Does Boris Johnson not like being london Mayor

blinding

It seems that Boris Johnson does not want to continue as London Mayor.

His most recent anti-Irish pronouncments indicate that he would prefer if the large London Irish community did not vote for him. Its an interesting tactic and could well end up with Boris losing the election.

Boris: the man thats conseals that he is a buffoon by acting the buffoon.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/boris-johnson-calls-london-st-patricks-day-event-lefty-sinn-fein-crap-16116465.html

later12

Stupid thing to suggest given that one would have expected the Mayor to be aware that his office do not pay for this event. He seems to have based his suggestions on the fact that Martin McGuinness and Pat Doherty were guests of the event four years ago

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/boris-johnson-says-sorry-about-st-patricks-day-lefty-sinn-fein-crap-remark-3047449.html

"Although I note that the guests of honour at the 2008 St Patrick's Day dinner were Martin McGuinness and Pat Doherty, these were not dinners for Sinn Fein and, of course, I make absolutely no assumptions about the political allegiances of those who attended the dinners."

Anyway, he has apologized. I can't imagine it will cost him the election. I don't expect Johnson has a notable London Irish vote.

He added: "I regret any unintended offence that I may have given." Later, Mr Johnson, a classical scholar, used Latin to make his point: "Mayoral culpa, mayoral maxima culpa."

GSF

How many London Irish go to the Dorchester for posh dinners? At worst he has lost about 5 votes. Nobody takes any notice of this crap.

Fratton Fred

blinding wrote: »

It seems that Boris Johnson does not want to continue as London Mayor.

His most recent anti-Irish pronouncments indicate that he would prefer if the large London Irish community did not vote for him. Its an interesting tactic and could well end up with Boris losing the election.

Boris: the man thats conseals that he is a buffoon by acting the buffoon.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/boris-johnson-calls-london-st-patricks-day-event-lefty-sinn-fein-crap-16116465.html

despite what republicans like to think, being anti sinn fein is not being anti Irish.

The London eye is turning green ffs and there will ne a parade and numerous other events. Hardly the actions of an anti Irish mayor

Fratton Fred

GSF wrote: »

How many London Irish go to the Dorchester for posh dinners? At worst he has lost about 5 votes. Nobody takes any notice of this crap.

And won himself 50.

LordSutch

Old news, there was a thread running on this about three weeks ago. Boris is a hero, and a breath of fresh air from that old sod Ken Livingstone.

JustinDee

Fratton Fred wrote: »

The London eye is turning green ffs and there will ne a parade and numerous other events. Hardly the actions of an anti Irish mayor

Nor the actions of a Mayor.

The fact that Londoners voted for Boris Johnson in the first place is laughable. They fell for the cult of celebrity and feigned naivete/innocence that he portrays to hide his manipulative modus operandi in climbing the greasy pole.

who the fug

JustinDee wrote: »

Nor the actions of a Mayor.

The fact that Londoners voted for Boris Johnson in the first place is laughable. They fell for the cult of celebrity and feigned naivete/innocence that he portrays to hide his manipulative modus operandi in climbing the greasy pole.

BS, we were just fed up with Ken

Fratton Fred

JustinDee wrote: »

Nor the actions of a Mayor.

The fact that Londoners voted for Boris Johnson in the first place is laughable. They fell for the cult of celebrity and feigned naivete/innocence that he portrays to hide his manipulative modus operandi in climbing the greasy pole.

With all due respect, you are talking absolute rubbish.

Red Ken was starting to become an embarrassment to London and as hard as he might try, his lunatic left tendencies kept coming to the surface.

People weren't taken in by celebrity at all, if anything Ken was a better known person than Boris. Boris, however, is a very charismatic and very likable person.

As for the meal he refused to waste money on attending, Martin McGuinness and his cronies were trying to blow the crap out of London not so long ago, Sinn Fein have got a ****ing nerve showing their faces in the city tbh

djpbarry

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Boris, however, is a very charismatic and very likable person.

