LONDON MAYOR - GOONERS DECIDE

[northbankbren]

Not voting means nothing. So does the "none of the above" idea. Always agreed with the "if you dont vote you don't have a say" theory. (sorry about all the " "'s). You have to make a choice even if you dont fully think the person you are voting for is capable.

[I Hate Hleb]

AND THAT CHOICE INCLUDES VOTING FOR NO-ONE!!

[Fuzzfeast]

Not voting means nothing. So does the "none of the above" idea. Always agreed with the "if you dont vote you don't have a say" theory. (sorry about all the " "'s). You have to make a choice even if you dont fully think the person you are voting for is capable.

Can't agree with that one. In our last council elections we had ten candidates and we could use three votes. There were three Labour candidates, three Conservative, three Libs and one independant. I disagreed with the main three parties so I only used one vote, for the independant. He did not get in but if he hadn't stood I would not have voted. I am not going to vote for things I don't want.

[shimmy21]

With these elections, none of the three top candidates wish to scrap the congestion charge (Boris said he'd reform it, which is a good sign - but he is on crack anyway) - I don't care as I don't drive into the city.

Tube fares is my main concern, as these seem to go up and up and up. I hope these are frozen for a couple of years.

I've seen a cyclist die at the hands of a bendy bus on Goodge St where I work, however they aren't bad - they just have shit drivers who should use there mirrors and camera's outside the bus. The routemaster being brought back is just another Boris on crack moment . He doesn't know how much they will cost and how long it will take for them to be back on London streets. Ken wants to keep them and PC Paddick wants trams. Trams - This is London not flipping Amsterdam!!! Boris wants more police on buses - I hope he doesn't mean those reject community police who have no police powers from PACE. At least he is addressing the fact that crime is in need of attention.

It would be pointless me voting outside the top three but I think London needs a crack head and someone who has a vibrant personality unlike that grumpy old man Ken .

[Cus Geezer]

reasonable on public transport? man if your unlucky enough to forget your oyster card or to be a tourist who dosn't know any better you're gonna have to shell out £4 for a single ticket...even if you just want to go 1 stop!!! how is that reasonable?

The moral of the tale is to remember your oyster. 90p on the bus, very reasonable.

After all if you forget your wallet as well how reasonable would London transport be (other than dodging inspectors on the bendy bus).

Ken's got a good record on transport, he introduced the fares fair policy in the 80s that was scrapped because Tory borough Bromley didn't think it reasonable to fund tube fares as it is not on the tube. The higher fares are funding a decade and a half of under investment when London transport came under central government control after scrapping the GLC.

He also wants to bring the overground stations in London under TFL's control and within the oyster. The plans for linking the overground system around London, like with the East London line linked up with the North london line and stretching down toward Peckham is a good one too.

then (just to crucify livingshit a little more) theres the stealth road tax...whoops i mean 'congestion charge' which is a complete robbery of everyone unfortunate enough to have to go into it, i got a £50 fine once without even realising i went into the shitty zone

Wasn't the big C sign a bit of a giveaway?

The congestion zone is good for air quality and reducing traffic and it is only in business hours, evenings and weekends and can drive as you like.

and lets not forget he's an anti semite...lol

Is that a reference to the Jewish reporter that he claimed was hassling him like a Nazi concentration camp guard, I think that is rather exaggerated incident by the right of centre Standard which itself is owned by the Daily Mail, the rag which famously supported Hitler in the 30s and always gave Oswald Mosley a good review.

[I Hate Hleb]

GUESS WE KNOW WHO YOU'LL BE VOTING FOR THEN CUS!!

BY THE WAY, THE PROBLEM WITH THE CONGESTION CHARGE IS THAT IT'S INTRINSICALLY AN UNFAIR TAX BECAUSE IT PENALISES THE POORER MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.

HOWEVER, THOSE THAT CAN AFFORD IT THINK NOTHING OF PAYING £8 OR £10 PER DAY FOR THE PRIVILEGE TO DRIVE THROUGH LONDON'S ROADS WHICH, NOW THEY'VE GOT THE RIFF-RAFF OFF THEM, ARE LESS CONGESTED. WELL WORTH THE PRICE IF YOU ARE THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT THINKS NOTHING OF SPUNKING A FEW HUNDRED QUID ON A BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE OR A MEAL!!

JUST A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE OF HOW IT AFFECTS PEOPLE. WHENEVER I HAD TO TAKE MY FATHER TO BARTS HOSPITAL FOR AN APPOINTMENT IT WAS COSTING ME A SMALL FORTUNE (INCLUDING OUTRAGEOUS PARKING FEES). BECAUSE OF HIS CONDITION, WE COULDN'T GO BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND ALL THE WAITING AROUND INVOLVED WITH HOSPITAL TRANSPORT PROHIBITED THAT AS AN OPTION AS WELL. THEREFORE, WE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO DRIVE, YET I WAS PENALISED FOR IT. MEANWHILE, THOSE WITH A BIT OF CASH CAN DRIVE IN WILLY NILLY AND NOT WORRY ABOUT THE COST. NOW HOW CAN THAT BE FAIR?

