It appears that there won't be the Boris V Norris contest some of us had hoped for. The Guardian is reporting that the twice unsuccessful candidate has chosen not to try and make it third time lucky. That makes it incredibly likely that Ken V Boris will be the delicious choice before Londoners next May.
If the Tory mayoral problem now looks solvable, the LibDems remain in search of a candidate. Danny Finkelstein notes that the London police commander Brian Paddick - famous for the go-softly cannabis experiment in Lambeth - appears to have said no to running for Britain's third party. Danny's verdict: "When David Cameron's offer to support Greg Dyke was turned down by Ming Campbell, it seemed as if egg was on Cameron's face. Now it looks as if Campbell made a huge strategic blunder. Again."
Boris Johnson does, of course, have to beat the other Tory hopefuls in the primary election - one of whom may yet emerge as the party's candidate if the gaffe-prone Mr Johnson (The Sun has a list) makes a gaffe that is just too big. Only a fool would rule out another upset in a process that has already been characterised by many twists and turns. The other candidates also have the important job of forcing the frontrunner to develop some sort of programme for the capital. A Telegraph leader is very warm towards their columnist's candidacy but it emphasises the work he has still to do:
"He needs to show the political acumen necessary to run one of the world's great cities and to control a budget of some £4 billion. He must demonstrate an interest in the issues that affect Londoners and the millions who work in the capital. He must beware his predilection to drop clangers of the Liverpool and Portsmouth varieties. He must have the thickness of hide to withstand what is certain to be a dirty campaign."
Iain Dale said on Five Live yesterday Paddick was a likely Lib-Dem candidate.
Finklestein has interpreted the PinkNews article somewhat differently to myself.
Posted by: Comstock | July 17, 2007 at 07:19
The key thing is to get rid of that vile Ken. I hope that the Conservatives don't let themselves be star-struck by Boris the celebrity. I am sure that those with political nouse who read this site can come up with the campaign against Boris run by Ken and hi cronies. I predict it will be a pretty nasty campaign.
Posted by: Andrew Ian Dodge | July 17, 2007 at 09:29
Greg Dyke is known as a Lib Dem activist in Richmond Borough. There would have uproar here is we had that little lefty forced on us as the Conservative Mayoral candidate.
If Cameron had succeeded in imposing Dyke, it is likely that there would have been at least one high-profile independent Conservative candidate. An independent Conservative could have attracted massive activist support. Cameron would have looked at as stupid.
Why The Times pays Finkelstein to write such nonsense is a mystery to me. He continually has egg on his smug face.
Posted by: Richmond Boy | July 17, 2007 at 09:43
Shrek
Posted by: Justin Time | July 17, 2007 at 09:46
Well, i hope the LibbyDems pick their usual standard of candidate for London Mayor. I would like the 'straight choice' Simon Hughes to run(for hilarity purposes). Other LibbyDem possibles: Rinka, Omar Bakri, Clement Freud's dog ( long deceased- like Ming!). They're spoilt for choice....
Posted by: Simon | July 17, 2007 at 11:02