Quite right too. Neither the good people of Henley nor the people of London are getting the best from Boris Johnson right now. The by-election should have been called the day after he was appointed as the Mayor. The original intention was that Boris was going to be in post for several months after May 2008.
Instead, and in a very cynical ploy, and largely driven by the astonishing 17.6% swing to the Conservatives in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, Boris has realised that he needs to act fast to maintain the momentum that is behind the Tory party right now.
As much as the London Mayoral Election was a product of people's disgust at the Labour party, this by-election was a repeat of this. Local elections have always been a platform of protest.
However, as much as I dislike the phrase, "it's different this time". The swing was just astounding. 17.6% is huge however you cut the cake. The Lib Dems didn't fare well; traditionally, it has been a party with which people have used their vote to register a protest against the incumbent government. This wasn't the case in Crewe.
Gordon Brown is a dead man walking. It is very clear the country wants a change of PM, but that alone is not enough; provided that David Cameron does not commit a serious act of misjudgement, he will be Prime Minister after the next election.
All Boris will need to do from this point forward is to look after the very people the elected him; and to be clear, this was not the poor, working majority of London. The turnout in the "true blue" areas of London was significant and handed Boris the keys to City Hall. I can't help but feel that momentum alone will be enough to carry him forward until the next term, by which time we will certainly have a Conservative Government.
2 comments:
Is recent history fading already ?
Ken Livingstone was elected as Mayor of London for the first time from the 4th May 2000.
He did not give up his seat as Member of Parliament for Brent East until the the General Election campaign dissolution, i.e. 14th May 2001. - over a year later.
Livingstone had been kicked out of the Labour party, for standing against the official Labour candidate Frank Dobson, so there was no question of any party political timing of any by-election to consider.
That does not compare favourably with Boris Johnson's announced resignation.
Is recent history fading already ?
Ken Livingstone was elected as Mayor of London for the first time from the 4th May 2000.
He did not give up his seat as Member of Parliament for Brent East until the the General Election campaign dissolution, i.e. 14th May 2001. - over a year later.
Livingstone had been kicked out of the Labour party, for standing against the official Labour candidate Frank Dobson, so there was no question of any party political timing of any by-election to consider.
That does not compare favourably with Boris Johnson's announced resignation.
Thanks for this.
I wouldn't disagree with much of what you said and it's a valid point to raise. Indeed, Ken did retain his seat in the manner you described - as I view that as being equally disagreeable.
Livingstone received more votes in the candidate process than his opponent, Frank Dobson (who was never, ever a suitable candidate in the first place) and was suitably aggrieved that Dobson was still put forward on the basis of the electoral college system that was used.
The timing element here is very important for all of the reasons that I described. Momentum is King. All hail momentum.
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