Ken Livingstone

Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born June 17, 1945), is a British local government leader. He has been the Mayor of London since the creation of the post in 2000 and was Leader of the Greater London Council from 1981 until it was abolished in 1986. After abolition he became Member of Parliament for Brent East, but did not enjoy national politics and had little impact in Parliament. He is noted for his plain, even blunt, speaking which has won him praise and critics on various occasions.

Early life

Born in Lambeth, London, Livingstone attended Tulse Hill Comprehensive School. He worked for eight years as a cancer research technician and also trained as a teacher, qualifying in 1973. He was elected to the Lambeth borough council in 1971 and served as Vice-Chair of the Housing Committee from 1971 to 1973 (succeeding John Major in the job). He became a Labour member of the Greater London Council in 1973 and served as Vice-Chair of Housing Management in 1974-1975. He also served on the Camden council from 1978 to 1982 and unsuccessfully stood for Parliament in Hampstead the 1979 general election. While on Camden council, Livingstone gave permission for a strike by local government workers during the Winter of Discontent to be settled with a high pay offer; the District Auditor later ruled this amounted to illegal expenditure and a breach of fiduciary duty, but Livingstone was not surcharged.

Related Topics:
Lambeth - Cancer - Teacher - 1973 - Borough - 1971 - John Major - Labour - Greater London Council - 1974 - 1975 - Camden - 1978 - 1982 - Parliament - Hampstead - 1979 general election - Winter of Discontent - Fiduciary duty

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