Friday 24 April 2009

Who wants to be a London Mayor?

Perhaps Boris doesn't.

Last night's Standard interview hinting publicly that he might not run again has today sparked a remarkable amount of activity and speculation among London Tories, who the Standard reports are preparing for a post-Boris future. Shaun Bailey openly suggests he would be in for the nomination.

Over on Liberal Conspiracy, I look at why Boris might worry about whether a second term could make it harder for him to become Prime Minister, his ultimate goal in politics.

Still, I think he'll run again.

On the Labour side, Ken Livingstone has now said that he will contest the nomination again, some three decades after he first ran London. I think the party should commit to an open primary for the nomination.

Will Boris run? Could he be beaten? And who would you like to see in the race?

2 comments:

Scarlet Standard said...

I agree that we definitely need an open primary.

I voted for Ken when he stood as an independent - the only time in my life I haven't supported the Labour Party.

But Ken lost to Boris, and political reality makes him far less of an attractive candidate than someone new.

I loved Ken's mayoralty. I loved the things he did for the city I love.

But I won't support him if I think there's another candidate who can beat the Tories, as I don't want to shambolic mess we are currently stuck with to continue a moment longer than is needed.

Calix said...

What if Cameron and Boris did a job-swap? The mind boggles...I would certainly take wing to Switzerland.

I agree with Emma and Sunder that there should be open primaries, and the party hierarchy should not decide who wins. Londoners have clearly shown that they want out-spoken characters who offer something different. It may also be a rational choice on the part of voters because things are more likely to get done by candidates who are prepared to stand up to others in their party.

I too was a fan of Ken, and think he has left a very impressive legacy. Boris, in one of his better moments, thanked Ken for making the job significant, and that is absolutely true. If Ken had not picked so many fights he may have even won the last election against all odds.