please empty your brain below

Back in parliament Boris will miss having the legions of head-nodding, Boris-speak experts that people his GLA offices. Nice post DG, one I'm sure you'll be updating as time passes.
Thought this was very witty, DG. Then reflected on it and started to feel horrified. It's the point really, joking aside, he's not a funny prospect.
Given that MPs make not one iota of difference these days (they are merely puppets of financiers and corporates, and speak to civil servants' agendas), at least things will be rather more entertaining than they currently are.

He does engage people, and people at all levels, even if it's just those who mock. Not many politicians manage that these days.

And at least he has a brain.
Ken lost. Twice. Get over it.
Part time mayor? It's hardly like he's made a lasting impact as a full time mayor. Legacy? A cable car no one uses, a proposal for an airport that will never get built, an insane plan for a mega underground highway that will result in huge chunks of London being ripped up, and an ever increasing housing crisis.

Moving him part time can't come soon enough based on that record.
When asked about his prospects of securing a seat, Boris played down his chances, responding: 'they are vanishing these seats almost as fast as the seats on the cable car, they are going.' :-)
If Boris's current job is accountable to 9 million Londoners, then shouldn't an MP be accountable to his constituents?

And if you are listing Boris's current responsibilities as Mayor, then listing genuine responsibilities of a constituency MP would be a better fit?
Good post DG.

There is a quiz on the Guardian's web site today comparing what he said with what he did as mayor that might amuse (or worry) you.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/shortcuts/quiz/2014/aug/06/boris-johnson-quiz-mayor-london
... thread drift ... You know you have been reading too much DG when you are on the Tube, or was it the DLR, arriving back from London City Airport (and thanks to those who gave me good advice re step free access - it was excellent)and your erstwhile travelling companion says 'what's that??' (referring to the AFD) and you don't actually know its actual, real name and have to refer to it as the 'Arab Fly Dangleway' ... and then the whole carriage looks at you strange and you say loudly 'I read it on DG' and then you explain that it has its own Twitter account, but the one you find is the Dangleway one, which you realise isn't exactly official. We never did go for a ride. Next year, maybe.
Perfectly written post DG. It's hard to believe that these two positions can technically be held at the same time.
@Andrew Bowden
You've missed the most obvious part of his legacy.

- all style and little substance
– makes a lot of noise without achieving very much
– can get rather hot under the collar
– needs someone to help cover the rear
– not much empty space up top
– rather overweight
– makes irrelevant references back to the classics
– not as green as supporters would have us believe
- rarely seen south of the river:

………………………and his buses are much the same.

@James Armitage
"It's hard to believe that these two positions can technically be held at the same time. "
Ken Livingstone managed it between taking office as mayor in May 2000 and the General Election 13 months later.
There was an interview with Ken on BBC radio. I only heard a clip but in it, Ken basically said it was extremely difficult to be Mayor and MP at the same time - he felt the two are incompatible. He had to employ someone basically to do his constituency work, and would have given up his role as MP like a shot.

However if he had, the local party would have had a New Labour friendly candidate forced on them by central office, so he stayed on until the 2001 election.
Excellent. A bit scary though. Supposing it all goes badly wrong/ as planned and he ends up as prime minister?

Timbo - Ha ha.
@Andrew Bowden
Livingstone's successor as Brent East MP in 2001, the late Paul Daisley, was far from hostile to him - even campaigning for Ken to be readmitted to the party.
@Timbo re: Ken holding both roles

Well reminded! But that doesn't fit the Labour line, and seems to be a bit hushed up at the moment...
Not sure whether Boris being an intelligent man is a good thing or not. He is, and has the intelligence to cover it with buffoonery.

All of which makes me wonder what else is he covering?
DG - my comments are NOT spam. Please sort the thing which marks them as such. Pronto!

dg writes: I can only do this if you add an email to your comment. See also previous message yesterday, and previous message the day before that.
@Planner - don't forget Ken Livingstone was not a Labour Mayor at that point. He was an independent for most of his first term.
Blimey... it was starting to sound like a role that could have suited Andrew Gilligan right down to the ground.

(until you got to the bit about charisma)
Still upset that Ken lost (twice), DG? Or just forgetting (on purpose) that Ken double jobbed post-2000?
Sorry dg, this is drivel.

Or should I say, twaddle.
Also:

"He also said he will surrender his £67,060 salary as an MP, though he could also be legally forced to give up a large portion of his £143,911 mayoral salary if he joins the Commons."

Unless you mean his Telegraph fees, your comment regarding his second salary is not correct.

Even if you do mean the salary he collects from the Telegraph, that's not how it comes across in the context of the post.
All a bit political this - eh! No wonder we get so many negative posts re the dangleway!

Well I like Boris, he got rid of that previous dangerous fanatic incumbant.

I for one will be sad to see him go - there I've said it
Very clever piece.I think you should submit it to Private Eye or The Spectator for a wider audience,the Spectator would be better.
You're right, DG: we have too many layers of government doing not very much at all.
Amusing as he can be on tv quiz shows, the idea of him having his finger on the nuclear button gives me the shivers.
However. I suspect the Johnson most likely to become PM isn't the blond bombshell, it's his brother Jo. Keep your eye on him....
email duly added, sorry.

dg writes: Cheers. I've added you to a whitelist, so that should now fix the problem, so long as you include the email address every time you comment. Sorry!
.... or indeed his father, Stanley, who has already reversed the normal order of things by trying to follow his sons into parliament.
@Island dweller - "the idea of him having his finger on the nuclear button"

Since BoJo was born in New York, he could become president of the USA.
Boris has entertainment value (I say this as a generalist Leftie) but his record is not encouraging, and that's without delving into 'politics'. What has he done to genuinely improve London which didn't begin as someone else's (proven!) idea? Mayors of any colour are there to grow and better my home city. I'll grant him the countdown timers at traffic lights for pedestrians but they've been elsewhere (eg Dublin) for years. His 'BorisBus' leaves me out of pocket by over £200m and nothing so far sustainable coming from it, only dubious claims for the vehicle's unloved existence. What could we positively remember him for?

He has publicly broken promises, rubbished genuine criticism instead of addressing it, and raised 'avoiding answering the question' into an art form. Not a good example for any successors to follow.

I've met him formally a few times and much as it hurts to be fair to the bloke, he is a genuinely charming man, but that's all. He seems to have no sustainable grasp of issues, and five minutes later appears to have forgotten that. This may be unfair but it's the impression I'm left with. He's good copy / tv but sadly not much else.
'Joel
"His 'BorisBus' leaves me out of pocket by over £200m "

very kind of you to offer to foot the entire bill, but I think we are all expected to pay our share £25 (or are you suggesting the project will actually cost £1,600,000,000,000,000?).

Timbo,
Maybe my pocket isn't that deep, but I bet the net bill is well over £200m (or more than £25/head/week-month-year) for Boris's vanity project on four wheels (six if you count the twin tyres on the back axle). Still, it is a working example of 'absolute power' (Lord Acton).










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