Next London Mayor

[DJWrongspeed]

The Standard is really showing it's colours now. Previous coverage I've found to be a bit more impartial but now they're really going for the jugular. Why would Zac Goldsmith make for a good Mayor particularly I don't know ?

Sadiq linked to extremist

I hope that anti-tory London see will past this. Certainly the last Mayoral election the ES were very pro-Boris which must have swayed things as it was a very close call.

 

[hash tag]

A quick search on golden balls and I turned up this "Goldsmith is known to be one of the wealthiest MPs in Parliament, given that the bequest from his father, Sir James Goldsmith, who died shortly after the 1997 general election with a £1.2bn fortune, is subject to much scrutiny. Some tax experts have speculated Goldsmith's income could amount to as much as £5m per month from the trust left to him alone"

 

[oryx]

The Standard is really showing it's colours now. Previous coverage I've found to be a bit more impartial but now they're really going for the jugular. Why would Zac Goldsmith make for a good Mayor particularly I don't know ?

Sadiq linked to extremist

I hope that anti-tory London see will past this. Certainly the last Mayoral election the ES were very pro-Boris which must have swayed things as it was a very close call.

Yes...it was some story about his ex brother in law in about 1997/8!

Scraping the barrel.

 

[nino_savatte]

Goldsmith squirms over his tax affairs.

 

[hash tag]

ta. I had a feeling there wuld be doubts somewhere, BUT, im squirming here, there are things about him that appeal more than Khan. He's too rich to be corruptable, hes in it for vocation not career, he will relate better to the people that he will have to do business with at the higher levels of influence....a warmer character than Khan...

 

[DotCommunist]

too rich to be corruptable

lol

 

[LeslieB]

ta. I had a feeling there wuld be doubts somewhere, BUT, im squirming here, there are things about him that appeal more than Khan. He's too rich to be corruptable, hes in it for vocation not career, he will relate better to the people that he will have to do business with at the higher levels of influence....a warmer character than Khan...

I agree with quite a bit of that, but rich people *have* proved to be corruptible in the past. Something about money, even when you've more than you possibly need you still seem to want more.

I'm not saying Goldsmith *is* corrupt, he probably isn't, but being rich doesn't seem to make you non-corruptible.

 

[Pickman's model]

I agree with quite a bit of that, but rich people *have* proved to be corruptible in the past. Something about money, even when you've more than you possibly need you still seem to want more.

I'm not saying Goldsmith *is* corrupt, he probably isn't, but being rich doesn't seem to make you non-corruptible.

being rich is evidence of past corruptibility

 

[Pickman's model]

ta. I had a feeling there wuld be doubts somewhere, BUT, im squirming here, there are things about him that appeal more than Khan. He's too rich to be corruptable, hes in it for vocation not career, he will relate better to the people that he will have to do business with at the higher levels of influence....a warmer character than Khan...

never had you down as a tory before.

 

[Reno]

ta. I had a feeling there wuld be doubts somewhere, BUT, im squirming here, there are things about him that appeal more than Khan. He's too rich to be corruptable, hes in it for vocation not career, he will relate better to the people that he will have to do business with at the higher levels of influence....a warmer character than Khan...

...and he is more handsome.

 

[Pickman's model]

...and he is more handsome.

for handsome read inbred

 

[hash tag]

Not only that, I have thoughts of Rachel Johnson ffs

 

[Teenage Cthulhu]

ta. I had a feeling there wuld be doubts somewhere, BUT, im squirming here, there are things about him that appeal more than Khan. He's too rich to be corruptable, hes in it for vocation not career, he will relate better to the people that he will have to do business with at the higher levels of influence....a warmer character than Khan...

If it smells like a tory. If it sounds like a tory.

#shytories

 

[nino_savatte]

Not only that, I have thoughts of Rachel Johnson ffs

Seek medical help.

 

[hash tag]

I have spoken to relatives, friends, colleagues and clients about Sadiq. They have approached him from differing viewpoints and all speak highly of him, but he looks like a....!

If it smells like a tory. If it sounds like a tory.

#shytories

I have never been anywhere near a dead pig!

 

[hash tag]

never had you down as a tory before.

My new favourite person, that must be the most valued thing anyone has said to me on here before

 

[Pickman's model]

My new favourite person, that must be the most valued thing anyone has said to me on here before

you poor sod, you've had a very sorry time here if that's the most valued thing anyone's said to you here

 

[hash tag]

So, Zac has earnt ( well not exactly earnt ) £10 million in the few years he has been in office Zac Goldsmith discloses £10m in income and capital gains since 2010

I understand Zac, following in Boris's footsteps, wants out of Europe while Sadiq is campaigning to stay in. I don't think this could be a deciding factor.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

I understand Zac, following in Boris's footsteps, wants out of Europe while Sadiq is campaigning to stay in. I don't think this could be a deciding factor.

