London Mayoral Election

Think we saw more of the empty seat than we saw of Khan, if Corbyn had been there it would have been Corbyn/yawned/sneezed/ blinked/smiled / didn't smile ,/ didn't wear a tie/ wore a tie which clashed with his shirt / didn't look at Milliband/ glanced at Milliband but didn't speak to Milliband and reminded viewers Milliband is the son of Jews and his father fought in the war.

I was a bit annoyed with Khan when he said Labour hadn't won a mayoral election since 2004.
Liverpool? Salford? Don't they count?
If he'd said a London mayoral election that would have been different.

Not outside the London bubble Jen .

OMG the poor guy is criticised for making an minor error in his speech, you know he meant London election! And you moan about trivial criticisms of Corbyn! I'm sorry, but London is bigger than Salford and consequently more politically significant. I don't see a 12 page thread on the Salfold Mayoral Election. I am sure he will correct that error when it is drawn to his attention.

I am sure to anyone living in London it is a minor error.
Most of the population live outside London.

It does not bode well for the Northern powerhouse that their mayoral elections are ignored. There have been at least eight directly elected Labour mayors since 2002.

London more politically significant to whom? Not to me , it is a city which has the UK parliment sitting but it is the UK parliment not the London parliment

Yes, we know- and I get what you are saying. But London is the City the world looks up to and talks about, at the end of the day. Just like Paris in France- or Berlin in Germany. Mayoral elections in other parts of the UK just do not make the headlines (sadly, but the fact). And as said, the in the world press and the massive Islamophobia it has 'lit' in France, and the USA too, and all over, is just sickening and so depressing. If you do not read the foreign press or watch other TV channels, you may not be aware of this.

London is an important hub-an international financial and business centre, whether that matters to you or not, not just solely the seat of UK parliament. Which is why we are talking about it.The London Mayor is one of the most politically significant posts who controls a huge budget - met police, transport etc. Maybe those critics should also criticise Sadiq Khan for not wearing a tie or brushing his hair properly as well as forgetting to mention Labour Mayors in other cities in his speech. He'd better brush up on the National Anthem as well.

See Lynton Crosby has just been knighted for his services to racist electioneering.

suzied, I accept Londons importance in banking etc, but this does not make it more important to the people of Liverpool, Salford, Bristol etc surely

I think I mentioned Sir Les Patterson up-thread somewhere.
Here is one of his quotes:
"I'm not racist. I love all races, particularly white people. You know, I even like Roman Catholics"

(or it could have been Dame Edna)

Nobody has been saying that London isn't important. The point was that the new London mayor, who is all about inclusivity in the Labour party, did not think that the rest of the country's Labour mayors are important.

Give the poor bloke a break!

I don't live in London and a slight slip of the tongue does not bother me in the least, it was obvious what he meant.,

Strange how Corbyn is never given the benefit of the doubt. Everything he says and does gets analysed in great detail.

If I had lived in London, I would have voted for Khan, but I would still have said the same.

Two wrongs don't make a right - at least that's what my mother taught me.

I do not understand. What Khan said was wrong.
What this man says is also wrong.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tory-tweets-criticism-of-sadiq-khans-jihadi-associates-and-their-infleunce-a7019521.html

He can be sued, I hope. Just like this woman was.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/09/suspended-snp-mp-natalie-mcgarry-pays-damages-over-holocaust-denier-twitter-row

Did he actually say something wrong or omit to say a word which would make what he said absolutely pedantically correct?

Ah, but durhamjen apparently knows that he 'did not think that the rest of the country's Labour mayors are important.' Never mind what he actually said...

I posted this on another thread, but it is more relevant to this thread:

Torbay is scrapping its elected mayoral system after a referendum - back to having a leader and cabinet system.
Common sense prevails!
Bath and NES voted no to an elected mayor in a referendum

Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of this ridiculous idea (and waste of taxpayer's money) which encourages personality cult over sensible decisions.

London may be different because it probably has the budget of a small country - but even so, the focus always seems to be on the mayor, which political party he or she is, what they wear, what they say, who they associate with, do they ride a bike, go on the Tube, dare to use a car etc etc, rather than a whole group of elected councillors and their leader getting down to work for the benefit of all those who live there.
I suppose Sadiq Khan will be expected to use the buses and criticised by some if he doesn't, his father having been a bus driver

It has become almost like a presidential position.

what they wear in the case of the ousted Bristol mayor, red trousers. I used to wonder if he only had the one pair of trousers.

My dad was a bus driver as well. I get sick on buses, particularly if they go round lots of roundabouts.

Strangely enough, London has a lot of Labour elected mayors as well. I presume Khan will be meeting them today.

We have a leader of the council and a cabinet system. The cabinet just seems like 'jobs for the boys'. Whichever party has a majority just shares out the jobs and awards themselves a not ungenerous allowance and expenses. The public and other council members aren't allowed into the meetings. You need a 'funny handshake' to join. The leader of the council is the chief bully boy. I'd rather have a mayor.

Elected by voters, or chosen by their Council members as mayor?
And perhaps he should meet them all of whatever political party

Can somebody in London enlighten me? Since the abolition of the GLC, is there any all-London body apart from the mayor?