Campaigning for Ken

[leenewham]

By supporting Gen Pinochet saved British lives in the Falklands conflict. Please look at the whole picture.

So that's alright then, it's ok to support a dictator who thinks nothing of killing over 3000 of it's citizens and torturing 29,000 more.

[digime2007]

i'd rather have a dishevelled,bumbling baffoon,(but with good morals)

Can you let me know when we get one.

A senior politician apologising for the harm done, and continuing to be done, by the slave trade and its legacy, is long overdue. This wasn't the only good thing that Ken did as mayor of London while the list of landmark projects by Boris that have made a difference seems to start and end with bicycles.

Don't forget the ridiculous waste of time and money bringing back the route master.

If that ever sees the light of day I'm sure Boris will turn up for the media exposure. That seems to be what he does best. Whenever there's a serious issue or when problematic questions need answering he sends a deputy.

He's great at playing the fool and being a likable chap but arguably a liability when it comes to anything serious. It's all a bit X Factor for me. I won't be voting for him.

[Annie]

[quote]Don't forget the ridiculous waste of time and money bringing back the route master. [quote


The route master,The red phone box, the black taxi (without the adds) The red post box, All depict London,Whats wrong with trying to keep History alive? as far as I know its not being brought back all over the country? just Historical London.

The Route Master was great at the time,the conductor/ress,were helpful,happy people, not like now when you get thrown down the other end of the bus cos the driver has no skills to start up slowly.

[Eagle]

Lee

I am sure there is not a PM who has not supported a foreign dictator. It is real politik.

Michael
Not Ken's job to apologise for events that happened years ago.

Have we had apologies from Norway and Denmark for Viking rape and Pillage
From Algeria and Morocco for the Barbary pirates who shipped thousands of Britons into Slavery.
From Italy for the deaths caused by Rome
From Denmark and Germany for deathe caused by Angles , Saxons and Jutes.

Plus many more examples

Of course the Atlantic slave trade was terrible but again the guilt of Africans who sold their fellow Africans to Europeans on the coast is forgotten
The Arab slave trade in Africa , forgotten.


What we want is a Mayor who stands for a modern London , like good old Boris.

[mosy]

I rued the day when Routemaster buses went and thus we've had to sit in a jam for 10 mins whilst being not 10 yards from the bus stop as the driver isn't allowed to open the doors.

An elderly couple mentioned the "being thrown about" to me only this week when I was trying to help them off a single decker (which seem to be worse for some reason) as I was passing.

Excusing my political naievety, does anyone have a handy list of what the mayor actually does and is responsible for or for coordinating that affects everyday folks, excepting transport as a given? I'm trying to figure out why I should care who it is and of which political persuasion one way or the other, or conversely why I'd be aggrieved if my voted choice didn't get in.

[Tim Lund]

Excusing my political naievety, does anyone have a handy list of what the mayor actually does and is responsible for or for coordinating that affects everyday folks, excepting transport as a given? I'm trying to figure out why I should care who it is and of which political persuasion one way or the other, or conversely why I'd be aggrieved if my voted choice didn't get in.

Planning is very significant at the London level - so policies such as what density housing is allowed, how high new developments can be. I ought to know more, but I'm at work waiting for a spreadsheet to calcluate ...

[maestro]

The route master,The red phone box, the black taxi (without the adds) The red post box, All depict London,Whats wrong with trying to keep History alive? as far as I know its not being brought back all over the country? just Historical London.

A history that the Olympics Committee should take it upon themselves to decide that even HMS Belfast is an embarrassment!

(Yes I know it's from the Daily Mail, but that doesn't dictate by default that the story is untrue.)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... unday.html

[Eagle]

Unbelievable

At least The Russian's have reconised the great work of the boat and crew of HMS Belfast.

[Lisa]

thats disgusting , hms belfast is a part of ourr heritage

who ever authorised the airbrushing of that poster is a traitor to this country or a foreigner who shood be shown the door mrs thatcher would never have allowed that!

