It’s the London Mayoral Elections tomorrow, and our chance to choose between the different flavours of turd on offer… As much as I think Ken has overstayed his welcome, the idea of Boris as London mayor is too horrific to consider. Not because of his affable buffoonery, but because of his horribly reactionary politics. He’s tried to rebrand himself as a Cameron-esque new Tory-Of-The-People, but it’s bollocks.
Brian Paddick just doesn’t have anything like the track record or spirit to be London Mayor, which of the serious candidates leaves Sian Berry of the Green Party – I’m pretty sure I’ll be voting Sian 1, Ken 2…
Here’s how it works – in London we have Proportional representation in this election, which means that EVERY VOTE COUNTS. This is great in terms of us feeling represented, but the downside is it means the BNP will benefit greatly from a low voter turn-out driven by the apathy towards the two main candidates.
Put simply, if you don’t vote for SOMEONE, it’s a step closer to the BNP getting onto the London Assembly. So vote. Get out and vote for the person you believe in. This is one election where voting Green actually means something in tangible terms. The Greens already have two members on the London Assembly, who have been integral to the environmental steps forward in the city. They’re looking to double that, so if you’re a green supporter, get out and help them do that.
For more on why the BNP are such a tragic option for any political situation, see hopenothate.org.uk. A lot of people are disgruntled with the way the political situation has gone in the UK of late, and the cynical opportunists at the BNP have targeted those disaffected voters with their hateful message. Don’t give them a foothold.
VOTE!
You didn’t mention Lindsey German at all, the so called “left list” candidate.
Is this George Galloway’s ‘Respect’ or the SWP?
Hi Andy,
I’ve seen the Respect bus driving around South London with Galloway on, but I guess I just don’t really factor him into any ‘real politics’ discussion – he is, in my mind, an agitator; one that did an incredible job in the US senate, but who had an appalling attendance record as an MP, and who has an opportunist streak a mile wide… I know very little about Lindsay, but despite my own politics being a long way to the left of The Greens, they do currently seem like the best pressure group to have on the London Assembly – given the way that PR works, the Assembly will be made up of reps from the three main parties plus one or two seats that go to the others, who can act as a positive guiding influence as the Greens appear to have done in the last session, or as a complete waste of time and energy, as the BNP, and sadly quite possibly the Left List, would threaten to do in the next session…
Thanks for the comment though – I’ve got the ‘left list’ website open (which is all on Respect party webspace), and will have a look and see what she’s about.