At a time of great difficulty for the city, London needs a mayor who wants to be mayor, writes David Lammy
Everybody knows that the London elections next year will be tough for us but, be under no illusions, they matter enormously. Politically, they are the biggest test for the government before the next general election. And who would you rather see at the Olympics opening ceremony in July: a man who wants to be mayor or a man who only sees London as a stepping stone to his next ambition?
London is hurting at the moment, and it needs a mayor who wants his job and is focused on his job – not on somebody else’s. Boris Johnson wants the election to be about personality – his versus Ken Livingstone’s – because he knows that, when it gets to policy details, he either does not know or does not care. And we have to show that, while he has no policies, he certainly does have a party. Everybody knows that Livingstone is Labour, but people need to be reminded that Johnson is a Tory.
Johnson is vulnerable in three main areas. On jobs, London is in a deep funk. In Northumberland Park ward in Tottenham, home to Spurs, over 13 per cent of people are out of work, and that rises to an astonishing 20 per cent of 18-24-year-olds. Even that does not tell the whole story – tens of thousands of people are in temporary and unstable work, tens of thousands more are fearful for their jobs, and tens of thousands more again have to take on two or more low-paid jobs just to care for their families. Johnson is no stranger to having two jobs, but what does he have to say to these people?
London is also struggling to put itself together again following the riots. Londoners have a right to know what the mayor is doing not just to rebuild communities, but also to stop them breaking apart again. We have the right to expect a mayor who will explain whether he believes that cutting police numbers by 1,800 will make Londoners safer, having already cut by over 1,000. He also has to answer why, in three years of being mayor, two Met commissioners have resigned. To put that into perspective, before Ian Blair resigned in 2008, the previous commissioner to resign did so in 1890 not because he fell out with the mayor, but because he had failed to catch Jack the Ripper.
Finally, there is the issue of transport. Johnson has promised fare increases of two per cent above the rate of inflation for 20 years, regardless of improvements to services. By next year under Johnson, the annual cost of a weekly zone 1-4 travelcard will have increased by over £400 since 2008 at time when Londoners’ pay has at best stagnated. And people who buy single tickets because they cannot afford season tickets or because they use public transport less frequently, are even harder hit – a single bus fare will have risen by 56 per cent. This is dangerous stuff. Public transport in London affects everyone and commuter services have a disproportionate impact on outer London – precisely the areas that voted for Johnson in 2008. Livingstone’s plan for an initial fares cut and then for no rises above inflation will resonate across London, from Bromley to Bethnal Green.
So, yes, these elections will be tough, but not as tough as many Londoners are finding life at the moment. They are entitled to a mayor who wants to be just that, not the prime minister-in-waiting or a newspaper columnist. That man is Ken Livingstone.
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David Lammy is MP for Tottenham
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I agree with the central message of this article but whilst I admire Ken immensely I feel that he really needs to raise his game. Perhaps unfairly (and perhaps as a result of various newspapers’ anti-Ken agenda) a considerable proportion of Londoners feel that Ken has had his time in the sun and that his desire to serve another term only demonstrates a greed/hunger for power (which I appreciate is not the case).
If he does not reinvent himself I do not think he will be able to overcome these perceptions. He needs to surprise people and make people re-think who he is and why he’s standing for mayor again – unfortunately to date, most of the things that he has said (whilst true) have been entirely predictable and I suspect Londoners dislike this.
NB. The fact that Boris behaves like a part-time Mayor (and doesn’t hide it) may even work in his favour as it distances him from the perception of being another grey, technocratic, opportunist politician.
Was this sad piece really written by David Lammy or by some LP apparatchik paid to churn out the usual cliches. Come to think, it could have been David Lammy.
I appreciate that Progress (sic) is in existence to push the cause and that this stuff is read only by those of us still on board. But surely there is so much even a loyalist can stomach. Dan Hodges got it right – Livingstone epitomises tired old Labour. That he is standing again is illustrative of Labour’s present stance on everything – let’s try to take advantage of the terrible state of the economy but offer little in terms of realistic policy. Who better than ‘good old Ken’ to represent the mythical ‘good old days’ when Labour (particularly in London) appeared to dole out the goodies.
It’s pathetic that the Labour Party, in a majority-labour London, cannot be certain of thrashing the current incumbent – an effete, upper-class toff.
As a party member for 20 years, I believe Ken is a bad man.
Weird personal living arrangements, terrorist sympathizing, obnoxious personally to deal with.
Londoners see through his ego driven desire for power.
Have we forgotten that he dropped labour in his desire for power?
Let him sink.
Since London is actually managed by the paid official called Deputy Mayor should we not discuss policies rather than personalities and find a mechanism to evolve these. Isn’t the big state dead?
blimey Adam,he stepped on your newt didn’t he.