[maestro]

[syd]

I used to get the bus at the same time each morning for 3 years the it just stopped turning up. Boris changed the bus timetables so buses now run in a range and can run in 2 and 3's and it doesn't matter if they turn up early, so the drivers miss stops, overtake and don't really care about the passengers. A few times buses have gone straight past compulsory stops. Boris moved the priority from the passengers to the companies running the buses. And my travel card has gone up 14% since he's been in. The bikes are for tourists and rich people they will never come here as long as boris is in. the scheme cost £140m the crystal palace tram extension was £3 and he said it costs too much. Now it's back on the agenda until after the election.

I really don't understand how anyone who lives out here could see any benefit in voting for boris

[Eagle]

Livingstone was Mayor in prosperous times , or when every one spensing money they did not have

Boris has had to face the real world of finance

My Bus services have improved if anything.

[Tim Lund]

My Bus services have improved if anything.

I sympathise with Syd's general complaint that bus passengers are treated as less important than the richer sections of society, who can afford to run cars or use trains to commute to regular paying jobs. However, there have to be numbers from TfL to test Eagle's impression. My own impression is that the service has held up.

[Eagle]

Thanks Tim
Bus service frequency is good but the manners of some of the passengers is not. Some do not even thank the driver and play loud noises throught their so called personal stereos.

Not sure what Boris can do about this . Politeness down to parents and teachers to impart.

[syd]

My Bus services have improved if anything.

I sympathise with Syd's general complaint that bus passengers are treated as less important than the richer sections of society, who can afford to run cars or use trains to commute to regular paying jobs. However, there have to be numbers from TfL to test Eagle's impression. My own impression is that the service has held up.

I disagree I walk most journeys now as the buses are unreliable and haven't you noticed that buses run in 2's?

[syd]

Livingstone was Mayor in prosperous times , or when every one spensing money they did not have

Boris has had to face the real world of finance

My Bus services have improved if anything.

Well my bus turns up when the driver decides which is not good enough in 2011. The money spent on the bikes or the £60m on the cable cars which should have not cost us anything should have been spent keeping services at the standard that Ken left it.

We have enough to deal with without waiting 30 mins for a bus it's depressing enough that a good day is when I don't have to step over a mattress to get to work.

[digime2007]

You can get real time bus departure information for the route/area/stops of your choice here:

http://countdown.tfl.gov.uk/

Useful from a phone if you have a decent browser on it. Also, useful for spot checks on reliability if you're that way inclined.

[syd]

Thanks Tim
Bus service frequency is good but the manners of some of the passengers is not. Some do not even thank the driver and play loud noises throught their so called personal stereos.

Not sure what Boris can do about this . Politeness down to parents and teachers to impart.

When I lived in Peckham and the whole Bellenden area was regenerated and the general attitude of the people in the area changed. Sydenham high street is a mess the green barriers, uneven pavements and general grubby unloved feel is never going to bring out the best in some of us. It's hard to beleive we are in the same borough as Blackheath.

You can't blame some people for not caring if those in charge don't care either.

[syd]

You can get real time bus departure information for the route/area/stops of your choice here:

http://countdown.tfl.gov.uk/

Useful from a phone if you have a decent browser on it. Also, useful for spot checks on reliability if you're that way inclined.

Thanks for that, it will make a real difference to my travelling

[marymck]

The bus service I used was cancelled by Ken in a cynical attempt to manipulate figures and increase revenue.

When we bought our house in 2002 one of items on our "pros" side of the pros and cons list was the 63 bus from Crystal Palace to King's Cross - it and the utterly useless 356 are the only buses we have that run close to home.

One of Ken's decisions was to break the route into two. An easy journey that cost 70p each way, more than doubled in price overnight, as not only did fares rise but I had to catch the "new" 363 and change at Elephant to the 63. No one queues for buses at the Elephant. The bus stop is on an exposed, bleak and windy corner. It's dangerous and a complete free for all. I can be the first person waiting and still not get a seat.

Numerous complaints to TFL did no good as this was "the Mayor's decision".

Then the statistics came out. The number of people using buses had increased. Except they hadn't. The number of fares had increased. I now used four buses a day, not two.

So will I be voting for the self-publicising, egotist (who by the way signed off on a deal that Londoners Council tax payers would pick up the tab for anything the Crossrail developers asked for ... in effect handing them a blank cheque with our signatures on the bottom?) Not b****y likely!