Matt T

I've always intensely disliked Ken Livingstone, and never felt the need to vote for him given there is the far more amusing and left-wing option of Steve Norris around at each London mayoral election. However in becoming one of the few British politicans who makes an (initially) unpopular election manifesto promises and actually implements it (the congestion charge) he went up in my estimation. The state of London traffic was one of the Capital's most pressing problems.

Probably second most pressing however is the huge influx of tourists, mainly American*, who ruin the city in the Summer. I thought nothing cold be done, and there was nothing in Livingstone's manifesto. Yet just in the nick of time, in a stunning intervention Livingsone has triumphed again. According to the BBC and the Evening Standard, his attack on George Bush will have a 'negative effect' on American tourism. Hoorah!

Now we wait and see what the Great Man will do about the surplus of coffee shops.


* Clearly if you are an American tourist this is not meant to be an attack on you per se. But London is a very crowded city, and gets rather hot in summer and for us at work it's rather painful seeing people on holiday enjoying themselves. Why don't you try Birmingham, it's very nice?

posted by Matthew @ 5/08/2003 07:57:00 PM Comments: 0