please empty your brain below
Agreed. Unfortunately the media - and thus many of the electorate - are in thrall to the candidate whose sole idea (i.e. the one that wasn't pinched from his predecessor) is a cable car that goes from nowhere on one side of the river to nowhere on the other. Soundbite > substance, in other words. And one day, given this candidate's naked ambition, they may end up as PM...

THC | 13.04.12 - 8:21 a.m. | #

And how/who defines "the Londoners who really matter". Don't we all matter?

David | 13.04.12 - 9:42 a.m. | #

"any votes here are truly wasted"

Surely if the election system means anything, it means that you can vote how you like with your first vote, then chose your realistic candidate for your second?

For that reason, my first vote will be going to Siobhan Benita (one of your "truly wasted" votes) on the basis that (a) she's none of the above (b) she might even make a decent fist of it. My second will go to one of the two main candidates - the least worst.

That will accurately reflect my voting wishes, and I suspect that of a lot who will end up voting for Ken or Boris as first option. If more people did that, it could even be interesting. Whichever way you look at it, my vote isn't wasted but a proper and full participation in the electoral process.

The shameful thing is that for possibly the first time we have an apparently genuine independent without any axe to grind, other than getting the best for London, and the way the media is stacked up means it is likely that most will not hear of her, and those interested won't get to hear her policies examined closely.

Ham | Homepage | 13.04.12 - 10:11 a.m. | #

Maybe he means "The Londoners, who really matter, ..."

Pedantic of Purley | 13.04.12 - 10:12 a.m. | #

Its not just which slippery snake/oik you vote for, its the entourage that comes with them. God help us. Mind you, I said that about the General Election and no one listened and what do we have? Bloody Hell, that's what. Bloody hell, here we go again.

B | 13.04.12 - 10:17 a.m. | #

Personally I would find it hard to vote for either A , or B. Hence voting first choice one of the others, and then voting for the preferable A/B shows discontent, whilst showing the pragmatic realism that either A or B is going to win. I'd go for D first...

Steve Barker | Homepage | 13.04.12 - 10:38 a.m. | #

What a shame <Candidate H> didn't run. Their experience and realistic approach to governing the capital, without kow-towing to party lines or submitting to the voices of corporate lobbyists, would surely put the others to shame. Perhaps it's time to organise a mass write-in campaign so that the true groundswell of opinion for could finally become apparent.

Ben | 13.04.12 - 11:08 a.m. | #

What a shame DG didn't run...

Veronica 1 | 13.04.12 - 11:28 a.m. | #

Yes. DG for Mayor!

Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 13.04.12 - 12:51 p.m. | #

The Mayoral Elections make me dispair. The two main contenders are career politicians who clearly dispise each other. One has personality, a few good ideas and a bunch of duff ones. the other has no personality, a few good ideas and a bunch of duff ones. Oh, and has spent the last four years waiting for the next election. I don't think that much of either candidate but surely you'd have thought he'd have retired after the last election. I'd vote DG!

Rob | 13.04.12 - 1:14 p.m. | #

I live in Middle America and read this blog daily. DG's post today is "spot on"!

I have only one correction. Remove "London" and replace with "U.S."! Its going to be an interesting year!

Jerry | 13.04.12 - 1:31 p.m. | #

As a non-Londoner I have been trying to match candidates to letters. DG, this could have been a quiz!

NLW | 13.04.12 - 1:31 p.m. | #

This has got to be a record for the longest Mayoral election-related comment thread without any visible sign of political trolls.

swirlythingy | Homepage | 13.04.12 - 1:36 p.m. | #

We're voting then as to whether we have a mayor or not. On the basis of what I'm seeing here I think the answer will be "not".

allotmentqueen | Homepage | 13.04.12 - 2:42 p.m. | #

Great post - sums up the situation perfectly. And this post got a mention in Dave Hill's weekly Guardian email newsletter - which is nice.

s | 13.04.12 - 5:55 p.m. | #

I wouldn't call Ken Livingstone a "gentleman". As far as I remember he became leader of the GLC through ruthless engineering. If I listen to one of his speeches I find the first few sentences are reasonable, but then he degenerates into a ranting idealist, unmoored from real life. Ali G could have done a wonderful interview with him, exposing this power-seeking hypocrite. Better Boris Johnson than this.

Vivien | 14.04.12 - 1:04 a.m. | #

When I read candidate A's description I was desperately hoping that Tony Abbott was running for Mayor of London and it was just that no one had told us about it. But it seems not.

Antipodean | 14.04.12 - 2:41 a.m. | #

Oh well, it was nice while it lasted, eh?

swirlythingy | Homepage | 14.04.12 - 3:36 a.m. | #

Indeed. It was very nice whilst it lasted.

Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 14.04.12 - 11:06 a.m. | #

What about Jeremy Clarkson? He'd be brilliant.

Phil S | Homepage | 15.04.12 - 10:19 p.m. | #











TridentScan v2.10.0 | Privacy Policy