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.

GLC leadership

In the GLC election of May 7 1981, Livingstone moved constituencies to marginal Paddington. The Labour Party narrowly won control with the moderate Andrew McIntosh as leader having denied that he would be deposed. The day after the election, Livingstone challenged McIntosh for the leadership, and defeated him by 30 votes to 20. This was the culmination of a long process in which the left had organised to ensure its members were selected as GLC candidates, and all voted as a bloc within the Labour Party. They had also ensured that the left had control of the Labour manifesto for the election.

Related Topics:
May 7 - 1981 - Paddington - Labour Party

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The GLC then set about reducing bus and London Underground fares, subsidised by a special 'supplementary rate' in a policy known as 'Fares Fair'. Although the measure was generally popular and led to an increase in the use of public transportation, it was challenged by the Conservative-controlled council of Bromley where there were no London Underground stations, and struck down by the Law Lords in December, 1981.

Related Topics:
Bus - London Underground - Public transportation - Conservative - Bromley - Law Lords

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Despite his defeat in the fares battle, Livingstone would remain a thorn in the Conservatives' side, openly antagonising the Thatcher government by posting a billboard of London's rising unemployment figures on the roof of County Hall, the GLC headquarters, directly across the Thames from the Palace of Westminster. Under Livingstone, the GLC pursued a variety of unconventional and controversial measures (some critics have called "socialist"): sponsoring an 'Antiracist Year,' providing city grants to such groups as 'Babies Against the Bomb', and declaring London a 'nuclear-free zone'. Livingstone made perhaps his most controversial move in December 1982, when the GLC extended an official invitation to Sinn Féin leaders Gerry Adams and Danny Morrison. In the event, Adams and Morrison were denied entry into the country under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and met with Livingstone in Northern Ireland instead. When Adams was elected to Westminster, the ban was lifted. After meeting him, Livingstone said that Britain's treatment of the Irish over the last 800 years had been worse than Hitler's treatment of the Jews.

Related Topics:
Thatcher - Unemployment - County Hall - Thames - Palace of Westminster - Socialist - December - 1982 - Sinn Féin - Gerry Adams - Danny Morrison - Prevention of Terrorism Act - Northern Ireland - Irish - Hitler

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Such actions made Livingstone a favourite target for the press. He acquired the nickname 'Red Ken' and The Sun described him as 'the most odious man in Britain'. However, he favoured European integration and proportional representation, neither of which were particularly popular causes among the British left at that time. When several Labour councils (including Militant-controlled Liverpool) protested against the government's rate-capping policy by refusing to set a property tax rate, Livingstone refused to join the campaign because he knew the GLC could run its services while keeping within capping limits. The GLC had already lost all central Government grant by 1983. Many on the left regarded Livingstone as having sabotaged the campaign and it led to a personal rift with John McDonnell, who had been Finance Chairman and Deputy Leader.

Related Topics:
The Sun - Proportional representation - Militant - Liverpool - 1983 - John McDonnell

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Livingstone's preference for practical politics, which was being demonstrated at a time when the rest of the Labour left were more interested in theoretical debates, may in part explain why his popularity grew. Other politicians identified as the 'hard left', such as Tony Benn and the Militant Tendency found themselves increasingly isolated from the general public.

Related Topics:
Tony Benn - Militant Tendency

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Following the Conservative sweep in the 1983 general election, the Tories forged ahead with their long-standing plan to abolish the GLC and devolve control to the individual boroughs. The GLC mounted a massive (and expensive) campaign to 'save London's democracy,' while the proposed abolition bill (which also abolished six other Labour-controlled metropolitan councils, including Merseyside) faced opposition from politicians on all sides, including former Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath. On August 2 1984, Livingstone and three other Labour councillors resigned, forcing byelections that they intended to serve as a referendum on the abolition issue. John Wilson, the Labour Chief Whip, served temporarily as Council Leader. However, the Conservatives cannily chose not to contest the byelections, and the voter turnout was far smaller than Livingstone had hoped for. On December 15 1984, the House of Commons passed the Local Government Act of 1985 by a relatively slim twenty-three vote margin. The GLC was formally abolished at midnight on March 31 1986.

Related Topics:
1983 general election - Devolve - Boroughs - Prime Minister - Edward Heath - August 2 - 1984 - Byelections - Referendum - December 15 - House of Commons - Local Government Act of 1985 - Midnight - March 31 - 1986

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