Andrew Gilligan and the Routemaster
“Award winning journalist” Andrew Gilligan wrote this article for the Evening Standard yesterday, saying Boris should do everything to bring back the Routemaster. He says: “The reason I fell out with Ken Livingstone wasn’t his cronyism, waste, or arrogance. The reason I, and I think many other Londoners, parted company with Ken was that he got rid of the Routemaster.”
It wasn’t mentioned that Andrew Gilligan himself contributed to a Policy Exchange report published several years ago which specifically said the Routemaster should be used as a good wedge issue to drive out Ken Livingstone. Bizarre, since its quite central to the article. Last night I posted a comment saying this, underneath the article. Today, all the earlier comments have vanished and you can’t post comments underneath the article any more. The comments are back but mine didn’t get published. Awwwww, after Ray Lewis, poor Gilligan must be feeling a bit annoyed that his mate is getting so much stick already. Sorry - what was that Andrew? I should just get over Ken’s loss and accept it?? I wonder how long you’re going to keep repeating that old chum.
Never let it be forgotten that the Routemaster competition announcement today is Policy Exchange doing public transport - getting people to draw pictures of buses and send them in. Woo. More Blue Peter than Blue Revolution, I suggest.
I do hope an eight-year old wins the bus competition.
What did Andrew Gilligan do to you?
Andrew Gilligan stole my girlfriend.
(And his Standard columns have often descended into tendentious nonsense. Admittedly, the same was true of many Guardian columns (Toynbee, Williams) before the elections.)
BeSix:
Heh. Beaten by an aging lothario. The question was directed towards Sunny, but perhaps I have uncovered the tip of the iceberg.
“Beaten by an aging lothario.”
That’s certainly the first time that I’ve been described in those terms, but I can’t wait to put it put it on my CV
Ben
* Only one ‘put it’
*facepalm*
I meant Andrew Gilligan was an aging lothario, as he stole your girlfriend. On your CV- Heh.
“I meant Andrew Gilligan was an aging lothario”
Ah, well, the ladies love Gilly.
Admittedly, the same was true of many Guardian columns (Toynbee, Williams) before the elections
Was that the same girlfriend, or different ones in each case?
“Was that the same girlfriend, or different ones in each case?”
EDIT - “Lawyers from the Guardian have insisted that this comment be removed” - EDIT
Respectfully,
Ben
‘“The reason I fell out with Ken Livingstone wasn’t his cronyism, waste, or arrogance. The reason I, and I think many other Londoners, parted company with Ken was that he got rid of the Routemaster.”’
And what does that say about you, Andrew? Only that you have some *interesting* principles. Or maybe you didn’t want to condemn cronyism, waste, or arrogance in case they (inevitably) crop up the Boris administration.
Maybe he was trying to be funny?
What did Andrew Gilligan do to you?
What, I’m not allowed to ask tricky questions of Mr Gilligan now?
After all, we are the fifth estate.
Er…what? Is it the season for making utterly lunatic pronouncements or something?
Gilligan had a bee in his bonnet about Livingstone but might just end up with the bee coming back and stinging his bonny arse - such was his unflinching support for Camp BoJo.
Perhaps BoJo can make Gilli his next executive appointment - Deputy for BS- the way things are going he’d be guaranteed a permanent position until BoJo had to resign himself. Lol
It’s just that the routemaster (pledge not to get rid of) while not being Ken’s only lie was his most blatant.