Don't read this if you voted for Boris

I really am not interested in anyone who comments on this post and says why don't you just focus on the London Underground then. There's shedloads of posts in this blog about the London Underground and there will be shedloads more. It's time for a change isn't it. Most of London thinks so. Here's a post NOT about the London Underground.

Please avert your eyes and go off and read the posts that interest you. This is just one post out of hundreds that are about the Tube. Read the posts about bendy buses, Japan, mainline railways and the myriad of other posts that aren't "all things underground" but don't seem to get any complaints. So if you're still reading this post at this stage, you know what you're letting yourself in for.

By about 6pm I felt it was unlikely that Ken Livingstone would win the mayoral elections, but in my heart of hearts I kind of hoped he would pull it off. We know that he didn't and we know that we now have four years of being run by a "character" who is possibly one of the most essentially un-diverse people you could have running a city that prides itself on diversity.

A person who has little appreciation of what it's like to live in London & mix on a daily basis with people of a variety of races, with a people who have a variety of sexual preferences, with people from different parts of the UK, with women who'd rather not be cheated on and lied to by their partners.

Whatever you think of Boris's ability to run this city and there's little evidence of him being any good at that. How anyone can believe that such an undiverse character can change themselves in a matter of weeks is simply beyond me. Time after time after time the man has come up with racist gaffes, homophobic gaffes, Liverpudllianist gaffes and countless others. Yet he says sorry and ahhhh loads of people forgive him until it's time for him to make the next one.

The article in Thursday's Guardian confirmed every suspicion I had about the man. It listed lots of people that you may well admire and respect who were all horrified about the prospect of Boris running this city. David Mitchell, Arabella Weir, Charlie Brooker, Bianca Jagger, Ben Okri and Vivienne Westwood all give quotes in that article of how Boris is unsuitable for the role.

If you haven't the time to read that article here's some of Boris's own words:

"Right, let's go and look at some more piccaninnies."
· Reported remark, while visiting Uganda, to Swedish Unicef workers and their black driver, the Observer, 2003

"It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies."
· Daily Telegraph, 2002

"I'm down with the ethnics. You can't out-ethnic me, Nihal ... My children are a quarter Indian, so put that in your pipe and smoke it."
· To Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Asian Network, 2008

"Gay marriage can only ever be a ludicrous parody of the real thing."
· Daily Telegraph, 2005

"The clerics gave us [journalists] a wigging for being so mean to the Church of England ... Why did we draw attention to tricky subjects like homosexuality, aka the Pulpit Poofs issue?"
· The Spectator, 2000

"I've slept with far fewer than 1,000."
· On whether he has slept with fewer than 30 women, like Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, Daily Telegraph, 2008

More from the BBC's site

"If I was in charge I would get rid of Jamie Oliver and tell people to eat what they like" - striking a blow for the right to eat pies at the 2006 Tory conference. He later described Oliver as a "national saint".

"I will add Papua New Guinea to my global itinerary of apology" - after suggesting the country was known for "chief-killing and cannibalism"

But London believes it's time for a change and that Boris is the best person to do the job.

If my making a political stand which you disagree with makes you never want to read this blog again, go ahead and don't read it anymore. I won't be sorry to see you go. Right now, I'm about to join this Facebook Group - Boris not in my name and will also become a fan of Boris Watch - as you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be watching him like a hawk.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Saturday, May 03, 2008 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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