Boris

[NiceCupOfTea]

Your views please.

What power does he have anyway and what are those outside of his control?

What is his capability of influencing the powers that he isn't in complete control of?

What immediate and long term changes can a) London and b) England and c) the Olympics look forward to (if any of them are seperate)

[NiceCupOfTea]

problem is that it won't just be down to the capital city same as most things aren't.

[The Rut]

I am gobsmacked that londeners are so stupid that they elected this buffoon is it april 1???? my god are they gonna pay !!!! they are gonna be the laughing stock of Britian and the world!!! can we please use the money from the olympics to build a great high wall around london to keep them away from the rest of us!! or just block off the exits of the M25?

[jno]

the mayor has consdierable control over traffic (though he doesn't personally buy and sell bendy buses) but not a lot else. He can't stop the water board digging up every street in town, for instance. He can act as a promoter, though. Ken promoted the Olympics and Crossrail and fought for the rights of businessmen (who are very doubtful about Boris given that he's never managed anything in his life). He also promoted festivals and a general sense of city pride, and spoke eloquently after the 7/7 bombings.

No immediate changes. Long term Boris will have his work out just keeping Crossrail and the games going without leaking money; I'm not certain that he'll succeed.

[shaneystar2]

Me too RoaldoM....I have a feeling it will turn into a sort of jolly boys outing with free buns and pop !
I liked Ken and he has done a lot for London. I watched him turn public transport from a dirty,dingy experience into a fairly good system .Tube and buses improved enormously in the years I lived there.Of course some will say otherwise but it's a big city ,you expect public transport to be busy .
Time will tell as to how Boris performs .Let's hope he engages brain before opening mouth as has done so often in the past like the Liverpool fiasco.

[jno]

you might love him less if you knew him, Roaldo. I posted a clipping from his past - the one where he gave the address of a colleague to one of his underworld chums so he could be beaten up - on another thread, but Boris fans have found themselves unavailable for comment, understandably. There was also the occasion when The Times sacked him for making something up. Not a man who seems fit to lead a big city (or a village) and not somebody I could love, personally.

[shaneystar2]

By the way ..when I said ...."me too "..I meant I was glad not to live in London anymore ..not that I love Boris !
And by the time the Olympics roll round London could have an entirely different Mayor altogether .His four years will be up three months before they start and it will be crunch time depending on his performance during his tenure ..

[jno]

cherish him all you want. Just don't put him in charge of your money. He's not honest.

[Lonnie]

I'm just glad kens out, and as for Boris, just have to wait and see,
One of the things he said he's going to do, is make drinking alcohol on the Underground illegal, I'm a Tube train driver, and on the face of it, its a good idea, but i'll be interested to see how it'll be implemented.

[dot.hawkes]

If he was born in paris, supposed to be turkish but an american citizen most of his life, what nationality is his cat? (as all mayors are meant to have cats are they very not?)

[shaneystar2]

Lol..Dot ...he could be called Boris Halfwhittington .
I read somewhere he has already got his team together to take over ..bet it's all jobs for the boys .Old Etonians have to stick together yer know ..I wonder if there will be a job for that dubious side kick of his Yuppie Guppy .:)

[dot.hawkes]

I did read that he hit it off with paul merton, what ob would he give him? probably head of speech writing

[jno]

don't be fooled by the continental name, dot: Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson was born in New York.

So, Lonnie, what's your opinion of hs dealings with Mr Guppy? I suspect most politicians become a bit twisted with power, but I think Boris is that way already, which is why he does not strike me as a good prospect.

[kev1]

The 56 million of us that dont' live in London couldn't care less about about London or Tory scum like Boris, whats he gonna do for anywhere north of the watford gap?

[Lonnie]

jno, I never said I liked Boris, what he did then, (2005), was despicable, and he's got a mouth that isn't connected to his brain.

But our Ken, yes, he promoted the Olympics, and as such, certain select areas are being revitalised, but nothings been said about all the small businesses compulsory bought, and to my certain knowledge, some, because the leases only had a couple of years to go, were just given notice and no compensation.

Boris and Ken, two nasty pieces of work, on the opposite side of the fence,
Given a choice, i'd go for Boris.

[brionon]

Ken's problem is -he seems to think that Black or Muslim MUST be right. Boris's fault is ,he seems stupid BUT he can use advisors and let them get on with it. So Boris is,probably ,marginally better.

[New Judge]

Hopefully, kev1 nothing at all.

His remit is to look after the interests of all residents of the Greater London area (which does not quite extend to the Watford Gap, but almost as far as Watford itself). This is something which the previous mayor singularly failed to do.

North of the Watford Gap (or indeed north of Watford) is nothing to do with him.