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Man For All Seasons
No, not the celebrated play By Robert Bolt, whose main protagonist Sir Thomas Moore, defied the demands of king Henry VIII to recognise his marriage to Anne Boleyn thus remaining true to his convictions and conscience. The chameleon Ken Livimgstone is a man for all political seasons; Red Ken of the GLC, champion of minority causes in the 1980's, Labour party conformist and Member of Parliament in the 90's, Elected 'peoples' Mayor for London and out, literally, of the Labour party then back in favour with Labour and it's hierachy. Now faced with a months suspension by the Standards Board for England, from his very public role as Mayor because of his intemperate war of words with the newspaper group who dare to scrutinize his mayoral activities, he asserts yet again his 'man of the people' mantra. Accountability can be a great subduing influence on those who seek to use their elected office for personal aggrandisement. Four years can be long time in politics and an eternity for us poor Londoners faced with congestion charges, exorbitant public transport fares and council tax. Or does 'cuddly Ken' deserve our support?
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icerocketApologists for Ken Livingstone
Submitted by tearjerker on Fri, 10/03/2006 - 7:15pm.
Londoners are being stuffed by Ken Livingstone. Oh! but wait a minute, I was forgetting, good old Ken has done it again and proved his worth by providing free fares on buses and tubes for teenagers. Great! provide free transport for the ASBOs lot intent on causing mischief around London. What next? A free taxi service. Come on guys and gals wake up! Members of Parliament are elected by the public and are still accountable for their actions not only to their constituents but also their political party and the Standards Committee, so why should Ken be in a position to 'reign' as Mayor without official restraint on his powers and actions.
Storm in a tea cup
For me you're highlighting two issues. Firstly, do we agree with the decision made by an unelected panel to suspend Ken. Secondly, do "us Londoners," think Ken has done a good job as Mayor. The latter, is another debate for another day. The fact is i do think Ken does deserve our support. This is not to say that i agree with what he has said, but to be suspended by an unelected panel fundamentally undermines the Democratic process in this country. Moreover, by suspending the Mayor it is punishing the people of London rather than Ken himself. It should be up to the electorate to decide what happens to Ken and ultimately this will be decided at the next Mayoral election. I personally feel that what he said to the Journalist was wrong and, indeed, i think he should have apologised for it. But having said this, the situation has been blown out of all proportion - would the journalist have done anything if it was a lesser known person? perhaps not. And If Ken had not had such a long history of public spats with Associated Newspapers, would this story have run to the extent it has?