Ken Livingstone
Nick Cohen here says why Livingstone must be defeated (I believe he is going to vote for Boris Johnson, but it is not clear from this piece). Cohen's main devastating charge (he starts and ends with it) is not that Livingstone wants to tax couples on £100k a year more, but that he gave the eulogy at someone called Gerry Healey's funeral (Oliver Kamm, who I don't think will be voting in the election, has some more here].There's something a bit puzzling however. Gerry Healey died in 1989, his funeral was in 1990. Presumably it was a public event - certainly Livingstone owns up to having gone - and as one that apparently was one of the most important events in the history of the British left (more important than even the Euston Declaration, maybe). Yet curiously Nick Cohen was an enthusiastic supporter of Ken Livingstone in 1999, ten years later, urging him to stand as independent (against the official Labour candidate, Dobbo, for whom I voted) and put his faith in democracy. A journalist as well connected and intelligent as Nick Cohen must have known about that eulogy (and the GLC) then when he was urging him to stand.
The other thing that confused me was that Oliver says of Livingstone's Fair Fares policy that "it was a straight subsidy to tourists". I was unaware of this - I thought Londoners also could take advantage of the lower-cost fares.
Labels: Nick Cohen
posted by Matthew @ 1/20/2008 11:08:00 AM
Comments: 13
