Wednesday, 16 April 2008

I Know Nothing about Politics

With May the 1st creeping up on us, I realised I know precious little about the candidates or what they stand for, so I set myself the task of writing at least one line on each.

How is it that the only serious threat to Ken Livingston's reign at the moment is Boris Johnson! Don't get me wrong, I like Boris Johnson, he's hilarious (admittedly not intentionally) and he's great for a sound bite, I would love to invite him over for dinner. But as a politician, good God no!

I don't often believe the hype of opinion polls but look at the other candidates:

Richard Barnbrook, now I just can't vote for the BNP, it's their logo...... it shows no imagination what-so-ever! All I'm saying is hire a good designer, sort it out and then I'll entertain the idea of criticising you're politics.

Gerard Batten, London is geographically part of Europe (I've looked at a map and it's true!) and to thrive economically, we've really got to work with our neighbors. Granted this is more a criticism of the UKIP then Batten, yes I agree that a country should be politically independent but not to the extent they are suggesting. Membership in the EU is expensive but in the long run, it will be beneficial.

Sian Berry, I'm all for the Green party but realistically, she's highly unlikely to come close to getting the number of votes needed to make a change.

Alan Craig, well not a lot I can say about this one except that I think his priorities might differ, ever so slightly from mine.

Lindsey German, nuff Respect to her! It was to be said, her heart's in the right place, but her recent split from unity (or not split depending on which way you look at it) doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

Winston McKenzie, tho I like some of his ideas and he really does have the right attitude, but this is the whole point, he doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell.

Matt O'Connor, he strikes me as a bit of a realist and like anyone who's central (politically), I strongly agree with some parts and strongly disagree with others.

The last three.....

Brian Paddick, I would vote for him but “a vote for Lib Dems is a wasted vote”. I'll keep an eye on this one because come 1st May, it may well be worth wasting my vote.

Ken Livingstone, is he red or purple now, I can never remember. I'm for the congestion charge, I think it has made a difference but like a lot of his policies, they really need a lot more thought put into them, I find Ken will gladly jump onto a bandwagon for a vote. I don't like 'U' turns, I need to know my candidate will stick to their guns.

Last but, by no means, least, Boris Johnson. I'll keep one eye on the sky and if I see a pig fly, I'll cast my vote in his direction but for now, dinner's an open invite, feel free to pop over any evening!

Please note that this post is more an attempt to learn rather then to criticise, that being said, feel free to tear into me, that's the whole point of democracy.

5 comments:

Kia Abdullah said...

HA HA BORIS LOL!!!! WHAT A LEGERND!!!!!!

Kia Abdullah said...

Seriously though, I'm afraid my vote's going to Ken. But that's probably more to do with my inverse snobbery than anything else.

Ariane said...

My vote's going to Ken too, Kia. Though Josh, I love your casual dismissal of the BNP! Indeed, if only they had a better logo... (sigh)

I reckon people are always going to be dissatisfied with whoever's Mayor, but Ken's done an alright job (90p buses? Result!) so I'm happy to vote him back.

Hattie said...

Er, I've only heard of two of the candidates. I'm not proud of it, but there it is. Also, I don't think I remembered to register. Oops.

Josh said...

Kia: Be an inverse-inverse snob! Ken isn't the man of the people he climes to be but hey, I guess that's democracy.

Ariane: 90p for a bus ride?! That's a travesty! I remember when we would pay 40p for the bus, buy a pack of space invaders (pickled onion) for 5p and be thankful for having change left over from 50p! Ken has some good policies but they aren't fully thought out, and he keeps changing his mind......

Hattie: One of my teachers once told me that democracy only really works for the 30 seconds you are in the voting booth. That being said, you have the right not to vote, so kudos to you for exercising that right!

I'm still working on the manifesto for the 'people's front' so watch this space!