49pm"Give me an honest fool rather than a scheming knave". And Boris is no fool.
He is just the type of eccentric, larger than life, tells it how it is Englishman the metropolis needs to give it back some character and common sense. To bring it into the light from the shadowland of East Berlin circa 1960.