Be Excellent To Each Other

Vote Londoners! Vote!
(Unless you plan to vote for Ken Livingstone)

In case you are having trouble finding where your polling station is going to be, here is a handy web page:
http://www.londonelects.org.uk/how_to_v ... inder.aspx

Oooh. Thanks I was looking for that. Cheers!

Considering I hate all the candidates I'm in a pickle.

Vote Boris!

I'm no longer living in London, but I do work there, and use public transport, cycle and use the libraries there quite a lot. I'm interested to see how this goes. From a purely selfish point of view, I hope the Greens do OK, as they're more likely to improve the bits I actually use.

Vote Paddick! More singing policeman! And construction workers! And... Indians!

Why would anyone do this? Unless they plan on selling their house in the next day and moving to a far distant place, that is.

A friend of mine is having birthday drinks in The City, and as such I will not be able to make it to my alloted Lewisham polling station before it closes.

I would probably only have spoiled my ballot paper by mistake anyway.

Because (a) he's the best of a bad bunch, and (b) he's going to win anyway.


Can you not go before work? Or phone it in?

A reason not to vote for him, surely?

No, we have to make sure he gets 50% or the odd 'second opinion' vote comes into effect and everyone gets confused.

I was tempted to vote for Boris, but apparently he's absolutely terrible at his job of being an MP, and never turns up to actually do anything.

I believe that's because there's not a single person in Henley who actually needs anything.

I'd love it if Boris won. It'd be ace, I like the guy. I think despite his lopsided blustering, he's actually pretty intelligent.

Paul Daniels is never short of something to moan about:

http://www.pauldaniels.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=2&Itemid=10

I love his blog. Sometimes it's endearing, other times it's genuine Alan Partridge.

Paul Daniels has a blog? That's the most incongruent thing ever.

I'm just of the give Ken a kicking school of thought. + third terms are bad IMO. That's something even the USA got right.

Yes, see the link. Like I said, it's often worth a skim read for either some genuinly interesting stuff. Like how the Daily Mail recently made out he was so broke he was flogging stuff on Ebay, when the truth was he has a warehouse full of magic stuff that he's slowly selling off now he is getting older and doing less shows. Other times it's pure Partridge. Worth a read once in a while.

I think everyone getting confused is fine if it makes for a fairer election. Although I don't live in London, and shit! I've forgotten to register for the council elections tomorrow! Damnit!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... oker.boris

I agree with whatever Charlie Brooker says on the subject.

Boris numerology from theyworkforyou.com:

# Has spoken in 16 debates in the last year — below average amongst MPs.
# Has received answers to 209 written questions in the last year — well above average amongst MPs.
# Replied within 2 or 3 weeks to a medium number of messages sent via WriteToThem.com during 2007, according to constituents.
# Has voted in 48% of votes in parliament — well below average amongst MPs. (From Public Whip)
# People have made 13 comments on this MP's speeches — above average amongst MPs.
# This MP's speeches are understandable to an average 17–18 year old, going by the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score.
# 140 people are tracking whenever this MP speaks — email me whenever Boris Johnson speaks.
# Has used three-word alliterative phrases (e.g. "she sells seashells") 115 times in debates — average amongst MPs. (Why is this here?)

And his voting record:

* Has never voted on a transparent Parliament.
* Voted moderately against introducing a smoking ban.
* Voted moderately against introducing ID cards.
* Voted strongly against introducing foundation hospitals.
* Voted strongly against introducing student top-up fees.
* Voted moderately against Labour's anti-terrorism laws.
* Voted very strongly for the Iraq war.
* Voted strongly for an investigation into the Iraq war.
* Voted very strongly for replacing Trident.
* Voted very strongly against the hunting ban.
* Voted a mixture of for and against equal gay rights.

That surprises me. He was all for them when he was applying for Rectorship up here in Edinburgh; he spoke about it at length.

Charlie Brooker isn't always right.

In anycase, I want to see Kens face when he loses. It will be better than when Portillo lost (who I have since grown to like since he did that single mother documentry).

Whips can pretty much force MP's to vote along party lines. They are utter bastards by all accounts.

I also can't see how you can "vote strongly" for anything. Either you vote for or against.

Anti-Boris dossier: here.

A dossier on a posh right wing cunt written by some lefty cunts with a chip on their shoulders.

All you need to know about "Compass". Might as well just be a Ken election leaflet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compass_(think_tank)

I know that, Tory boy. I am a paid-up subscriber/member.

I don't imagine everyone else does who saw your link though.

The last "dossier" from your lot wasn't up to much. Tell me, does Boris have WMD's aimed at London which can be launched in a matter of minutes?

