It's true that I don't like him as much as I once did.
He used to be opposed to the whole idea of an executive mayor believing, as I still do, that it concentrates power too much in the hands of one person. Now that he is that person in London, he's changed his position. He likes the power too much. Let's get away from executive mayors throughout the country and revert to a more democratic and accountable system.
I don't like his position on the City of London, the Olympic Games, the police and all this global city nonsense. He's become a big city boss, in the American style, and I just don't like that. He really does need to be held more to account and the London Assembly is too effete to do that job properly at the moment.
A.V. is far from the best electoral system. A more democratic system would be STV and I support that for all elections, including those for Westminster. However, the alliance that Ken has formed with the Green Party is encouraging.
The stark fact is that this election comes down to a choice between Ken and BoJo, the right-wing Tory fop. It's a no-brainer. Make no mistake BoJo represents the re-ascendent Tory Toff Tendency, based on an antediluvian caucus of old Etonians. However, they are no old-fashioned one-nation Tories, in their economic and social policies. They are neoliberals, just like New Labour. Ken is still, in a rather compromised way, the man who took on and defeated New Labour. When he first opposed the Labour Party machine, I supported him with great enthusiasm, like many others. I support him still. Less enthusiastically, more conditionally, but it's still Ken for my old home city of London today. I haven't live there for a long time, so I have no vote to give him. I can't vote for him, but if I could vote for him, I would vote for him, newts, warts and all. He continues to represent the best hope for a social democratic London. If he wins I will cheer and hope for a socialist next time.
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