Ignoring for a moment the fact that the man has about as much charisma as a bag of wood-chippings, is that all we're looking for from the Mayor of London?

who the fug

djpbarry wrote: »

Ignoring for a moment the fact that the man has about as much charisma as a bag of wood-chippings, is that all we're looking for from the Mayor of London?

All he has to do is make the tube run on time.

Feck charisma, just sort out pubic transport

GSF

who the fug wrote: »

All he has to do is make the tube run on time.

Feck charisma, just sort out pubic transport

if you watched The Tube on BBC2 for the last few Mondays, that is easier said than done. Investing in new track and updating existing stock will always increase delays in the short term. If you want to minimise disruption you would let the current network slowly decay.

Fratton Fred

djpbarry wrote: »

Ignoring for a moment the fact that the man has about as much charisma as a bag of wood-chippings, is that all we're looking for from the Mayor of London?

Maybe, maybe not but personally I wouldn't want a mayor that does shady deals with south American dictators based on political persuasion.

who the fug

GSF wrote: »

who the fug wrote: »

All he has to do is make the tube run on time.

Feck charisma, just sort out pubic transport

if you watched The Tube on BBC2 for the last few Mondays, that is easier said than done. Investing in new track and updating existing stock will always increase delays in the short term. If you want to minimise disruption you would let the current network slowly decay.

Same BS for the last 20 years, just fix it

Let the rest of the country pay for it

Fratton Fred

There is a load of work going on, mainly to get trains running closer, which requires automated train control like the Jubilee and Northern line now has.

LordSutch

who the fug wrote: »

Feck charisma, just sort out pubic transport

Well Boris has certainly kept his promise of re introducing a new hop on/ hop off Bus for London (Ken axed the Routemasters in 2005).

Boris bus > http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=77479588&postcount=15

JustinDee

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Maybe, maybe not but personally I wouldn't want a mayor that does shady deals with south American dictators based on political persuasion.

Johnson campaigned against the extradition of Pinochet lol

Fratton Fred

JustinDee wrote: »

Johnson campaigned against the extradition of Pinochet lol

Did he?

I'd like to see something that gives a bit more detail please.

K-9

A thread complaining about Boris not putting his foot in his mouth would have more political relevance at this stage.

I like Boris, remember his Have I got News for you presenting in the 90's, like Livingstone as well, a hark back to days of no Alistair Campbells and everything managed.

Davidth88

As a native Londoner I too like Boris.

I can't really warm to Ken Livingstone TBH

Of course Boris comes across as a bit of loon , but he is like a breath of fresh air and you certainly get the impression that he cuts through the cr*p that local authorities both sides of the Irish sea suffer from and appears to get things done ( maybe its just appearance I can't tell from here really ).

When I now visit London I can see the difference on the Underground now , it is improving without a doubt.

I think Ken still harks back to old GLC days where he tried to take on Thatcher and only succeeded in getting the GLC abolished and setting London back possibly 20 years.

I think Boris would love to be the leader of the Conservatives and take the job from his school chum, but I think the days of a political leader who speaks his mind are well and truly over .

Interestingly , I have some relatives who live in Henley where Boris took over from Michael Heseltine as MP , they truly loved the guy. Of course Henley has to be one of the most Conservative places in the UK and possibly one of the safest seats.

djpbarry

Davidth88 wrote: »

Of course Boris comes across as a bit of loon , but he is like a breath of fresh air...

An Eton graduate who is also former assistant editor of the Tory-graph represents a “breath of fresh air”? Seriously?

Davidth88 wrote: »

and you certainly get the impression that he cuts through the cr*p that local authorities both sides of the Irish sea suffer from and appears to get things done...

What things? Apart from his hair-brained scheme of scrapping perfectly good buses in the name of nostalgia?

later12

djpbarry wrote: »

An Eton graduate who is also former assistant editor of the Tory-graph represents a “breath of fresh air”?

His educational background is irrelevant.

But after 8 years of Ken Livingstone in London and even more of New Labour on a broader scale, I would have said that yes, while simply being 'different' is not a meaningful political stance, Johnson is a breath of fresh air.