[Cus Geezer]

BY THE WAY, THE PROBLEM WITH THE CONGESTION CHARGE IS THAT IT'S INTRINSICALLY AN UNFAIR TAX BECAUSE IT PENALISES THE POORER MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.

When it comes to cars the less well off are already penalised in London with paying as much as £60 per month, compared with someone in Essex paying about £35 per month.

Couple that with things like paying for parking permits, how many inner london dwellings have a driveway to park your car on?

To much of the poorer members of inner london cars are a luxury they can't afford. My own car is currently SORN cos I can barely afford to run the thing.

What everyday need is there generally to drive through central London on weekdays, where can you park without getting clamped or paying a small fortune.

There's less need for it than in the sticks also, what with tubes and 24 hour buses. Compare that to somewhere like Rayleigh in Essex where buses stop at about 10PM and a single fare is about £2.50

[I Hate Hleb]

To much of the poorer members of inner london cars are a luxury they can't afford. My own car is currently SORN cos I can barely afford to run the thing...

AND TO MANY MEMBERS OF THE POOR A CAR IS A NECESSITY THAT THEY CAN NOT DO WITHOUT, RATHER THAN A LUXURY!! OR ARE WE MOVING BACK TO THE DAYS WHEN ONLY THE WEALTHY COULD HAVE THE PRIVILAGE OF DRIVING ON THE ROADS, WHILE THE REST OF US HAVE TO LUMP IT WITH UNRELIABLE PUBLIC TRANSPORT?

[Martin Hayes]

Public Transport in London is far, far better than many other areas within the country.

Boris Johnson is a racist buffoon; under no circumstances should he be even considered as a serious candidate.

Everyone should vote - if only to ensure that neither Johnson nor the BNP get in.

[I Hate Hleb]

IF NATIONALISM IS THE LAST REFUGUE OF THE SCOUNDRAL, THEN THE CRY OF 'RACISM' IS THE LAST REFUGE OF THE LEFT WING, POLITICALLY CORRECT CLASSES!!

[Cus Geezer]

IF NATIONALISM IS THE LAST REFUGUE OF THE SCOUNDRAL, THEN THE CRY OF 'RACISM' IS THE LAST REFUGE OF THE LEFT WING, POLITICALLY CORRECT CLASSES!!

What like the left wing politically correct Evening Standard and its Jewish reporter who played the race card with Livingstone?

And it's just PC gone mad to find the word 'picanninies' racist

http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/picaninny/

[Fuzzfeast]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7366662.stm

I won't be voting for them now so it's the UKIP or don't bother.

[dvbrisgooner1]

I'm not from London, but I'd be seriously worried that, at the Olympics this year, that twat Boris Johnson could be the face of the London Games accepting the Olympic Flag from the governor of Beijing.

[northbankbren]

Saw this on have i got news for you and looked it up. Very good!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKRJVBqvd04

[26may1989]

Livingstone every time. The main things in his favour are the congestion charge (a good thing; who needs to drive in the centre of town in working hours between Monday and Friday?) and public transport (which works much better since he became Mayor). A lot of people dislike him, and I can understand some of the points northbankbren makes, but much of the criticism is to do with the way he's portrayed by the media, his whiney voice etc.

Boris Johnson would be a disaster for London, a bumbling, almost racist fool who understands London and Londoners about as well as Fred West understood childcare. I've never voted Tory, and doubt I ever will in a general election, but I could vote for a good Tory candidate for Mayor - but this one is a complete, 100% wanker. And a stupid one at that. He's funny on TV, let him stick to that.

But the thing I really hate in this election is the way that shitrag, the Evening Standard, is so partisan and biased. Seeing their banners around town, promoting Johnson and slagging Livingstone is just taking the piss out of Londoners.

And Scream, I think you'll find the Mayor has no role at all on housing allocation. As for immigrants' rights, it depends who you're talking about. Most immigrants come from elsewhere in the EU. Anyone who's a citizen or resident of an EU country has the right to live in another EU country (though currently Romanians and Bulgarians have fewer rights than those from other EU countries). These are rights that many British citizens make use of (look at all the Brits living in Spain, France and Portugal, for example).

Many of the other immigrants are refugees. You may not like asylum laws, and you may think the rights are abused, but they are based on legally binding agreements accepted by all countries. The UK has some of the strictest laws on asylum anywhere in the world. And the countries that have the largest number of refugees are not those in the west, it is much poorer countries like Jordan, Syria, Chad, Tanzania and Pakistan.

The remaining legal immigrants to the UK come in on work permits, meaning they have to have a job to come to. This is precisely what you're asking for.

Number 5, the Hackney Carraige Laws are nothing to do with Livingstone - they're made by the government and have been there for years. And in exchange for a black cab driver having to take a fair, he gets the benefits of premium rates and a closed shop. (My dad's a cabbie, so I know about that one directly.)

Nicoleous, I'm sure Livingstone does get taxis sometimes (so do I - is that a bad thing?) but I see him commuting to work regularly by tube. And before you think I'm biased, I've also seen Boris Johnson cycling around town.

And Tomo, you listen to what your Dad says????? How about learning a bit of independence?!

Last bit: the English Democrats are a group that splintered off from the UK Independence Party. Not the BNP or anything like that but I think fairly right-wing.