"Oh no! Not more election talk!" I can almost hear you say as I write this, even though there's a three day gap between my actually sitting down at my computer trying to find something interesting enough for me to rabbit on about, and the day you actually read it. Relax, first of all, these are not the big general elections that I'm going to be talking about - although I think they'll be coming up soon. Secondly, don't worry, even if it were, they're not taken as seriously as we do down our end. Actually, I should rephrase that - of course general elections are taken seriously, this is after all one of the world's most important countries - it's just that the average person in the street isn't as dedicated as most of us are to their party. For example, I know of no English people who would go on holiday in New York and pose in front of The Statue of Liberty waving the flag for their party the way I saw a local couple do on Facebook recently. Neither do I see mothers running around with pushchairs carrying babies swathed in the party colours.
In less than a month's time, Londoners will get the opportunity to vote for the city's mayor. There are 10 candidates in all, but the big names on the list are three: Ken Livingstone - the man who has held the post since 2000, nicknamed "Red Ken" for his far left ideals; Boris Johnson, the former editor of The Spectator and a politician, who will be representing the Tory party; and Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat candidate who until his resignation last May was known - among other things - as the country's highest ranking openly gay police officer.
As it stands, Ken is not the city's most popular man - even Madonna (who now claims to be a Londoner) had a go at him in a recent interview on Q magazine. Many hold him responsible for all that is wrong in London: from the ever-increasing crime rates to the introduction of bendy buses. Johnson is an interesting character: he is controversial, not scared to speak his mind and comes complete with a bit of a scandal thanks to a four-year affair which led to his sacking as a frontbench spokesman back in the Michael Howard days (Does anyone remember Michael Howard? It seems strange that that was only four years ago!)
But of the three, it is Paddick who looks like the one with the most colourful past: he's had Right Wingers and readers of the Daily Mail foaming at the mouth over his soft approach to drugs (he was the one who introduced a general softening on the use of cannabis), he's survived an ex-lover's attempt to ruin his career, and has never been scared of speaking his mind over how the police are run in this country. Not to mention the fact that purely from an aesthetic front, he is leagues ahead of his competitors. And let's face it, it'd be nice to have a good looking mayor! Had I been bothered to get my name down on the electoral register - which following a recent attack of election-itis I haven't done, my vote would have gone to Paddick - not only for the obvious reasons, but also because he seems to be the kind of man who acknowledges everything about the city, good and bad and hasn't so far come up with any great undeliverable promises as all the others have.
There's a lot in this city that needs seeing to. As it gets bigger, with more and more people flowing in daily, it needs a powerful figurehead, one who we can all take seriously. Even if I can't vote for Paddick, I've added my name to his list of supporters on Facebook. Given my situation, it's the best I can do.
In less than a month's time, Londoners will get the opportunity to vote for the city's mayor. There are 10 candidates in all, but the big names on the list are three: Ken Livingstone - the man who has held the post since 2000, nicknamed "Red Ken" for his far left ideals; Boris Johnson, the former editor of The Spectator and a politician, who will be representing the Tory party; and Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat candidate who until his resignation last May was known - among other things - as the country's highest ranking openly gay police officer.
As it stands, Ken is not the city's most popular man - even Madonna (who now claims to be a Londoner) had a go at him in a recent interview on Q magazine. Many hold him responsible for all that is wrong in London: from the ever-increasing crime rates to the introduction of bendy buses. Johnson is an interesting character: he is controversial, not scared to speak his mind and comes complete with a bit of a scandal thanks to a four-year affair which led to his sacking as a frontbench spokesman back in the Michael Howard days (Does anyone remember Michael Howard? It seems strange that that was only four years ago!)
But of the three, it is Paddick who looks like the one with the most colourful past: he's had Right Wingers and readers of the Daily Mail foaming at the mouth over his soft approach to drugs (he was the one who introduced a general softening on the use of cannabis), he's survived an ex-lover's attempt to ruin his career, and has never been scared of speaking his mind over how the police are run in this country. Not to mention the fact that purely from an aesthetic front, he is leagues ahead of his competitors. And let's face it, it'd be nice to have a good looking mayor! Had I been bothered to get my name down on the electoral register - which following a recent attack of election-itis I haven't done, my vote would have gone to Paddick - not only for the obvious reasons, but also because he seems to be the kind of man who acknowledges everything about the city, good and bad and hasn't so far come up with any great undeliverable promises as all the others have.
There's a lot in this city that needs seeing to. As it gets bigger, with more and more people flowing in daily, it needs a powerful figurehead, one who we can all take seriously. Even if I can't vote for Paddick, I've added my name to his list of supporters on Facebook. Given my situation, it's the best I can do.