The Staggers

The New Statesman’s rolling politics blog

Boris rolls out the same old tricks

The London mayor’s campaign against Ken Livingstone is nothing we haven’t seen before.

By Adam Bienkov Published 09 March 2011 16:18

It's over three years since Boris Johnson first ran against Ken Livingstone for Mayor of London, but his new attack website suggests that almost nothing has changed in his approach to fighting the former mayor.

His old criticisms of Ken from 2008 are not so much trotted out as dragged out, nobbled and lifeless, on to the race course.

Livingstone's support for the unions, controversial left-wing politicians and Islam are all limped out, with multiple links to posts by Andrew Gilligan completing the Wadley-era Evening Standard feel.

To the surprise of approximately zero Londoners, we are told that Ken is a fan of Hugo Chávez, various Muslim leaders and the occasional junket. Who knew?

In fact, give or take a couple of references to Press TV and the fascinating subject of internal Labour Party politics in Tower Hamlets, the entire website could have been written back in 2008.

In this alternate universe, the past three years have never happened. And so, while Ken is attacked for his large numbers of press officers and his huge pay-offs to "cronies", Boris's large numbers of press officers and his huge pay-off to one of his own "cronies" fall down the memory hole.

Because the truth is that, while Boris campaigned against Livingstone's formula for being Mayor of London, it is a formula to which, by and large, he has kept.

So, Ken's international embassies, or "Kenbassies", as the Tories called them, have largely stayed, as have the travel concessions for young people that the Tories deemed so unacceptable just a few years ago.

Ken's staged battles with his own party leadership have been replaced with Boris's staged battles with Tory chiefs. And Ken's outrageous jokes and comments about totalitarian leaders have been replaced with Boris's outrageous jokes and comments about other totalitarian leaders.

Thus, in some ways, the antiquated feel of Boris's campaign website is entirely in keeping with the antiquated feel of Boris's mayoralty. Where Ken led, Boris has largely followed. And after almost three years, Boris has failed to point London in any discernibly new direction.

In the absence of such a new direction, no volume of attack websites will convince anybody that four more years of either candidate is anything to get too scared about.

Adam Bienkov is a blogger and journalist covering London politics and the mayoralty.

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28 comments

Tue, 2011-03-15 18:12 — Tom (not verified)

Question. What's the term limit for this job? In the States, Michael Bloomberg got the New York City Council to do away with the two-term limit. Now he's on Number 3.

Thu, 2011-03-10 00:15 — Tiernanator (not verified)

I was on The Pink Paper site earlier and the Tory attack dogs are snapping there also. The have rolled out the old Moslem extremist loving chestnut. The Tories have many allies even in places that you wouldn't expect like the Pink Paper.

Sat, 2011-03-12 08:42 — Reginald-Fah-fah

Nonsense article! Boris Johnson for Mayor! Back Boris 2012.

Thu, 2011-03-10 01:35 — G. Tingey

Sorry, but publicly associating with, and publicly refusing to repudiate a slime who thinks that killing (jewish) children and homosexuals, is OK, and that women are inferior and should be kept in the kitchen ....
SHOULD disqualify you for being Mayor of London.

I DON'T like Boris, he too has unpleasant friends, but he is LESS BAD than Livingstone.
Sad, isn't it, that one is forced to this?

Mon, 2011-03-14 12:17 — Reginald-Fah-fah

Boris has frozen council tax and a vote for Ken will result in the public paying more!

Ken's poll tax!!!!

Sun, 2011-03-13 08:58 — Daniel Taghioff (not verified)

So will the New Statesman's current political editor (Mehdi Hassan) do a documentary about the current incumbent for this election?

Why stop a tradition taking shape?*

*I like Martin, but still think he made a hideous mistake there. Time to try and balance the books?

Sun, 2011-03-13 10:49 — Mr Anton Jury (not verified)

There is also another online petition to try and protect/save The National Health Service which is as follows:

http://www.38degrees.org.uk

Sat, 2011-03-12 12:08 — Luddite (not verified)

The only thing, Ken cares about, is Ken.

Sat, 2011-03-12 12:32 — swatantra nandanwar

This time Ken has to stop being the 'nice guy' and put the boot into Boris. Last time round Boris was able to fool everyone into not taking him seriously enough. This time Ken has to show Londonners that Boris is a nasty piece of work with a right wing agenda of cuts of smaller govt and friend of the bankers. Boris will sell Londonners all down the River Thames

Sat, 2011-03-12 12:45 — Dave C (not verified)

AC, Any idiot can edit Wikipedia and insert false information and often get away with it for quite a while. Consequently, no academic accepts Wikipedia as a reliable source. Citing Wikipedia is just laziness that doesn't bolster anyone's case.

