Today's Evening Standard has a fantastic write up of the first televised debate
between the three main contenders for Mayor of London, which will be shown on
ITV1 at 11.05pm tonight (Thursday).
The Evening Standard said of Brian:
"Lib-Dem rival Brian Paddick looked and sounded the part."
And they said of the debate:
"Much remains to play for - and from this initial skirmish, it's going to be
hell of a battle. But we may just have seen the first signs of the end of the
Livingstone era."
ecampaignteam*at*libdems.org.uk
UPDATE: I watched the debate, run by an air headed Blue Peter presenter. Brian Paddick positively shone under questioning. A hostile Black conservative woman asked him why he favoured letting murderers and rapists into the classroom, he replied with a lovely story about having met someone who had done twenty years for murder, converted to Christianity inside and was desperate to stop kids wasting twenty years as he had done.
It was just the right story for the woman. You could see her face visibly soften and Brian's eyes sparkle as he smiled back. I don't think I've seen anything quite like it in politics since... I can remember.
He defended his policy of targeting dealers or crack and heroin instead of personal use cannabis. Even red Ken looked impressed. When it came to his turn he struggled with an audience hostile because he's already mayor and so the focus of peoples gripes. I didn't sit around and watch Boris Johnson for more than two minutes. He seemed like a spoilt kid in comparison to the other two.
Bloody hell. I might even register to vote. I've only voted once in my life when |I was 18. What difference would Brian make? I would imagine an openly gay Mayor might be divisive amongst Muslim community leaders. Ken said he and Brian would probably agree on 90% of the issues, which the lib dems in the audience applauded. Fascinating.
6 comments:
Honestly! What's the point of the Libdems in our British democracy? Most of us either vote Conservative or Labour. A Libdem Mayor or Prime Minster? Honestly!
Its not the point of Lib-Dem. Its the point of Paddick, which I would think, for London might be a refreshing change. Surely you don't think of Boris as a serious candidate? Did you watch the debate? Are those seriously what London conservative are like? They are monster raving loonies the lot of them.
From what I read in the papers King Newt lost his nerve against Boris and the ex copper came across 'really normal'. I'm guessing King Newt said something to defend his bendy buses? Boris is a serious candidate! However, he does need to show more seriousness and substance.
Ken said
"You've had no experience running something of the scale of London"
and he answered
"I've run the spectator" !!!
He's having a giraffe!
Brian said
"I am not a career politician. I haven't sat around talking. I've done things. I turned round community relations in Brixton. Ask them. I am standing on my record."
I will try and find you a link.
Do you know any of the tories who were there asking questions?
What a shower! What a bunch of bun-fighters! I'd let you lot at speakers corner run things before letting them anywhere near pulling the strings here!
it wasn't that Ken lost his nerve. He was right in what he said to Boris. It just came across a bit dated how he said it.
Boris was having a go at him about crime and he blamed the policies of Margaret Thatcher over a generation, giving kids nothing to do. he said he had more police on the street and crime was down by 25%.
It came across a bit like an old guy blaming the lot before, but he was right in what he said.
I thought it was a great debate too. I've been waiting for Brian to step forward fopr ages - there have been rumours he'd run for years - and I will be voting for him.
Boris behaved like an idiot, ranting at Ken and scoring cheap points and getting rattled.
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