BoJo’s Return: The London Mayoral Election

When he first won the London Mayoral elections, writers threatened to leave in droves, have sex changes or become French. But Boris Johnson, known to many as BoJo, has been re-elected in a bitter and closely fought contest with his sparring partner ‘Red’ Ken Livingstone. The defeated former mayor has stuck to his labelling of BoJo as a creature of splendid inactivity and inertia. For Livingstone, BoJo is the consummate ‘do nothing’ mayor, simply capitalising on what he himself began or put into place during previous terms.

‘If you have another four years like that, then by the end of this decade, London will be insufferable. The population’s growing, you’ve go [sic] to expand the transport capacity. It will be the mayor two down the road from here who then faces a real crisis’ (BBC, May 5). Perhaps many would feel it better that BoJo excelled in that role of inactive leader, a creature who mouths much but still, for all his errors, stays the course – stay close to nurse for fear of finding something worse. Indeed, London is insufferable, a hulk on a collision course of disorganisation that is bound to reach its highpoint during the Olympics in summer.

Johnson himself is being flamboyantly optimistic and dismissive of inertia, promising the delivery of 200 thousand jobs during his re-elected term. Kit Malthouse, in his new role as deputy mayor for business and enterprise, has been saddled with the task ‘to boost jobs in the capital, help create 250,000 new apprenticeships and continue to attract investment to the city’ (Guardian, May 5).

The truth is that Johnson’s victory was the only light in an otherwise abysmal coalition performance during Britain’s council elections. Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats received a serious mauling, losing 405 and 336 councillors nationally. The Conservatives lost Southampton, Plymouth and Harlow to Labour. Labour took 10 of the 21 councils in Wales, including Cardiff. The London Assembly also witnessed losses – deputy mayor and Conservative Group Leader Richard Barnes, and chairman of the London Fire Authority Brian Coleman both fell in the electoral onslaught. The usual explanations tend to follow in the wake of such bloodbaths – mid-term elections tend to be bruising affairs to incumbents. The effects of the government’s policies have yet to be felt, which is all the more worrying for ministers given that such policies only promise a barren harvest.

The British PM David Cameron has every reason to be troubled. Ex-ministerial aide Stewart Jackson has suggested that Cameron abandon his obsession ‘on the agenda of a liberal critique around him and barmy politicies such as Lords reform and gay marriage, which people either don’t like or don’t care about.’ Former Tory Shadow Home Secretary David Davis has voiced similar sentiments, claiming that such a focus was only of interest ‘to a London centric political class’ (Telegraph, May 7). Long term Tory MP Eleanor Laing has her own suggestion, reminding the PM ‘that the Liberal Democrats make up one-sixth of the Coalition, not one-half of the Coalition.’

Nick Clegg, whose party’s grasp on power looks more tenuous by the day, could only shore up the reserves against the Labour resurgence even as Cameron was distancing himself from the Lib Dems. ‘For the Labour party to parade itself as champion of these areas [Scotland, Wales, and the north of England] is an act of gross political hypocrisy. Labour has been a false friend to the north.’ The Liberal Democrat message doesn’t seem to be a serious improvement on that turn of hypocrisy.

The Mirror (May 4) has decided to engage in a bit of speculation. With Cameron, ‘besieged’, the knives are gradually being unsheathed in some quarters. The Mirror, showing its renowned flair for journalistic speculation, decided to scour the Conservative websites for well aimed dirt. They duly found the view of one irate activist: ‘Despite the kicking they have received I don’t hear a single Tory drawing the obvious conclusion that they need to change their policies or their leader or both. Unless Boris is our next Prime Minister it will be Milliband.’

Could we have the unthinkable prospect of BoJo for Prime Minister? Stranger things may have happened before, but not many stranger than that, should it eventuate.

Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne.

© Scoop Media