The danger is the mayoral election becomes intertwined and overshadowed by the Referendum. The elections are about very different things.

 

[redsquirrel]

The danger is the mayoral election becomes intertwined and overshadowed by the Referendum. The elections are about very different things.

Well not really a danger for Khan, IIRC London polls (one of) the lowest level of leave of any area in the UK.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

Well not really a danger for Khan, IIRC London polls (one of) the lowest level of leave of any area in the UK.

More a case of no one bothering with coming and voting for the Mayoralty. I think get Ken initially got in on 20+% turnout if I recall. Not very representative.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

Strangest benefit I've seen in a while=> Khan benefit at Brixton's Windmill

 

[skyscraper101]

Got my registration docs in the mail the other day.

So is Khan looking increasingly like he'll take it now? I haven't seen any polls since January and they were suggesting he has a ten-point head-to-head lead - 55% to 45% over Goldsmith.

I don't particularly like him but will likely vote for him as the lesser of two evils and in the hope he'll make good on the one-hour bus ticket which is something I'd immediately benefit from as would thousands of other PAYG Oyster using Londoners unable to switch buses to get where they're going without paying multiple times.

 

[LeslieB]

Got my registration docs in the mail the other day.

So is Khan looking increasingly like he'll take it now?

He's certainly the favourite 2016 London Mayoral Election Betting Odds | Oddschecker and this is why I think he will win.......

It's probably not a very good basis to vote on, but I don't think Goldsmith has a fraction of Boris' charisma, which is probably what won BoJo tight elections in 2008 and 2012.

Goldsmith is also yet *another* white British man, in a city where only 45% of people describe themselves as such. It doesn't automatically follow, of course, that people from an ethnic minority will vote for a candidate from another ethnic minority or even the same one but it has to be a factor.

Finally the big issue of this election is housing where the free market is clearly failing. Would people trust a Labour mayor to intervene to create homes more than a Tory? I dunno- but maybe

I think the three factors above will swing it for Syed, I may even put a bet on him myself.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

There's seems to be a big disagreement over Khan's fare freezing idea. Where's the money coming from, can he get more for London ?

I get where he's coming from but under the Tories is it a policy that will curb investment ? So far the criticism over his family past hasn't stuck I think.

I'm not exactly sure when the election period starts, has it already, it feels unlike previous mayoral elections what with the referendum happening as well.

 

[skyscraper101]

There's seems to be a big disagreement over Khan's fare freezing idea. Where's the money coming from, can he get more for London ?

He wrote in the ES a few weeks ago. There seem to be a lot of statements about money saving which I don't see adding up. And in fact I predict plenty o' strike action if he starts with 'efficiency' savings in TFL back office and merging the engineering sections of underground and surface level TFL.

Additionally said he'll freeze purchases of the new Routemasters claiming they're a waste of money and the batteries cost too much, he'll also clamp down on fare evasion (vague), and he'll stop funding the Emirates cable car, even if it means it'll close.

 

[LeslieB]

He wrote in the ES a few weeks ago. There seem to be a lot of statements about money saving which I don't see adding up. And in fact I predict plenty o' strike action if he starts with 'efficiency' savings in TFL back office and merging the engineering sections of underground and surface level TFL.

Yes, he seems to be blaming agency staff for a lot of things as well. I'm not saying there couldn't be savings here, but surely the point of hiring agency staff is to cope with short term workload. If not agency staff, then he needs to say how he would cover those posts.

Additionally said he'll freeze purchases of the new Routemasters claiming they're a waste of money and the batteries cost too much,

Surely it's a bit late in the day to be gaining much from doing this? Most of the design money is already spent. It also seems a bit of a shame to abandon both this and the cable car. To be fair the latter is more of a tourist attraction than a serious method of transport, but it has helped regenerate the area.

 

[skyscraper101]

Surely it's a bit late in the day to be gaining much from doing this? Most of the design money is already spent. It also seems a bit of a shame to abandon both this and the cable car. To be fair the latter is more of a tourist attraction than a serious method of transport, but it has helped regenerate the area.

It would be a shame to get rid of the routemasters I agree. Especially as I'm yet to even see one on any route I use. I can probably count the number of times I've been on a routemaster with one hand.

Does he have a point though that they are a massive expense compared with regular buses? i.e. needing two staff, and expensive batteries?

 

[Sue]

It would be a shame to get rid of the routemasters I agree. Especially as I'm yet to even see one on any route I use. I can probably count the number of times I've been on a routemaster with one hand.

Does he have a point though that they are a massive expense compared with regular buses? i.e. needing two staff, and expensive batteries?

The new routemasters only have a driver.

 

[skyscraper101]

The new routemasters only have a driver.

Don't they have a conductor too anymore?