The 2012 London mayoral election will be held on Thursday 3 May 2012 to elect the Mayor of London. It will be the fourth election since the office of Mayor of London was created in 2000. Current Mayor, Conservative Boris Johnson is seeking re-election for a second term. Ken Livingstone, who was Mayor from 2000 to 2008, is looking for a third term as the Labour candidate, and Brian Paddick is standing for the Liberal Democrats.
So those are the runners, who to choose?
Personally, I dismiss Boris straight away. I actually don’t care what he has to say. The man was voted in for his comedic value and the fact that the Evening Standard mounted a smear campaign against Ken Livingstone in 2008. If Boris has achieved anything positive during his time as Mayor it will be because Ken had already laid the foundations and set aside budgets for many good projects. All Bojo had to do was show up for photo ops once the projects were completed.
Latest Met Police figures show the number of victims of both serious youth violence and knife crime has risen every year during Johnson’s time in office. Yet, as part of his campaign, Bojo is saying knife crime has gone down. Get a grip Boris!
Brian Paddick seems to be going for the black and female vote in a big way. He wants to put an end to racist Stop and Search. Instead, he says the police should focus Stop and Search at criminals and put an end to the concentration on ethnic minority groups.
On 5 April, Paddick announced that Duwayne Brooks, friend of Stephen Lawrence, will be a deputy if he is elected. He wants Brooks, a Lib Dem councillor in Lewisham, to be deputy mayor for youth and communities.
He also stated his commitment to promoting the position of ethnic minority women by setting up an office to promote women’s participation in politics. He also promises to consult fully with women to ensure he is addressing their concerns.
Regardless of whom you want to be Mayor if you don’t vote you have no say. Make sure you register.
