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.

Greater London's First Mayor

Livingstone was again re-elected in the 1997 general election, in which Labour was returned to power under the leadership of Tony Blair. Among Labour's proposals was the establishment of a Greater London Authority with powers similar to the old GLC; this new body would be headed by an elected mayor, the first in London's history.

Related Topics:
1997 general election - Tony Blair - Greater London Authority - Mayor

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Livingstone was widely tipped for this new post. He still enjoyed a great popularity among Londoners, as evidenced by the massive 14% swing to Labour in the 1997 election for Brent East. The mayoral election was scheduled for 2000, and in 1999, Labour began the long and trying process of selecting its candidate. Despite Blair's personal antipathy, Livingstone was included on Labour's shortlist in November 1999, with the understanding that he would not run as an independent if he failed to secure the party's nomination.

Related Topics:
2000 - 1999 - November

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Labour chose its official candidate on February 20 2000. Although Livingstone received a healthy majority of the total votes, he nevertheless lost the nomination to former Secretary of State for Health Frank Dobson, under a system in which votes from sitting Labour MPs, MEPs, and GLA members were weighted more heavily than votes from rank-and-file members. Speculation swirled that Livingstone would renege on his earlier pledge and run against Dobson; on March 6 he ended the suspense and announced an independent candidacy. He was suspended from the Labour Party the same day and expelled on April 4.

Related Topics:
February 20 - 2000 - Secretary of State for Health - Frank Dobson - MPs - MEPs - GLA - March 6 - April 4

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The result of the election — held on May 4 — was a foregone conclusion: Dobson, who had allegedly been pressured into running by the party leadership, showed no real enthusiasm for the job, and there was never any chance of the Conservative candidate prevailing in Labour-dominated London. Livingstone came out ahead in the first round of balloting with 38.11% of first-preference votes to Conservative Steven Norris' 26.5%; Dobson finished a humiliating third, with only 12.78% of all first-preference votes — just ahead of Liberal Democrat Susan Kramer, with 11.6%. Under the modified instant-runoff voting system employed for the election, the votes cast for Livingstone and Norris (only) were considered in the second round, where Livingstone won with 57.92% of first- and second-preference votes, versus 42.08% for Norris.

Related Topics:
May 4 - Steven Norris - Liberal Democrat - Susan Kramer - Instant-runoff voting

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