Bojo: 51%, Ken: 49% – new poll puts vote on knife edge
You can almost hear the anxious intake of breath in camp Bojo along side a sigh of relief at camp Ken given the headline for the latest Mayoral election polling:
Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson are locked in an extraordinarily tight race to be London’s next mayor, according to an exclusive Guardian/ICM poll of the city’s voters. The battle for the biggest directly elected job in British politics could hardly be more dramatic, with Johnson holding a wafer-thin advantage over his Labour opponent.
The poll – the only one carried out by a national newspaper using established techniques – suggests Johnson could pull off a sensational victory on May 1 over the incumbent Livingstone, who won comfortably in 2000 and 2004.
If this poll is too be believed then Bojo’s lead isn’t quite what it seems and he needs all the votes he can get.
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Filed in: Current affairs,Party politics
I’ll never understand why Brian Paddock is being squeezed out of the Mayoral Race by these two blithering idiots. Rock and a hard place it isn’t. Come on Paddy and pull your finger out (no pun intended) and save us from these fools.
Leon, baby, I wouldn’t get too excited. When the race started Ken was a shoe-in and no one thought Bojo would get anywhere. He’s gone from “not a chance” to neck-and-neck. If I were Ken I wouldn’t be getting much sleep
Among Liberal Democrats, 43% say they will use their second vote to support Johnson and only 30% will back Livingstone.
Classical liberal
Is that voters or voting intentions? Tories are more likely to turn out.
“he needs all the votes he can get”
An astonishing revelation that rewrites election strategies around the globes, thanks for that!
http://lettersfromatory.wordpress.com
gosh, really? i had no idea boris might actually get somewhere with this. doesn’t that show just how fed up people are with livingstone, that they would consider voting for someone normally considered a bit of a joke?
hurrah, i say. hurrah again.
b’shalom
bananabrain
its true- they need as many votes as possible. if you’re not registered to vote- DO SO NOW!!!
Actually, I’ve never forgiven Livingstone for getting rid of the Routemaster. Ghastly dehumanised moron.
The point being previous polls have been thrown into doubt by this one. It looked like it was Ken’s to lose, then Bojo’s to lose. Now, at least until the next poll, it’s a real contest again with all to play for.
When I originally wrote this post I went on to say “By remarkable coincidence it looks like he’s about to get a helping hand from the BNP”…
Decided against it because I thought I’d try and be a bit fairer to him than previously.
To his and his campaign teams credit he’s said outright he doesn’t want the votes: http://www.backboris.com/assets/releases/pdf/02_04_08_second_preferences.pdf
That’s got to be the first time I’ve been impressed with Bozza.
Leon, guess what Boris’s favourite spice is.
well, mrs bb and i just registered to vote which is very exciting if we are able to assist in red ken’s downfall. thanks to all of you for giving me that extra push!
b’shalom
bananabrain
Apparently my policies match most with Ken Livingstone and next with Sian Berry.
Um, dunno?
*cough* cardamom.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
That man is evil incarnate!
Or did I make it up?
YOU WILL NEVER BE SURE!
*wiggly fingers*
Arrrghhh!!! (I feel like Charley Brown trying to kick the football). :C
Boris has my vote.
Politicalbetting.com will explain the ins and outs of the polling – the situation is not that close and although the betting odds have shifted a bit they still have BJ as clear favourite.
I was at the Time Out hustings on Wed.
Paddick and Berry wholly platitudinous. Ken tired but better on the detail as of course he should be. Boris wasn’t there.
Depressing event with all three promising things which are not in fact in the mayor’s power to deliver.
Still for me it’s anyone but Ken – which means Boris.
I want Ken as mayor. I’d rather have his cabal (or kitchen cabinet to the rest of us), than Boris and puppet-master.
His commitment and delivery on progressive politics is second to none.
As for being impressed with Boris and rejection of certain 2nd preferences – wouldn’t it be prudent politics for him, a Tory in London, to say just that? Its unlikely a tory would have said that in the days of Mrs Thatcher. (Having said that Hazel Blears and Margaret Hodge would be saying the opposite, for different political reasons).
Boris has been brought to the forefront by the media campaigns of the Evening Standard et al. Newspaper proprietors know how to play the long game. But Ken plays it longer – 30 years so far.
Sunny, stop sitting on the fence. Its Ken all the way.
Leon,
It is now BNP policy to give Boris second preference and the Searchlight anti fascist group are predicting that Tories will give the BNP second preference whereas previously that would have gone to UKIP. They are now imploding and Griffin is confident of of taking up to 20% of their supporters with him.
Well done Mr and Mrs BB for registering to vote, the 16th of this month is the last date so can everybody make sure friends and relations are on the register.
London isn’t going to change much whoever wins, it’s a city that runs itself and always has done, what will change everything is if we get a couple of Nazis on the GLA.
Here is a really good article which is worth a read:
‘Not in my name, Geoffrey
London elections 08: Alderman does not speak for all London Jewry when he attacks Livingstone. Many of us take a very different view’
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/anthony_isaacs/2008/04/not_in_my_name_geoffrey.html
It raises a topic which should be right at home here on PP.
Billerickaay,
Didn’t quite understand your post #22. It seems to be suggesting there are problems with voting Boris. Or are you suggesting with the connivance of the BNP and other anti-Ken blocs Boris should sneak in?
If however you are saying that one way or another the BNP will end up with 20% vote, then I would suggest we will need Ken as mayor to help put out the inevitable bushfires.
Boris couldn’t do it even if he wanted to.
BB I really think you should think twice about your intentions to support Boris.