The London Mayoral election set for May 1 promises to be interesting, if only for the clash of personalities of major candidates. 'Red' Ken Livingstone is back for a third bite of the cherry. His first win was as an independent candidate, his second after he was welcome back to the Labour fold. Boris Johnson, former editor of The Spectator, and current MP for Henley, is hoping to draw on his self deprecating manner, as well as leveraging appearances on HIGNFY and Top Gear among others, to become a populist mayor. With a salary that is commensurate with that of a UK Cabinet minister (£135k-ish), it's not to be sniffed at. The Liberal Democrat candidate will also feature, but the barbs will be flowing between the two major candidates, and the poor fellow (Brian Haddick) will have to jump in where he can. For a start, he has at least received the backing of Sir Elton John.
The voting system for the London Mayor position is the Supplementary Vote, where voters number their first preference, and their second if they so wish. If no candidate receives a majority of votes in the first round of counting, then the second preferences are distributed, so that one of the candidates can claim a majority in the second round. It makes the materials put out by smaller candidates important, as they would be able to indicate to whom the second preference should be awarded to. Smaller parties include The Greens, UKIP, BNP, One London, Stop Congestion Charging, and Timeout: who want to act as a balance and shy votes away from the BNP.
The broadcast of the live debate will be at 11pm on Thursday, ITV1.
|