I don't often agree with his political ideas, but his aspirations for London are noble. I think he'll win the Mayoral election; certainly this story won't affect his chances either way.

Jimoslimos

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Maybe, maybe not but personally I wouldn't want a mayor that does shady deals with south American dictators based on political persuasion.

I'd prefer not to have had a prime-minister that did likewise.

Ken had undoubtably done a lot of work for London but he was in the job for too long and it was showing, power corrupts even the most well-meaning.

He certainly had a lot of passion for London and seemed to want the job more than Boris, whether that makes him a better/more effective mayor is another matter.

dpe

djpbarry wrote: »

What things? Apart from his hair-brained scheme of scrapping perfectly good buses in the name of nostalgia?

You have GOT to be kidding. They lost TfL a fortune because no-one ever paid on them and the damn things got stuck in every "traffic calming" feature in London. Before catching fire. Believe it or not, there was a reason why the original Routemaster was designed for London in particular in the first place.

Boris may act the buffoon at times by Livingstone is a nasty piece of work as well as being an massive hypocrite (who minimises his taxes by paying himself via a company - the very thing he said the rich should be "strung up" for).

Davidth88

djpbarry wrote: »

An Eton graduate who is also former assistant editor of the Tory-graph represents a “breath of fresh air”? Seriously?

I am fully aware where Boris was educated , if you read my post you will see I mention he is a school chum of ' Call me Dave ' .

What things? Apart from his hair-brained scheme of scrapping perfectly good buses in the name of nostalgia?

Again if you read my full post you will see I qualify this saying he APPEARS to get things done. I don't live in London any more , so I can't really tell.

I like the way represents the city of my birth/upbringing , esp during a year when the eyes of the world are firmly on London.

After all , lets say it together ' ping pong is coming home '

djpbarry

later12 wrote: »

His educational background is irrelevant.

I disagree - he's another in a long line of British politicians to step off the Eton/Oxford production line. In that context, describing him as "a breath of fresh air" is slightly baffling.

later12 wrote: »

I don't often agree with his political ideas, but his aspirations for London are noble.

His aspirations for London are based on whimsical nostalgia rather than common sense. The new routemaster is a case in point.

later12 wrote: »

I think he'll win the Mayoral election; certainly this story won't affect his chances either way.

No, I wouldn't have thought so.

dpe wrote: »

You have GOT to be kidding. They lost TfL a fortune because no-one ever paid on them and the damn things got stuck in every "traffic calming" feature in London.

I'm not referring to the bendy-buses, I'm referring to the fact that the new routemaster is due to rolled out en masse to replace perfectly good conventional double-deckers. It's complete madness.

Cardinal Richelieu

djpbarry wrote: »

I'm not referring to the bendy-buses, I'm referring to the fact that the new routemaster is due to rolled out en masse to replace perfectly good conventional double-deckers. It's complete madness.

One of the Iconic image of London arn't they? Or so the marketing people blurb will have told Boris. They even used one in Beijing to symbolize the passing of the torch to London. By the time London Olympics starts, London will be like an Austin Powers film set.

dpe

djpbarry wrote: »

I'm not referring to the bendy-buses, I'm referring to the fact that the new routemaster is due to rolled out en masse to replace perfectly good conventional double-deckers. It's complete madness.

The existing buses are poor on C02 and particularly poor on particulate and NOx. More importantly, the loss of Routemasters, particularly in the centre of town, drove commuters nuts because hop-on hop-off wasn't allowed. Its massively frustrating getting stuck for 20 minutes on Oxford Street 20 yards from your stop because the driver isn't allowed to open the doors. You used to notice it when the No.9 and No.10 were the last two Routemaster routes on Oxford Street, everybody tried to get on them rather than getting stuck on the "regular" buses.

The new Routemasters are fantastic; zero emissions in town, way improved disabled access, and an appropriate replacement for an icon. Tourists want black cabs and Routemasters, and Londoners are pretty fond of them too. Boris even saying he was going to investigate a 21st century Routemaster was a big vote winner for him (it was one of the reasons I voted for him, a few months before I left London for Ireland, and his saying he was going to scrap the western congestion zone), and fair play to the guy, he's followed through on his promises.

