Compass has today published a statement urging support for Ken Livingstone’s re-election as mayor of London and warning of the dangers of a Conservative victory. Having been invited, as director of Progress, to sign the statement, I took the decision to do so.
As the statement acknowledges, like any politician, Ken is not perfect. His occasional penchant for gesture politics – whether it be on Cuba or Venezuela – rightly irritates many. His apparent willingness to indulge fundamentalists like Yusuf al-Qaradawi, with their virulent anti-semitism, support for suicide bombings in Israel, misogyny and homophobia, rightly offends many more.
But this election is a choice not a referendum. And, as Luke Akehurst wrote on the Progress website last month, the positive, progressive case for supporting the mayor is strong. On the congestion charge, he showed genuine political bravery and he deserves to reap the benefits. On other areas – his support for decent public transport, more local police on the streets, and the push for more affordable housing – Ken’s record is highly commendable. It is also worth pointing to the leadership he showed in helping to bring the Olympic games to London in 2012.
And if Ken is not perfect, neither is this statement. Any attempt to collect a gather a diverse group of people behind a common position is fraught with difficulty and, whatever our many differences with them, Compass deserves credit for trying. Nonetheless, while Ken, like every party member, is perfectly entitled to hold whatever opinion he chooses on Iraq, it is unfortunate that those of us who do not share that stance have been put in a position where we are seeming to endorse it. I personally neither agree with Ken’s position on the war, nor, especially, the view that his stance is in some way related to whether London is comfortable with its multicultural identity.
Nonetheless, the statement’s central point – that this election is between Ken and Boris and that there is only one side for progressives to be on – is without dispute.