Be Excellent To Each Other

I never understood how there could ever be any benefit in increasing the amount of road space a bus took up without increasing the amount of passengers it could seat.

Here's the thing. Boris might well be pretty far right, but Livingston is at least as far left of centre as Boris is right of it. Lets not forget this is Ken Livingston, one of the most publically left-wing figures in British Politics in the past 30 years. And in two terms, with the backing of an (allegedy) leftist party in goverment he's accomplished:

The Congestion Charge (and the total lack of public transport improvements to go with it)
Free bus travel for kids

So really, what exactly is Boris going to do? It's really much ado about nothing. There'll be some slight tweaks and changes, but he won't wreck it, for the exact same reasons Livingston didn't turn it into a socialist utopia.

Results so far give Boris the edge, but the London Assembly voting is very much in Labour's favour.

If by in their favour you mean "Losing 8-6"

Ken's problem is he seems to be winning areas by not much, but Boris has won a couple by a clear 20 points. It'll go to runoff, hopefully the libs voted lab.

And I was right, most of the libs did vote lab, 10,000 more in fact.

Unfortunately we kinda needed 110,000. Boris wins.

BORIS WINS.

This. This is what I was saying when they news came out. "The buses are causing traffic! Let's make them take up twice as much room!"

"Er... isn't that the opposite of what you should be doing? The current ones are better for traffic."

"But the bendy buses have 'greener' engines!"

"Okay. So can we not get a double decker with a new engine in, then?"

"BENDY BUSES!"

"But -"

"BENDY! NEW! LONDON! KEN! I AM KEN!"

"Sigh."

"Would you like a tram?"

"No. I don't want or need one."

"Wait right there, I'll get that tram you want."

...Because presumably you are catching the Tube into work, Sinister Agent? That's what you are saying, yes?

No... what's your point?

oh the humanity

I was wondering which mode of transport you used most, when you lived thereabouts.

It's simply that I am used to having extremely limited transport options (though Wolverhampton isn't too bad), so I'm just interested as to what Londoners have found they generally prefer, given the various different options available. Which might not necessarily be what's available currently, n' stuff.

And yes, I realise that you can't get a train to the same place as you can the tram and a bus and a taxi. I'm speaking 'generally'.

That, please, LONDONERS.

As an aside, I'd just like to say, Bloody London, there's always too much emphasis on it. Too much supposed caché in being associated. You could be forgiven for thinking practically nowhere else in the UK exists.

I always wondered actually why we'd choose to build a brand new fucking stadium and facilities for the olympics in the heart of London, where getting the land necessary, and then the logistics of building it all would be massively more expensive than just doing it in any other part of the country. Other parts of the country that would benefit just as much (if not more) than London will as a result. Christ, hold it in Liverpool, it's still noted as massively deprived, more so than a few areas of hyper-expensive London is, damnit.

They should have held the Olympics in Birmingham. *tries unsuccessfully to suppress mirth*

Except they probably wouldn't have got the votes for anywhere else. How many times did Manchester fail?

--

I'm starting to get really tired of random friends etc who don't live in london spamming me "Boris, best man for the job" etc. Yes I'm sure it's wonderful if you don't have to live with the consequences. We all had a good laugh when that porn star won elections in Italy too...

But don't tell me who's best for the city I have to live in. I wonder if the Americans (the 4 of them that vote) are getting like this about their election.

Feckin' BNP got a seat.

I'm happy Boris got in, gives the 'old labour' backbenchers the political capital they need to wrestle some control back from the Blair/Brown ihijacking of the last eleven years. Plus, he's someone I agree with on the issues of bike theft, the Queen, Islam, Jamie Oliver and Liverpool. Especially Liverpool. Churchill would have said the same. Then shot a scouser to ring home his point.

Indeed. That joke isn't funny anymore.



I think about half of them have felt like this for the last seven and a half years.

How does the one electable old Labour guy getting chucked out give old Labour any capital?

I didn't mean to be snippy, sorry.

I mostly stayed on the edges of London because I don't enjoy going into the middle bit (partly because the only practical way to get there is by the underground, which I hate - though as I said, on the quieter ends of the lines it's okay). Generally I used buses - most of the places I need to get to were a 2 bus ride away at most (and of course, all journeys in london take 90 minutes, regardless of the distance involved).

The buses improved noticeably under Livingstone, reluctant as I am to admit it (apart from the silly bendy buses, and the cutting of the handy 207 route in half - it was long, so I could understand that... but why make the last stop the fucking motorway? Yes, there's a layby there so the buses can pull over, but it's a half hour walk in the dark at 3am past one of hillingdon's dodgiest areas for anyone trying to get home. Bah). The free travel for kids was a terrible idea, though, and the tube has been about the same for as long as I can remember.

More traditional Labour party members will start fighting their corner as they will feel they've nothing to lose by not toeing Brown's line.

What did they have to lose before? It's not like Brown was going to pull Labour's support for Ken's mayoral bid.

The result wasn't in before... this strengthens peoples arguments.

Not really - the nationwide local election drubbing is a massively bigger stick to beat Brown with than Ken losing the election.

To me, the message says: even Ken is no longer electable, therefore ditch any lingering possibility that you might be a remotely socialist party and fight squarely in the middle-right. For anyone in old Labour, Ken's getting the boot is a total disaster, not some road to riches. As for Johnson, good luck, London. I think, at best, things won't get worse under him, but I very much doubt they'll improve one bit.

I think any stick will help

It's mayoral elections.

I wouldn't put Ken's booting down to his old labour style. It's a personality thing - I can all but guarantee that at least half of the people who voted for Johnson have little to no idea what his policies are likely to be.

Plus it was hardly an 'unelectable' loss - it was a pretty close thing.

Absolutely, but I can't begin to see how the last old labour person with any power, losing that power, does any good for old labour at all.