Fratton Fred

The western congestion charge and the Heathrow ones were major factors in Ken getting the boot.

Davidth88

Interestingly , and in the light of this OP. I remember in the 80's Ken being lambasted for his ' fondness ' of all thing Irish . You have to remember what was going on at the time with London having bomb scares on a daily basis .

My father used to give out yards about him doing that.

Anyway , interestingly I have not seen any mention of Brian Paddick , is this because he is totally a non-entitiy ? I am sure he has interesting views on the policing of London , I think he got in deep trouble for his comments after the riots didn't he ?

later12

djpbarry wrote: »

I disagree - he's another in a long line of British politicians to step off the Eton/Oxford production line.

One must first remember that most British politicians have never been to Oxbridge.

in the last report I've seen, about 25% of MPs have. Which is probably about what you would expect for two institutions of their combined strength. Personally I think it is encouraging to observe graduates of top UK universities aspire to political careers in the United Kingdom. I wish that its equivalent were more apparent in Ireland.

However, the fact that you seem to have a problem with him because he comes from a well respected British university is something I find rather more difficult to understand.

Nodin

later12 wrote: »

One must first remember that most British politicians have never been to Oxbridge.

in the last report I've seen, about 25% of MPs have. Which is probably about what you would expect for two institutions of their combined strength. Personally I think it is encouraging to observe graduates of top UK universities aspire to political careers in the United Kingdom. I wish that its equivalent were more apparent in Ireland.

However, the fact that you seem to have a problem with him because he comes from a well respected British university is something I find rather more difficult to understand.

...out of the 22 or so listed here from the current cabinet 15 attended either Oxford or Cambridge.
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/vote_2010/who%2Bknows%2Bwho%2Bthe%2Bcoalition%2Bcabinet/3647787.html

Gordon Browns cabinet had similarily high numbers, if I recall.

Does this not strike you as a worringly small pool to be drawing from?

later12

Nodin wrote: »

...out of the 22 or so listed here from the current cabinet 15 attended either Oxford or Cambridge.
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/vote_2010/who%2Bknows%2Bwho%2Bthe%2Bcoalition%2Bcabinet/3647787.html

There are 29 of them in fairness, of which Oxbridge graduates make up about 50%.

In fact, only 13 of Oxbridge cabinet attendees are appointees, the other two being the PM and the Deputy PM who are the leaders of the Government and were effectively popularly elected into their roles as opposed to being appointed.

In any event, that is a high level of representation for two universities.

However, these are not just any two universities. They are two of the worlds best respected and well accredited universities which happen to be in England.

We must ask ourselves whether these people were selected for Cabinet because of some collegiate loyalty or is it because they are academically bright individuals? I don't think we can simply discount the relevance of the academic standing of Oxbridge, which is perhaps simply more attractive to young, bright high achievers than say, the University of East London or Isle of White College.

I don't see any particular reason for believing this is an example of cronyism moreso than the selection of individuals of strong academic standing.

Davidth88

TBH the Oxbridge ( and possibly Public school ie Eton/Harrow ) connection has been around for many years , and certainly in latter years was cross party . For example even Harold Wilson went to Oxford.

djpbarry

later12 wrote: »

However, the fact that you seem to have a problem with him because he comes from a well respected British university...

No, I'm questioning why he is being referred to as "a breath of fresh air". I genuinely struggle to see what is so wonderfully novel about the guy. The whole "well, at least he's not Ken" argument just doesn't cut it for me.

later12 wrote: »

I don't see any particular reason for believing this is an example of cronyism moreso than the selection of individuals of strong academic standing.

I think the fact that Boris and Dave were (apparently) at least acquaintances at Oxford is cause for scepticism.

Davidth88

djpbarry wrote: »

I think the fact that Boris and Dave were (apparently) at least acquaintances at Oxford is cause for scepticism.

I think they were more than acquaintances at Oxford , and went to the same school ( Eton ) within 2 years of each other , although from VERY different social circles . DC is from very much old money or County Set , whereas I think Boris for all his upper class bluster would be more upper middle class.