I'm not a "Tory boy" by the way, I just hate the current government and am not mad keen on Ken of late either. If I was a Londoner, first time round I almost certainly *would* have voted for him as well.

As a rule I hate politics, and all politicians are cunts. And I'd certainly never join a party.*





* Unless it was a really good one with nice sausage rolls and those cheese balls on sticks.

It compiles multiple votes, from what I can recall of last time I used the site. There tends to be more than one vote on a lot of things. Or it might include speeches in Parliament, if he ever goes there.

Yes he is.

I think I'm pretty much decided on 1st - Paddick, 2nd - Livingstone, although I recognise that's effectively just "Ken".

I kinda like how things are now, plus I like a lot of Paddicks stuff except his opposition to the 3rd heathrow runway and I don't think the mayor will ever be the deciding factor in that.

I don't understand the, "give Ken a kicking mentality" == Vote for Boris. They are two entirely separate issues, you don't vote for Boris, because you don't like Ken, you vote for Boris, because you agree with his policies.
Personally, I find it hard to believe any one could agree with his ill-concieved mis-spending of public money schemes, but that is an aside. Ken has wasted a fortune as well, but he has set up what he requires and won't need to spend as much next term (ignoring the Olympics). Whereas a semi intelligent buffoon with his finger on the button of power for the first time in his life, will have to do something, and that will be expensive in a time when people can't afford to have money wasted.

Just my thoughts, persoanlly I would rather the green party/libs got in, as I don't like Ken or Boris, but sadly I am so scared of Boris geting in, I feel I have to vote for Ken in an attempt to stop this happening.

The greens? In a city? Disaster waiting to happen.

"You own a car so you can occasionally leave a city? You evil bastard, that's £1000 a day".

£200 under Ken in a few years (assuming you want to come back again).


I don't want to sound like an apologist, but that's fairly understandable if he's been out campaigning.

Is there nothing like that for Ken? No indication of how he would have voted if he could?

From what my friend says (she worked organising the diary of the Home Secretary for a few years, so she's familiar with Parliament), he's always like that. I do realise that's anecdotal though.

The greens want to abolish the 90% discount. I don't believe Ken does.

The interesting thing about this debate is the anti-Boris people always contradict each other, see - he's either:

1) a bumbling oaf who has no clue and genuinely doesn't know what he's doing or,
2) genuinely dangerous, with far right politics, likely to use his gain in influence a victory would get him to cunningly implement loads of nasty evil right wing policies.

Don't really see how he can be both.

I've yet to see an example of what one of these evil right wing policies might be, either.

Well he supported the Iraq war, so clearly if he wins he's going to invade Sussex.

Get out.

I don't think he is "dangerously right wing" I feel he is the sort of person who does things on a whim. That's all well and good if you have no power, but sadly as Mayor of London he would have power. Even more sadly is that the Mayor of Lonond can implememnt a hell of a lot of policy with little or no opposition regardless of how stupid it is. See Ken and his ludicrous "cycle super-highway"!

Cycle superhighway? What was that about? Sounds interesting.

Aren't the concept of "Be Excellent to Each Other" and voting Tory sort of mutually exclusive?

I don't really care, I don't live in That London anyway.

Boris Johnson is a detestable little blert, however.

It is Ken's idea to make cycling around London easier. Sadly I don't think he spoke to a single cyclist about it. It is supposed to run from Balham to Victoria, the budget for this and a few other minor improvements is £500million. I have to say, as a cyclist, this isn't a great way to spent that much money.

The well-intentioned bus stuff seems to have been a bit poorly thought out too. Still, at least he's actually willing to spend money on stuff like that.

FTFY

I guess. The fact that he'd have been better off not spending the money is a bit telling though.
I know everyone goes on about the Bendy Buses, but they are about as stupid as greeting cards that preach about the environment.

I've no idea about this specific cycleway, but they are normally a waste of time. Someone thinks "we need a cycle path" and then they just put it where they can fit it, with no recourse to if it's actually in a good place or not. Around Exeter there are loads that if you used them they would double the length of your journey (as you have to give way to the 'cross roads') compared to cycling on the road next to them. And if you cycle on the road then you run the risk of people trying to force you on to the cycleways. And I do mean physically force you here!

Malc

Malc and a cycle path, yesterday:

I wrote to Tfl (years ago, when they first proposed the bendy busses) with a suggestion to turn their old and unreliable 'deckers into hybrids instead. This would have dramatically improved their fuel consumption and pollution and noise, at a cost far below buying new diesel busses, and retain the "heritage" that everyone seems to like so much.

They thanked me for the input but said they were retiring those vehicles due to the access problems, i.e. it was basically a health and safety issue forcing their hand.