Sunday, July 22, 2007
The London blues
Yesterday the Conservative Party (finally) launched its London Mayoral Candidate shortlist. It's a list of four right-on souls, one of whom will be selected to stand against Ken for Mayor in London-wide elections next spring. How very exciting. The Conservatives have taken months longer than expected to reach the shortlisting stage because insufficient major figures put their name forward for this prestigious post. Things were so desperate that not even DJ Mike Read could be persuaded to put his name forward. But now we have four successful applicants. One is Boris Johnson, about whom we all already know too much. But who are the other three? I wasn't sure, so I've been to each candidate's own website to check up on their opinions and policies. Here's my (clickable) guide to the potential future face of true blue London.
1) Victoria Borwick
Website: www.mayor-for-london.co.uk
Current responsibility: Kensington & Chelsea councillor
What's Victoria's big idea? "A pledge to introduce US-style policing to tackle the capital's violent street crime."
How will Victoria achieve this? "Zero tolerance of even minor crime, street by street monitoring and publication of crime figures, the recruitment of a top American police officer as London's crime tsar."
So, vote Victoria and you get an American in charge of London's policing?" I think that's what she just said.
What does Victoria mean by "zero tolerance"? "Break a window, swear at someone in the street, beg aggressively or deal drugs on a street corner, and you are going to be arrested, tried and convicted."
Lovely, but millions of Londoners swear on the street daily. Won't this clog up the courts something rotten? Too f**king right it will.
What's Victoria's (not terribly relevant) policy on Culture, Media and Sport? "As you travel around London you need to feel safe and you need to see a city you can be proud of - no graffiti, and tidy and litter free streets."
What's Victoria's target audience? Daily Mail readers, by the sound of it.
What's Victoria's major manifesto pledge on transport? "Scrap the congestion charge and its extension to the West of London."
Where does Victoria live? Victoria lives in a jolly nice house just off Kensington High Street, inside the western extension to the congestion charge zone.
What's Victoria's most bonkers policy (and if you could throw in an amusing spelling mistake, that would be great)? "Encouraging traffic to keep moving, so that you reduce the emissions from stationery traffic is important, so I would not keep increasing the size of roundabouts."
2) Warwick Lightfoot
Website: www.lightfootforlondon.com
Current responsibility: another Kensington & Chelsea councillor
What's Warwick's Dream? "My dream: A prosperous, vital metropolis for everyone."
What are Warwick's top priorities? "I want London to be a dynamic, and exciting place to live, visit and work. We need a Mayor to champion London and its world-class financial markets."
Can he tell us more about the financial thing? "We need a Mayor that understands London's financial markets and their importance to London's economy, who will help to promote London to the international business community."
Has Warwick ever worked in the City, perchance? "Warwick Lightfoot is a professional economist who has worked in London's international financial markets and in the public sector. For a long period he was Special Adviser to both the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Employment."
What's Warwick's target audience? Financial Times readers, by the sound of it.
Does Warwick have any other priorities? "He knows that money alone will not give Londoners the police and public transport they want, without fundamental reform of their management."
He's not posh though, is he, despite living in a jolly nice house in Notting Hill? "Having grown up in a single parent family Warwick understands the challenges that families face and the need to ensure that there are opportunities for all families."
Warwick Lightfoot, man of the people? Right on.
3) Andrew Boff
Website: www.andrewboff.com
But there's nothing on that website, just some dripping water and the phrase "be patient". That's not very impressive for someone who runs his own IT company, is it? Er, no.
So, there are the non-Boris three. It's important to be fully briefed on their backgrounds because every registered London voter will be allowed to take part in the next stage of the selection process. Yes, even non-Tory voters can apply for a ballot form, which sounds like a desperately risky strategy to me. David Cameron must be keeping his fingers crossed that Labour and LibDem voters don't gang together and vote for the least electable candidate, just for a laugh. The election continues over the summer, with the Conservative Mayoral candidate finally announced in September. It'll be Boris, obviously. But hey, let's give the other three their chance. Even if nobody stands a chance against Ken anyway.
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