There was a Channel 4 documentary about this ( When Boris met Dave )

later12

djpbarry wrote: »

I think the fact that Boris and Dave were (apparently) at least acquaintances at Oxford is cause for scepticism.

Only if you also believe that the 1,043,761 who gave him their first preference vote in 2012 are also Oxford chums of his.

Whether one believes Johnson is a breath of fresh air or not is entirely subjective. However, implying or asserting that his position has been derived as a deliberate product of cronyism is clearly false.

al28283

He's got my vote

Fratton Fred

Shock horror, a number of top British politicians come from the two top universities in the country.

who the fug

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Shock horror, a number of top British politicians come from the two top universities in the country.

But thankfully not Scottish

djpbarry

later12 wrote: »

Only if you also believe that the 1,043,761 who gave him their first preference vote in 2012 are also Oxford chums of his.

If the evidence of this thread is anything to go by, the Tories could have put forward just about anyone and they would have secured more votes than Ken.

who the fug

djpbarry wrote: »

later12 wrote: »

Only if you also believe that the 1,043,761 who gave him their first preference vote in 2012 are also Oxford chums of his.

If the evidence of this thread is anything to go by, the Tories could have put forward just about anyone and they would have secured more votes than Ken.

So long as it was not Lord Archer, you would be right

who the fug

djpbarry wrote: »

later12 wrote: »

Only if you also believe that the 1,043,761 who gave him their first preference vote in 2012 are also Oxford chums of his.

If the evidence of this thread is anything to go by, the Tories could have put forward just about anyone and they would have secured more votes than Ken.

So long as it was not Lord Archer, you would be right

djpbarry

later12 wrote: »

There are 29 of them in fairness, of which Oxbridge graduates make up about 50%.

In fact, only 13 of Oxbridge cabinet attendees are appointees, the other two being the PM and the Deputy PM who are the leaders of the Government and were effectively popularly elected into their roles as opposed to being appointed.

In any event, that is a high level of representation for two universities.

However, these are not just any two universities. They are two of the worlds best respected and well accredited universities which happen to be in England.

So are UCL and Imperial - they seem to be somewhat under-represented?

later12

If the evidence of this thread is anything to go by, the Tories could have put forward just about anyone and they would have secured more votes than Ken

I don't think that's been established. I don't recall if anyone even suggested it, certainly not enough to represent "evidence". I can think of plenty of Tories who wouldn't have beaten Livingstone in 2008.

This argument is starting to turn into a strange tirade against Oxbridge grads...or something. I'm not one myself and have no interest in defending them, so I'm out.

Brian?

Fratton Fred wrote: »

djpbarry wrote: »

Ignoring for a moment the fact that the man has about as much charisma as a bag of wood-chippings, is that all we're looking for from the Mayor of London?

Maybe, maybe not but personally I wouldn't want a mayor that does shady deals with south American dictators based on political persuasion.

What "shady dictator" exactly?

Nodin

later12 wrote: »

There are 29 of them in fairness, of which Oxbridge graduates make up about 50%.

In fact, only 13 of Oxbridge cabinet attendees are appointees, the other two being the PM and the Deputy PM who are the leaders of the Government and were effectively popularly elected into their roles as opposed to being appointed.

In any event, that is a high level of representation for two universities.

However, these are not just any two universities. They are two of the worlds best respected and well accredited universities which happen to be in England.

We must ask ourselves whether these people were selected for Cabinet because of some collegiate loyalty or is it because they are academically bright individuals? I don't think we can simply discount the relevance of the academic standing of Oxbridge, which is perhaps simply more attractive to young, bright high achievers than say, the University of East London or Isle of White College.

I don't see any particular reason for believing this is an example of cronyism moreso than the selection of individuals of strong academic standing.

Its not a simple problem of "cronyism".

....it's a massive representation of a small section of society which continually is seen at the cabinet table. Given that a Government is meant to be representative, and that a plurality of views and voices is seen to be a good thing for the prevention of groupthink, does it not strike you as rather dubious that selection from such a small pool repeatedly occurs?