Boris Johnson is right to spurn the BNP's cynical offer of second preference votes. The BNP are National Socialists whose brand of racial separatism has far more in common with Ken Livingstone than with Boris Johnson colour blind approach.
But what will the Lib Dems candidate for Mayor of London Brian Paddick be doing with his second preference vote? I've been reading his memoirs Line of Fire and concluded Paddick has more in common with Boris than Livingstone.
Most heartening is Paddick's opposition to political correctness. Take this passage about Sir Ian Blair, Paddick's old boss. Sure it is inconsequential but also indicative of Paddick's outlook on life...
"One of the first things that Ian Blair did when he became commissioner was to order the refurbishment of his office; an exercise carried out at great expense to the Met. For decades the room had been lined with dark wood-panelling, except for the one section which had a life-size full-length painting of Sir Robert Peel, the founder of the Met. An old chiming clock sat on a large antique desk. This cross between a gentleman's club and the library of a stately home had seemed timeless rather than old fashioned, giving the occupier a sense of gravitas.
The decor was very different now. The green carpet had been replaced with a beige oatmeal affair, just like the one I had in my lounge at home. The imposing dark-wood formal writing desk in the centre of the room had gone and was replaced by a light coloured modern desk set back at the far end, almost as if it had been pushed out of the way.
Matching light-wood panels on either side. Sir Robert Peel had been usurped by a huge plasma television. a round coffee table with a modern suede leather chairs set around it on a circular rug had replaced the traditional sofa and arm chairs. It looked and smelt like a DFS showroom."
Two other quick points on the Mayor of London election before I go to bed.
1. Tory MPs genuinely are getting stuck in and helping Boris on the ground. A big shout goes out to Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Chris Grayling and Shadow Pensions spokesman Nigel Waterson for pitching up at Stamford Brook tube station this evening to go and canvass Westcroft Square, in the ward I represent in Hammersmith and Fulham.
2. It is not surprising that the ICM poll is less favourable to Boris than YouGov. Usually YouGov polls are better for the Tories. YouGov have also proved more accurate.
