The Big Smoke

Yes, Tuesday January 22 saw remarkable revelations in London’s ‘Quality Newspaper’. Apparently Major Ken Livingstone has Trotskyite friends, likes a drink and isn’t entirely transparent in conducting his City Hall affairs. Readers, I’m here to tell you, the Pope’s a Roman Catholic.

The Standard’s relentless pursuit of Livingstone stepped up a gear in the wake of Channel 4’s 'Dispatches' programme this week, in which New Statesman political editor Martin Bright ‘uncovered’ some startling truths about the Mayor. He’s alleged to drink the odd whisky at work. He has lost his temper on occasion.

Granted Ken has done some daft things – not least haranguing a Jewish journalist – and his oft-cited arrogance grates in the light of this. But name a politician untainted by the whiff of hubris?

Of course the election for Mayor is, ultimately, our call. Who’s best suited to lead our sensational city? So far, Brian Paddick is the only candidate who seems to be concentrating on the policies rather than totting up the drams or tallying the racist slips.

When Paddick dropped into the Time Out office last week to talk about his campaign – something incidentally neither Boris nor Ken have so far shown any inclination to do – he was lucid and convincing in his commitment to tackling crime, congestion and housing. He doesn’t have the appetite for a smear campaign, he said, because he’s already had all the dirt thrown at him. As far as mud-slinging goes, Paddick is out.

The Evening Standard held a debate in Cadogan Hall in Chelsea on Tuesday night (a handy location for the Boris faithful) at which Johnson professed he ‘despised’ racism and went on to make some rather odd comments about smoking in public. He also said this: ‘There are some wonderful groups that I will work with to drive kids away from gangsterism’, sounding street-savvy as ever. He was, according to our reporter, utterly unconvincing.

Boris is posh, right-wing and clearly the man the Evening Standard are pinning their hopes on to topple Livingstone. Which is fine. They can back whoever they choose to back. But then this is a paper published by the Associated Group, a company which at times during the proprietorship of Viscount Rothermere in the 1930s was openly sympathetic towards Oswald Moseley, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. Is today's Standard a good judge of character? That’s for you to decide.

'Red Ken Likes Newts'
An exclusive peek at the next few weeks of Evening Standard exclusives…

'Ken isn’t a Tory!'
'Livingstone employs left-wingers!'
'Mayor lives in Cricklewood!'
'Ken no longer has moustache!'
'Ken: "I didn’t like Thatcher!" '
'Is Mayor’s real name "Kenneth"?'
'Ken bears an irrational grudge against the Standard despite their many decades of painstaking support for our idiosyncratic Mayor!'
'Ken attends function (pictures inside)!'
' "The Olympics will cost something" – shock admission from Mayor!'
'Commie Ken accuses Jewish reporter of working for Evening Standard!'