Full marks, Boris

Thinkster

Spot on! Let us hope that Boris does not go wobbly. The blind liberals have had their day - and it has failed, from London to San Franciso, where crime is just as bad. Time for common sense to kick in. And next, we need a new government to shut down celeb TV and replace with quality educational material so our youth can become interested in the world, not their vanity. Times, they are hopefully, a changin'!

Water

Very astute by Boris.

d gray

I hope he helps young gifted white boys to.

EyeSee

Thing is you have to consider collateral damage with the recent changes. The taxi firms of London will see a dramatic fall in income as Ken no longer spends money like confetti on their services.

Blue_and_White_Avenger

Quite so.
Boris has also mobilised a successful mayor - Michael Bloomberg of NY to advise. That also bodes well ..

Robin

A politician who's done something self-evidently sensible?

Let's hope the Boy David has taken note.

Just love that phrase "slop & sentimentality". Says it all, Melanie.

Joe Strummer

There are signs already that Boris will ditch his very individualistic style, which made people vote for him in the first place, to become a generic " all man to all people" politician.

We know the so called " progressive" 1960's social -engineering experiment, lax self-discipline, lax moral scruples or boundaries, the tribes of fatherless children,etc, has brought nothing but misery, hopelessness, lack of ambition and more importantly loss of hope to these generations, especially to those at the lower end of British society.

Boris knows this as well. Let's wish him luck in any initiative to reverse these dreadful trends.

Ellien

Well done, Boris. Didn't take him long to pull that one out of the hat, which, hopefully contains lots more pragmatic solutions for the ills of our capital city.
No more of the posturing and preening of Ken's "politically correct" vanity, his empty words, his double standards, his use of council tax payers' money to support the likes of Hamas and Chavez, fancying himself an international politician.
Hopefully Boris will be up to the battles ahead with the transport unions.

Herbert Thornton

Good for Boris.

Can we hope that he will inspire David Cameron to take some sort of a stand against Political Correctness and to pay more attention to the amount of opposition to immigration and to the Lisbon Treaty?

Antisocialist

But why does his Academy have to be race specific? Why only black youngsters? Is there a precedence being set here, if so when can we look forward to schools for underachieving, criminally inclined white boys? It's the hypocrisy and double standards that really get me.

Dave M

I think Boris is a very good choice for Mayor and now he is Mayor the reality he knows he must embrace is that he has become Mayor of a highly diverse city where multiple languages are now spoken in schools and people are divided along various ethnic and religious lines. If Boris was mayor of Moscow or Tokyo, however, his role would be more simplistic as neither of those capitals are multicultural in the sense of London. Touching on Melanie's post I think there are often social issues with white boys, black boys, Asian boys and even East European boys but isn't the crux of the matter buried within the bigger issue of multiculturalism? I thought Raggi Omar made a terrific broadcast on Channel 4 where he investigated the social implications of multiculturalism in the U.K. What Raggi discovered was that our current population of Anglos, Indians, Afro Carribeans, Asians and Europeans were rediscovering their own ethnic roots and, thereby, becoming more remote from any single, shared set of values that could knit people together as a whole. Raggi himself, as a Somalian immigrant to the U.K. found this disturbing and worrying. To hit the nail on the head, I think the knife crime and gang culture Boris is evidently trying to address has its roots in this bigger issue. Many young black boys, as Raggi pointed out, are being drawn to American gangster rap culture. Some Muslims are connecting with radical Islam. Many Indians are embracing the Hindu lifestyle. And have you noticed how the Anglos are flying St George flags every time there's a holiday or football match? Is then the crux of the issue we are becoming a tribal society and as a tribal society we seek to distinguish ourselves via gang activity, religion or creed? I think Raggi would probably agree with me on that point. After all, he became a successful BBC journalist but many of his former friends drifted in opposite directions. It's not so much that black boys are worse behaved than white or Asian boys but are they connecting with a mainstream British society that can offer them some idea of "Britishness"? Does Britishness even exist any more in a city as diverse as London?

david skinner

The success or failure of Boris will depend largely on whom he surrounds himself and to whom he listens. He will need wisdom, discernment and discretion in order to rightly discriminate against and exclude all those, like Ken himself, who follow self- interested and irresponsible agendas. The reaffirming and promoting of families, established by heterosexual, monogamous and enduring marriage has to be at the heart, not only of London, but at the heart of any nation that hopes to survive.

david skinner

The success or failure of Boris will depend largely on whom he surrounds himself and to whom he listens. He will need wisdom, discernment and discretion in order to rightly discriminate against and exclude all those, like Ken himself, who follow self- interested and irresponsible agendas. The reaffirming and promoting of families, established by heterosexual, monogamous and enduring marriage has to be at the heart, not only of London, but at the heart of any nation that hopes to survive.

Roxanne

Definitely we needed a change - in this city. And with Boris I think that we are going to get it.

This whole feeling sorry for Black people is ridiculous - where all problems are blamed on colonialism - therefore it is understandable that so many do badly.

But ignored - is that some countries did pretty well out of colonialism. For example Bermuda - which voted against independence and is now one of Britain's overseas territories - have the highest per capita income in the world.

It would be difficult to run this left-wing feel sorry for yourself there - as the blacks are more likely to sound like the right-wing and at times the more far-right whites in the UK.

Boris's children are 1/4 Indian - he knows that the reality is what you put into a child is what you get out of it. For the most part.

The Left have had their turn - with their perpetually holding the poor in their positions - so they can perpetually have someone to assist and of course feel sorry for - colonialism - racism and now Islamophobia-ism.

Why shouldn't Boris back a positive scheme - that is simply doing what was done for him - as his own father so eloquently put it?

Those who live in this society must contribute positively and it is the job of the government to see that they do - regardless of race, religion or geographic origin.

Kay

You're almost right Melanie except I was raised by a single father.

AJSG

I must say, I have been looking forward to this election for a long time, however had I only had a chance to read what was on the summary pamphlet posted to me...I would have never voted for him. It was written for adolescents, not for people of voting age.

Veronica Bruce-Williams

I believe the appointment of Ray Lewis by Boris,is the first sign of his Mayoral success. Ray must really be applauded for the wonderful job he is doing with these kids;he has given them a sense of belonging,confidence, self-belief and they are achieving their potentials. Ray's success and achievements are evidence for all to see and therefore it is so refreshing that Boris chose him on merit - 'right man for the right job' that is the way it should be. Ray must be applauded for all that he has done. Absolutely Brilliant. I pray and hope that a lasting solution for the killings on our streets, which seems to be spiralling out of control with our youths, alcohol abuse and the yobbish culture would soon come to an end. Well Done Boris! You are on the right track by surrounding yourself with all these great talents with expertise for the jobs. Keep going and more 'Grease to Your Elbows' BoJo