Ken Livingstone has called Kate Hoey "a sort of semi-detached member" of the Labour Party after she has announced that she will work as an advisor to Boris Johnson on sport and the 2012 Olympics should he be elected on Thursday.

Oh, the irony of Ken - the man who originally stood and was elected for London Mayor as an independent, against the official Labour candidate, and only brought back in because Labour wanted a winner - of referring to anyone else as "semi-detached" from the Labour Party!

Oh, the irony! You really couldn't make it up.

It seems that "Boris" is now a four-letter word to Labour:

It's interesting how the use of the name "Boris" pulls people in, yet the name "Ken" pushes people away.

The use of just Ken Livingstone's first name drives people away not because of the name, but because of it's association with Livingstone himself. Whilst using just Boris Johnson's first name pulls people in because of it's association with him.

Labour are running scared, because they know that Ken can't beat Boris. Hence their campaign of dirty tricks against him. They know they can't win fairly, so they try to win unfairly. Typical Labour. They're desperate. Trying to make "Boris" a "bad word" just proves it.

Even the Lib Dems know that Ken is dead in the water, hence their attacks on him now: "He is not listening any more. He's surrounded by personal advisers pursuing their own personal agendas."

They think it's all over for Ken. It will be come May 1.

The nominations for the London Mayor has opened, with 14 candidates putting their name forward. Why twelve of them have bothered is beyond me. The race is between Ken Livingston and Boris Johnson, maybe with Brian Paddick in a distant third. And bar those three - and very occasionally Sian Berry of the Green party - none have been mentioned in the media at all.

The candidates are:

Alan Craig - Christian Peoples Alliance & The Christian Party
Boris Johnson - Conservative party
Brian Paddick - Liberal Democrat
Chris Prior - Stop The Congestion Charge party
Damian Hockney -One London party
Dennis Delderfield - New Britain
Gerard Batten - UKIP
Ken Livingstone - Labour party
Lindsey German - Left List party
Matt O'Connor - English Democrats party
Richard Barnbrook - BNP
Sian Berry - Green party
Winston McKenzie - Independent
John Flunder - Senior Citizens' Party

It is a straight race between Ken and Boris. And Boris is the only candidate who can offer a better future for London.

Boris has, as expected, won the Conservative selection of candidates for London Mayor. But the margin at which he one is higher than most expected, winning with more than 75% of the vote in the open primary:

Boris Johnson: 15,661 votes
Victoria Borwick: 1,869
Andrew Boff: 1,674
Warwick Lightfoot: 609

From the moment Boris threw his hat into the ring, the other candidates had no chance of becoming the Conservative candidate for London Mayor. His name made the contest interesting in a way that it really wouldn't have been otherwise. I feel sorry for them, really. Whilst they are obviously highly talented people who could run London far better than Ken, they had no chance in the selection against Boris.

Boris has posted a message on his campaign website, saying:
Ken's days really are numbered. Boris may face a fight against him, but nothing that he can't handle. Ken has until May 2008, then he's out of office. Finally!

Sources: BBC, The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent

Boris Johnson has now officially launched his campaign to be London Mayor. He is the best candidate from any party, and deserves to be elected Mayor. Ken is obviously rattled by Boris - hence their attempts to smear him as a racist, with their inaccuracies pointed out by Andrew Gilligan in the Evening Standard.

Boris is a shoe-in for the Conservative nomination. As able as the others - Andrew Boff, Victoria Borwick and Warwick Lightfoot - are, Boris is the man to beat Ken. And Ken knows it. London has wised up to Red Ken. The "blonde bombshell" is the best man for London.

You can watch his announcement speech here.

For crying out loud, why?

Why, for fuck's sake, why?! Why is Ken Livingstone apologising for something that has not happened for nearly two centuries? Slavery is not something that has been done by, or even in the lifetime of, anyone alive. Many generations have been and gone since slavery was abolished, through the 1807 and 1833 Abolition of Slavery Acts, and the efforts of William Wilberforce.

As I wrote not long ago, you can't apologise for something you didn't do. It is just an empty gesture! How can you apologise for something that you (a) didn't do, and (b) weren't alive to do anything about anyway? No, slavery is hardly a high point in British history, but since it was carried out before, and after, by Africans, any claim that we should apologise is just a load of utter bollocks. It annoys me that anyone can claim any apology from a descendent of the guilty party, especially when they themselves have never been affected by it - like the recent apology from a Papua New Guinea tribe for their ancestors eating someone else's ancestors. It is all just a load of rubbish. You can't apologise for what someone else has done, and neither should you.

Why is Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, apologising for slavery? He said:
But you don't have that right, Ken. No elected official does. You can apologise for yourself, if you really think it's worth it, but not for anyone else.

It has been claimed that Ken has set "an example" by apologising, one which Anti-Slavery International thinks
Just fuck off, Anti-Slavery International. Just fuck off. I'm not apologising for something I didn't do, and neither should anyone else. In Britain and her Empire, the slave trade ended two hundred years ago, and slavery as a whole 174 years ago. Don't you think it's time you just let it go? Just move on with your life and stop dragging up old, divisive, arguments about slavery. Everyone considers it a bad thing, it;'s not going to happen again here. Go look at Africa and stop it happening there right now, rather than wasting your time asking us for a pointless and totally illogical "apology". If we were to take the argument they make for an apology, everyone would have to apologise to everyone for some minor slight back in the mists of time. Let's just move on.

Source: The Guardian

Ken v Boris v Lembit?

That is a potential London Mayoral race line-up, now that Lembit Opik has been floated as a potential Lib Dem candidate. This seems hypocritical of them since, if I remember correctly, the Lib Dems were making noises about the Tories having to look outside of London to find a high-profile candidate - since Henley is rather closer top London than Montgomeryshire.*

What this does show is the race to be London Mayor is lining up to be the battle of the mavericks. If Lembit is to be the Lib Dem candidate, it should make the race an interesting one. Lembit himself says: "Me, Boris and Ken would be a splendid contest. It would get a lot of interest and get the public voting as well." And it would be - certainly a good thing for bloggers and sketch-writers!

However, Boris Johnson can easily beat those of these. Ken Livingstone has failed London in his two terms, and Lembit simply isn't in the same league as Boris.

UPDATE: Lembit has says that he won't run for Mayor. That's a pity - it would really have livened up the race even more. Considering the stature of Boris and Ken, the Lib Dems are going to need someone big or just get buried.

*If I remember this incorrectly, I apologise to the Lib Dems. I'm pretty sure I haven't, though.
Sources: The Telegraph, ePolitix