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The familiar faces of political renewal at City Hall

Timothy Whitton
p. 97-113

Résumé

On September 24th, 2010 Ken Livingstone was chosen as the Labour Party’s candidate to attempt to become the new mayor of London in 2012. His first words emphasized the fact that unlike the mayoral election in 2000 when he asked Londoners to choose between an Old Labour and New Labour vision of the capital city, this time round, getting rid of the conservative mayor, Boris Johnson, would be an important step in rejecting the cuts that David Cameron and George Osborne are inflicting on the public services. The aim of this contribution is to examine the way in which Ken Livingstone became mayor of London and how he intends to challenge Boris Johnson in order to conquer City Hall once again in 2012.

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Extrait du texte

Ce document sera publié en ligne en texte intégral en août 2013.

Plan

Introduction
2000: David against Goliath
The second mandate: Livingstone losing touch
From red Ken to Boris blue
Ken versus the coalition: political renewal at the GLA?
Conclusion

Aperçu du texte

Introduction

On 3 May 2012 the fourth Greater London Authority (GLA) elections will be held in London to choose the 25 members of the capital city’s assembly and above all, its executive mayor. In 2000, Ken Livingstone became London’s first directly elected mayor after defying his own party, New Labour, which had rigged the selection process to prevent him from standing and stealing the limelight from their own candidate. Londoners preferred Livingstone’s independent, maverick style and above all his desire to put the interests of London first rather than those of a national political party.

His first mandate saw him introduce the congestion charge which guaranteed the success he would need to be re-elected in 2004, all the more so as no other political party could find a suitable candidate to oppose him, especially on his own turf where personality politics had become more important than manifestos. Meanwhile, New Labour pulled every string in order to reintegrate him into the party ...

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Référence papier

Timothy Whitton, « The familiar faces of political renewal at City Hall », Observatoire de la société britannique, 12 | 2012, 97-113.

Référence électronique

Timothy Whitton, « The familiar faces of political renewal at City Hall », Observatoire de la société britannique [En ligne], 12 | 2012, mis en ligne le 01 août 2013, consulté le 21 mai 2013. URL : http://osb.revues.org/1317 ; DOI : 10.4000/osb.1317

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Auteur

Timothy Whitton

Professeur de civilisation britannique à l'Université de Clermont-Ferrand II

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