03 May 2008

Freedom for Boris

The commentators were saying that a 3% majority for Boris would be a disaster for Labour. The actual result was a 6% majority - so what does that make it?

We need to recognise that having a Conservative in a position of significant power offers a challenge for David Cameron, not least because anyone who is Mayor of London has to be a free thinker and has to put what he thinks is best for London first. A Conservative Mayor has to work with Conservative principles rather than through a Conservative whip.

The difficulty is that the moment there is a potential conflict between Boris and the Conservative Party the media will seize on it. For this reason I hope that David Cameron makes the point soon that he expects Boris to have a free reign, free of party pressure to Govern using his own conscience and recognises this may occasionally cause conflict.

Boris' acceptance speech was magnificent yesterday, as was Ken Livingstone's speech - I expected him to tear into the Labour machine (with just cause) and it is to his credit that he did not.

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30 April 2008

Is Gordon Brown The Modern Michael Foot?

Everyone is claiming that a Ken Livingstone victory tomorrow would be good for Brown, I am not so sure, it would not be difficult for someone to make the claim that Ken won despite Brown and therefore that people are willing to Vote left-wing, but not for New Labour.

So a Livingstone victory could spark a left-wing revival in the Labour Party leaving both the Blairites and the traditional wing of the Party fighting for power, with Brown stuck in the middle with nowhere to go. It could also create a massive left/right split in the Labour Party - Gordon Brown would become New Labour's Michael Foot!!

Here's hoping for a Boris victory anyway.

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