London mayor ousted as British PM suffers poll ‘bloodbath’
LONDON (AFP) — Prime Minister Gordon Brown suffered a crushing election “bloodbath” Saturday, as his party lost control of London’s City Hall on top of its worst poll results for 40 years across the country.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone was ousted by maverick conservative Boris Johnson, compounding a day of devastating local ballot results for Brown’s Labour Party which augur badly for a general election due within two years.
Some commentators called the poll Brown’s “John Major moment” — likening his fate since succeeding Tony Blair last year to that of Major’s collapse at the ballot box after succeeding Margaret Thatcher in the 1990s.
AFP: London mayor ousted as British PM suffers poll ‘bloodbath’.
Well done Boris - what a stunning victory for the Conservatives and for London!
However, I do feel for Ken Livingstone somewhat, because he undoubtedly suffered because of the “Brown Effect” and we shouldn’t forget how important he has been in building the position of London Mayor into such an important role for our country.
Ken is an impressive politician and, despite his many gaffes, I believe that he always had London’s best interests at heart.
But Ken is history, and I’m excited to see how Boris is going to perform in a job that will make him, arguably, the most senior Conservative politician in the country – at least until the next General Election.
When I was knocking on doors in Enfield (“Hello, I’m representing the Conservatives and Boris Johnson”) there was an obvious affection for Boris and I think that he will be able to build on this to become an incredibly popular and effective mayor.
I hope that he will be able to throw-off accusations of being a ‘clown’ pretty quickly. It’s amazing that someone who was educated at two of the best educational institutions in the world can be considered a buffoon!
The proof is in the pudding, but I am certain that Boris’ election marks the beginning of a new political era, one in which the Conservatives will secure power in a way not dissimilar to New Labour’s rise in 1997.
Well done Boris!