London 2012 – Ken v Boris in The Mayoral Olympiad

Plenty of headlines but little policy as London awaits the outcome of the Boris V Ken, the re-match.

Forget the Olympics, the contest of the year in London in 2012 is the clash of the political titans (or to some observers, the screwball scramble) for the keys to the mayoral office at City Hall. The campaign has been as fascinating as it has been entertaining to watch, but for all the fun, it must be noted that for one of the most powerful political positions in the country, if not Western Europe, the debate has been remarkably light on policy. 

Polling had been tight until recent weeks; at one point early in 2012, Ken even took the lead from Boris. This has changed laterally however, as the debate took a more comedic turn, arguably playing to Boris’s forte, as any reader of his Daily Telegraph will attest. 

We have had “Elevator-gate” at the offices of a London radio station, where Boris is reported to have suggested, in his inimitable way, that Ken might be something of a “f***ing liar”.  This was in response to an argument over the candidates’ respective tax affairs, something Ken had raised, sniffing out potential political capital in the background of perceived national chippiness over Boris’s status as a “toff” and “out of touch”.  He may have been on to something, but he should have consulted his accountant first as, after much argument and one-upmanship, Ken was forced to reveal his own personal accounts which revealed that he had only paid the equivalent of 14% tax on earnings over the previous four years, while Boris had been stung by the taxman to the tune of in excess of 40%. 

Since then we have had “tear-gate”, where Ken was reduced to tears in a political broadcast by the stories he was hearing from “ordinary Londoners” about the realities of their daily lives. Anyone who may have been moved by these scenes may have been less moved by the Evening Standard’s revelation that those “ordinary Londoners” had in fact been paid by Ken’s campaign team. 

Aside from the comedy, this has been a campaign that has been very light on policy. Emboldened by Ken’s gaffes, Boris may wish to consolidate his much stronger recent polling by playing the man and not the ball. Londoners may well tire of this approach however, so perhaps we can expect to see a bit more on policy in the final few weeks leading up to polling day on May 3^rd. Ken would certainly be advised to dig up some policies and quickly, as his attempts to play the man have tripped him up very badly. 

Latest betting odds:

Boris – 2/7

Ken – 11/4

Siobhan Benita (Independent), Carlos Cortiglia (BNP), Jenny Jones (Green), Brian Paddick (Lib Dem), and Lawrence Webb (UKIP) also ran.