Congestion Charge
For many, this was the biggest sticking point of Ken Livingstone’s tenure as London Mayor. Car owners have hated the congestion charge since it was introduced, and while the extra money was poured into funding public transport, the population of London is too great for roads to ease up sufficiently at peak times for Londoners to notice a visible difference (unless a land version of the Concorde is developed). Boris, a keen cyclist, chose not to scrap it - instead he added a fleet of bicycles - however he did bin Ken’s plans to extend the charging zone further.
Anti-Semitism
In 2005 Ken likened a reporter from the Evening Standard to a German war criminal, before berating him for working for a paper that had a record of supporting fascism. The reporter, Oliver Finegold, was attempting to interview Ken as he was exiting a party - was he a tad tipsy when he made the remarks? Unfortunately for Ken, the journalist turned out to be Jewish, a fact he wouldn’t necessarily have known. What he should have realised was that journalists have a tendency to carry Dictaphones around with them and the entire conversation was recorded and later published on the Guardian website. But Ken refused to back down and was subsequently accused of being anti-Semitic. This isn’t the only time Ken’s put his foot in it where anti-Semitic comments are concerned, as he also said the Reubens brothers – two property developers involved in the 2012 Olympics - could “go back to Iran and try their luck with the ayatollahs”. The brothers are in fact of Iraqi-Jewish and Indian descent, but rather than level criticism at his lack of geographical knowledge (or whatever issue he had with the two men) the media seized on their Jewish heritage and branded the remarks an anti-Jewish attack.
\n\nScuffle
Ken’s colourful use of language is now as expected as the changing of the seasons, however when the Mayor of London is accused of pushing a man down a flight of stairs it’s a matter of serious consequence. One Mr Robin Hedges first claimed he fell down some stairs at a party accidentally, then in a statement to the Evening Standard (who else – there is little love lost between the paper and Mr Livingstone) he claimed he had been pushed by the Mayor himself. Ken stated the man jumped on him while he was arguing with his girlfriend Ms Beal, a close friend of Mr Hedges… and who knows. Perhaps they all had a few drinks too many and the events are a bit of a blur.
Boris Administration Exodus
Less than three months after becoming Mayor of London three members of Boris Johnson’s cabinet had resigned. First there was Deputy Mayor Tim Parker, who very altruistically said he was resigning because there simply wasn’t the need for a full time deputy. He is now the CEO of Samsonite. Next up was senior adviser James McGrath, who quit after responding to a question regarding the possibility of older Caribbean migrants returning to the West Indies should Johnson be elected with the gem “let them go if they don't like it here”. The comment was made during the election campaign, but he was asked to resign pretty much as soon as Boris assumed his position. Lastly there was Deputy Ray Lewis, who left amidst allegations of financial misconduct. Ken Livingstone and other detractors took this as a golden opportunity to comment on how unfit Johnson was for the role of Mayor.
Alcohol Ban
When Boris decided to ban alcohol on public transport in 2008, (some of) the city’s youth decided to revolt by hosting parties on the tube on the last night before the ban came into effect. Some wanted to protest in the name of personal freedom, others wanted to get boozed up and cause havoc, but most of all they wanted to be able to fill their water bottles with rum and coke and drink from them on the underground without being arrested. Despite the initial protests it seems most Londoners are supportive of the ban, although people obviously still drink on the tube as booze-tasting dogs are not yet being trained by the Met. Plus the crime rate would soar to unimaginable levels if every single can was of Fosters was considered an offence.
\n\nTaxi Fares
Since the MP expenses scandal came to light in 2009, politicians’ spending has been closely scrutinised by both media and public. Despite cycling into work every day, Boris still managed to rack up almost £4,700 in cab fares that year, the equivalent of £90 a week in taxis. Closer inspection revealed a £99 fare from the Red Lion pub in Westminster to the City, clearly taking the most scenic of routes.
Chicken Feed
Boris once remarked that the £250,000 a year he receives for his column in The Telegraph is “chicken feed”. The time he chose to make the careless statement was July 2009, when a little problem known as a recession was gripping the nation rather forcefully. The comment was made during an interview on the BBC’s Hard Talk, when he was asked whether it was appropriate for him to write a newspaper column while holding the position of Mayor. Seeing as the extra salary is in addition to his annual wage of £140,000 as Mayor, the general consensus was that Boris must be a particularly hungry chicken.
Rise Festival
Rise was the music festival with an anti-racist message conceived in 1996 (initially called ‘Respect’) by the trade unions, later revived by Ken Livingstone after two years of absence. When Boris arrived in the office he removed the anti-racist manifesto, replacing obvious language like the term “anti-racism” with the milder “celebrating diversity”. The following year, in 2009, sponsors withdrew their support, and with no financial backing the event was shelved completely. Unfortunately for Boris many saw this as an ignorant move on the part of someone who couldn’t care less about diversity. In 2010 the trade unions revived the festival, giving it the name UpRise, and with no political involvement they were able to reinstate its initial message.
