The Boris and Ken show continues

Well last week VoteMatch told me to vote Boris Johnson or Lindsey German. This week I did the more challenging Fantasy Mayor at the New Statesman (cap tip: Flesh Is G) and it said put Ken Livingstone first and Sian Berry second. Which is good, as that's what I've already done, being a postal voter (I may not vote often, but I try to vote early).

As well as the Mayor show, the key vote is over the proportionally allocated seats in the London Assembley, as the fascist British National Party are quite likely to reach the 5% needed for a Member (see Jim J for more on this). Here, a vote for any of the non-fascist parties (and we can probably include Galloway's Respect [sic] in that category) is a vote worth casting. I voted Green in that category, partly to alleviate my guilt at voting for Ken, and partly because I think that it is actually good to have Greens in the Assembly, balancing Ken's/Labour's social agenda with an environmental one.

Later this week, as promised, I will give my recommendations for the Lewisham and Greenwich candidates!

Bonus link: This made me laugh.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I don't see the point of voting Ken 1 and Sian 2, though I realise it's too late for you to change now. If you want to register support for the Greens then there's no point putting Sian 2 as she won't make the final two and her 2nd preference votes won't even be counted. Better would have been Sian 1 (to register your support for her and make sure it is counted) and Ken 2 (to help him beat Boris in round 2).

But the absolute best way to ensure actual Green representation is - again too late for you I guess - to vote Green on the peach ballot paper for the Assembly, ie the party list ballot paper. This is because the Greens almost certainly won't win any of the constituency Assembly seats, so they rely on the list top-up votes. That's how the 2 Greens were elected last time, and how the two-to-four they hope for this time would get elected.

By the way, Sian/Boris was the machine's recommendation?! That's what happens when you're one of these confused ex-lefties who still thinks he's left-wing! Just teasing.
Anonymous said…
"vote green on the assembly proportional ballot paper"
isn't that what bob just said he did do? Good choice both anyway!
bob said…
I didn't put Sian first for two reasons. First, although undoubtedly a nicer and better person than Ken, I don't believe she would actually be a better Mayor. His policies are better. I think I already gave the example of the Time Out interview when she was asked her view on affordable housing, and she said she'd insulate every home in London. Erm, is that really the priority Sian?

Second, I wanted to put Ken first because there is a chance that Boris will actually win outright. The might of the Evening Standard propoganda machine, Boris' successful pandering to various sectional constituencies (including London's Jews), and one more stupid move by Ken, and Boris could get moer than 50%. I don't want to vote Green and run the risk of beig responsible for Boris Johnson being the Mayor of London.

The Lindsey/Boris recommendation from VoteMatch might have been an indictor of my confused and schizophrenic politics! Or it might have been the silly questions they gave (compared to the more rigorous FantasyMayor thing). Or it might be my hatred of bendy buses.
Anonymous said…
Oops yes, Anonymous, missed that, Bob did vote Green on the peach it seems.

I take your point on the Ken 1 thing, Bob. The Standards poll spooked me too, and made me contemplate Ken 1 instead of my real preference of Sian 1. But then the more I hear about the Standard / YouGov's polling methods I think they're massively biased for Boris. I think he could win but not on 1st preference alone.

As for Sian's priority of insulating every home, I think it's right up there as a sensible priority. At the risk of getting into a climate change debate, which I doubt I've got the energy for at the moment, a large proportion of our CO2 emissions come from housing - this policy would do a huge amount to address that while also cutting fuel poverty, very important at a time like this. Showpiece bollocks like ecotowns are irrelevant when it's our existing housing stock that will make up the vast majority of our future housing stock and which needs to be retrofitted. Also, it shouldn't break the bank, especially with obligations on the energy companies to pitch in. It's been done at Kirklees Council on a huge scale thanks to a Green Party policy embraced in an odd coalition with, I think, the local Tories.
bob said…
OK, G, insulating homes IS important, and I trivialized it. But this was basically her only answer to a question about housing and affordability. The prospect of climate change apocalypse needs to be taken very, very seriously. But there are smaller but more immediate crises that can - and should - be addressed by London's mayor, and my sense is that Sian/the Greens don't take these seriously enough.
Anonymous said…
Unforunately there's not always the space / friendly editing to allow a full explanation of policy, esp for smaller parties. She's also for a 60% affordable housing policy and the party argues for the '4th option' of allowing councils to build council homes once again, end Right to Buy discounts and putting any receipts into new council homes on a one-sold-one-built basis. Policies in exhaustive (and exhausting) detail are open for all to see on the national party's website in the manifesto section. Sorry, I'm proselytising... But I do feel strongly - shouldn't a lot of this have been Labour policies...? How times change.

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