please empty your brain below
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Rory Stewart - considering the one year delay to the election was announced a while ago, why wait until yesterday to tell everyone he was quitting the race because he couldn't keep going for another year, he has been wasting the time of his volunteer campaigners for the past few weeks.
Still Anon | 07.05.20 - 7:44 a.m. | #
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Sadiq is only a shoo-in because he's made no major mistakes and the competition is so wholly uninspiring. I think he still needs to step up and show us what he can do instead of taking the steady hand approach. I want to see some real leadership! If he has ambitions beyond Mayor of London, now is the time to show a more dynamic side.
It would be nice to see Sian Berry eat up the floating vote if he's going to continue on as he has. (though I would still expect him to win)
Chz | 07.05.20 - 8:09 a.m. | #
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Totally agree with everything so far. That the Conservatives can put up such a lacklustre candidate is beyond belief.
J. | 07.05.20 - 9:27 a.m. | #
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I actually knew Shaun Bailey fairly well as a young teenager in Ladbroke Grove. Nice enough kid but always shy - a little strange and other-worldly. Never fitted in with his contemporaries.
I still can't help feeling he got the Tory gig because of tokenism and the benefit that he can be pushed as cooler and and more 'London' than any previous Tory mayoral candidate. Unless he has changed dramatically, he REALLY isn't.
Arlu | 07.05.20 - 10:02 a.m. | #
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I didn't even know who the Lib Dem candidate was, which shows how little impact she's made...
A lot could change in the next 12 months, and while this is a local election, you imagine that the more moderate Starmer will help Sadiq in the outer London boroughs. On the other hand, if in a year's time Boris is very visible and dynamically leading us out of lockdown and recession, that might have a positive effect on Shaun Bailey's campaign. Or someone else if he steps aside.
Mikey C | 07.05.20 - 10:04 a.m. | #
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In addition to the SB co-incidence, Shaun, Sian and Siobhan are all forms derived from the biblical name John.
It's good to be reminded that there is a future out there beyond lockdown, even if that future is even harder to imagine than usual.
Malcolm | 07.05.20 - 10:20 a.m. | #
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To be fair, Khan is doing a lot on air quality - his Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is a pretty bold measure with considerable health benefits, though the next, crucial phase is now inevitably delayed due to Covid-19.
I wonder if Bailey's focus will switch from attacking Khan's record on crime (where London Mayor has fairly limited responsibility) to state of finances at TfL prior to Covid-19 e.g. cost of Fare Freeze. Or if he'll attack the ULEZ for impact on small businesses.
Bill | 07.05.20 - 10:24 a.m. | #
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How about just scrap the whole thing? You don't mention the London Assembly members who seem a waste of time. We have plenty of local government already (with Councils joining together on many issues for a wider overview).
Take transport - TfL is a virtual government department - if they want a bail out they go direct to the Department of Transport - the London Major is just a sideshow pushing ridiculous polices on them such as the fares freeze.
Surbitonian | 07.05.20 - 10:36 a.m. | #
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Given the limited powers I'm not surprised at the lackluster list of candidates. Personally I'm in the "who cares" camp.
Caz | 07.05.20 - 10:44 a.m. | #
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The less you care about local democracy the more power you give to central government. Not a great idea in my view.
Rob T | 07.05.20 - 10:57 a.m. | #
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The elections should've gone ahead anyway. Sadiq Khan's lack of control on knife crime is a lot more dangerous than Covid-19.
I supported Sadiq Khan as Mayor of London back in 2016. But he has contributed absolutely nothing to the city, apart from Waltham Forest borough of culture and cheap transport fares which is uneconomical anyway. I will not be voting for him, but the other options don't look that much better. So we're kind of screwed at the moment.
I would've been willing to vote for Sadiq Khan if he pushed the Oxford Street pedestrianisation through, but we all know how that went.
Even Zac Goldsmith from 2016 looks kind of tempting now. I wouldn't have said that at the time.
PVR | 07.05.20 - 11:19 a.m. | #
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Oxford Street was nuked by Westminster council. Once again, the Mayor's quite limited power comes into play.
Chz | 07.05.20 - 11:42 a.m. | #
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I'd be surprised if all the other candidates listed actually make it to the ballot paper. Not only does the deposit cost £10,000 but a candidate also needs signatures & electoral roll numbers from ten unique qualifying voters in each of the 32 boroughs plus the City of London - collecting these on such a scale is not a simple task, especially if a candidate doesn't have much of an organisation across the whole capital. Then there's another £10,000 for an entry in the manifesto booklet sent to all voters - not every candidate uses this but those candidates who don't will not get their message across to vast swathes of voters. And the paperwork has to all be in order by the deadline - last time round this sank Winston McKenzie's candidacy for the English Democrats when it came in with only a few hours to go.
(Winston McKenzie has a rather lengthy political CV. At various times he has been a member of Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Veritas [twice], the Conservatives, Unity, Ukip, the English Democrats and now Unity in Action - it's not clear how his self-created party offers Unity given this record. He has also stood on occasions as an independent including a previous bid for Mayor of London. Apparently the Greens have a rare pre-emptive ban on his joining them.)
Tim Roll-Pickering | 07.05.20 - 1:05 p.m. | #
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Westminster council have also stopped various cycle routes from being built though the borough.
ActonMan | 07.05.20 - 1:28 p.m. | #
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Love him or loathe him, Ken Livingstone achieved alot as a Mayor, and won respect across the political spectrum. Fares fair policy, Oyster Card, congestion charge and helping secure London's 2012 Olympics. His response to the 7/7 bombings was impressive. No 'spaffing' 43 million on a Garden Bridge that was never started or a holiday in Mustique during a crisis for him.
To boot, he was our constituency MP for 14 years before he was elected as Mayor, and a very good one at that.
Such a shame he blotted his copybook with a few ill-advised comments which eventually contributed to his downfall.
Richard | 07.05.20 - 7:10 p.m. | #
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Perhaps a different shade of red is quoted for the 2000 version of Ken.
Frinkle Cur et Sequentia | 08.05.20 - 10:28 p.m. | #
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What are the candidates doing in lockdown?
bbc.co.uk/news/london-52566261
diamond geezer | Homepage | 09.05.20 - 11:43 a.m. | #
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Shaun Bailey must wonder if he drew the short straw. His formr GLA colleagues,Gareth Bacon and Kemi Badenoch,the former an MP for Orpington with a whopping majority and Kemi now a Treasury Minister, have done much better. He has a tough job vs Sadiq but in some ways the Mayoralty is up for grabs.
Sadiq has been humiliated by the govt bailout and lost sole TfL decision making. Some of his pet projects may be cancelled and I wonder whether there will now be pressure from the govt to postpone or curtail ULEZ because of the cost of cameras to cover the WHOLE ULEZ area. Or given a choice between the ULEZ extension or another project or being forced to put the ULEZ charge to such a level that it becomes a vote loser for Sadiq. Sadiq has also been accused of neglecting housing and crime.
Yes could Shaun be asked to move aside for a more visible candidate? Good question.
Sue | 17.05.20 - 7:39 a.m. | #
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