Thu, 2011-03-24 11:23 — Dave C (not verified)

Update:

New poll: Ken on 46%, Boris on 44%. With second preferences re-allocated Ken remains ahead on 51% to Boris’s 49%.

http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/archives/3331

Sat, 2011-03-12 13:07 — Luddite (not verified)

Ken Livingstone made a major mistake during his time as Mayor in pandering to Islamic extremists, a position that seems to have come from believing ethnic and religious minorities were always right, no matter what. That kind of attitude helped create a victimhood mentality and the constant playing of community politics, rather than emphasis on individual citizenship.

Sun, 2011-03-13 17:34 — Hugh Markey (not verified)

Boris could act Peter Ustinov off the movie set. When does he get out his violin? He's got a good vantage point in the City or at Canary Wharf. Wait until the great unwashed start acting up - then he'll do his Nero bit.

I, Claudius!

Sun, 2011-03-13 18:38 — Luddite (not verified)

Tom. Why the fuck should we tolerate the intolerable.

Wed, 2011-03-09 16:33 — Dave C (not verified)

Three things that strike me about the site:

1) It's very reticent about its authorship. Only a rabid politico who reads imprints would trace it back to the official campaign again.

2) It's been going less than a month but it's already running out of steam.

3) It cites Wikipedia as an 'authoritative' source for some of its assertions.

Must do better!

Wed, 2011-03-09 16:33 — Marcus (not verified)

You need to remember that most Londoners do not want Ken back, ever. He has failed miserably twice. Never again.

It is time to give someone else a shot at the job.

Labour really should have picked someone like Lord Sugar.

Wed, 2011-03-09 16:46 — Dave C (not verified)

Marcus wrote, "... most Londoners do not want Ken back ..."

It's pointless projecting your own feelings onto the electorate without looking at the facts.

The recent YouGov poll found, "Voting intentions for the Mayoral election currently stand at Johnson 43%, Livingstone 45%, Lib Dem 6% and other candidates 7%."

Wed, 2011-03-09 17:09 — Jonn Elledge (not verified)

I suspect that who wins the mayoral election will have a lot to do with factors out of either man's control, namely the economy and the performance of the national government.

Both candidates are loathed by a big chunk of the electorate, so it'll be a very tight race. If we double dip, that may well be enough to push a few thousand people into the red corner and win it for Ken.

Fri, 2011-03-11 20:02 — Nurse A Higgs (not verified)

A bit of the subject but there is an online petition to save the National Health Service, please take a look and spread the word.

http://saveournhs.org/

Fri, 2011-03-11 20:12 — AC (not verified)

@DaveC - strange you don't notice that it uses the New Statesman as often as it uses wikipedia for referencing.

Sat, 2011-03-12 19:16 — Tom (not verified)

To say that Livingstone's pandering to Islamic extremists is a frankly a cheap shot. What he's actually talking about is consistent tolerance for various groups.

Sat, 2011-03-12 19:20 — Tom (not verified)

Does Johnson believe Cameron's line about "multiculturalism being a failure. It promotes segregation of segments of society"? Pure rubish.

Does he realize that in some parts of the States, state govts. want to make it illegal to practice Islam? Is that the kind of society that he wants?

Sat, 2011-03-12 19:21 — Tom (not verified)

One good thing about U.K. politics. At least you don't have the idiotic hangup about socialism that they do in the States.

Wed, 2011-03-09 17:52 — Marcus (not verified)

@Dave C:

I guess we'll see soon enough.

Boris is for the taking but Labour has really messed up by not picking a stronger, better-liked candidate.

This could have acted as a launch pad if the party was serious about winning back the electorate.

Ken wants to stand because he wants the personal glory of being the mayor of LondON during the Olympics, and misses the constant PR and attention it attracts.

I say again, he is a disaster.

Wed, 2011-03-09 18:16 — Tom (not verified)

@Dave C:

not sure you can say that "only a rabid politico who reads imprints would trace it back to the official campaign again" - look at the bottom of the page:

"Promoted by Andrew Lee on behalf of BackBoris 2012 both of BCCA"

Sat, 2011-03-12 21:03 — Luddite (not verified)

'state govts. want to make it illegal to practice Islam' Tom your words!! sounds like a fucking good idea to me!!

Wed, 2011-03-09 19:26 — Dave C (not verified)

Tom,

The line you quote is exactly the online equivalent of the imprint on printed matter. The average reader won't look at that, especially as it's in a light grey font.

Only the "BackBoris 2012" gives you any clue to its origin.

Andrew Lee means nothing to most people.

BCCA stands for Bromley & Chislehurst Conservative Association, but this is conveniently abbreviated so that few would know what it means.

The Tories aren't being explicit about the true nature of the site.