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Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born June 17, 1945),
is a British local government leader. He has been the Mayor of London since the
creation of the post in 2000 and was Leader of the Greater London Council from
1981 until it was abolished in 1986. After abolition he became Member of
Parliament for Brent East, but did not enjoy national politics and had little
impact in Parliament. He is noted for his plain, even blunt, speaking which has
won him praise and critics on various occasions.
Livingstone is known as 'Red Ken' because of his left-wing views. He
is a member of the Labour Party, although he was initially elected to the
mayoralty as an independent candidate when he could not win nomination as the
Labour Party's official candidate in the first mayoral elections. In January
2004, he was re-admitted to the party and stood as the official Labour Party
candidate for mayor in the June 2004 elections, which he won with a total of
828,380 first and second preference votes.
Personal information
Livingstone is a noted bon vivant, having worked as a food critic for
magazines owned by both the Hearst Corporation and Associated Newspapers. He is
well-known as a keeper of salamanders.
He was married to Christine Pamela Chapman in 1973 but the marriage was
dissolved in 1982.
Ken Livingstone and his current partner Emma Beal, who also is Livingstone's
office manager, have a son, Thomas, born December 14, 2002 at the University
College Hospital, London. They had a second child, daughter Mia, born on March
20, 2004 at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead.
Early life
Born in Lambeth, London, Livingstone attended Tulse Hill Comprehensive
School. He worked for eight years as a cancer research technician and also
trained as a teacher, qualifying in 1973. He was elected to the Lambeth borough
council in 1971 and served as Vice-Chair of the Housing Committee from 1971 to
1973 (succeeding John Major in the job). He became a Labour member of the
Greater London Council in 1973 and served as Vice-Chair of Housing Management in
1974-1975. He also served on the Camden council from 1978 to 1982 and
unsuccessfully stood for Parliament in Hampstead the 1979 general election.
While on Camden council, Livingstone gave permission for a strike by local
government workers during the Winter of Discontent to be settled with a high pay
offer; the District Auditor later ruled this amounted to illegal expenditure and
a breach of fiduciary duty, but Livingstone was not surcharged.
GLC leadership
In the GLC election of May 7, 1981, Livingstone moved constituencies to
marginal Paddington. The Labour Party narrowly won control with the moderate
Andrew McIntosh as leader having denied that he would be deposed. The day after
the election, Livingstone challenged McIntosh for the leadership, and defeated
him by 30 votes to 20. This was the culmination of a long process in which the
left had organised to ensure its members were selected as GLC candidates, and
all voted as a bloc within the Labour Party. They had also ensured that the left
had control of the Labour manifesto for the election.
The GLC then set about reducing bus and London Underground fares, subsidised
by a special 'supplementary rate' in a policy known as 'Fares Fair'. Although
the measure was generally popular and led to an increase in the use of public
transportation, it was challenged by the Conservative-controlled council of
Bromley where there were no London Underground stations, and struck down by the
Law Lords in December, 1981.
Despite his defeat in the fares battle, Livingstone would remain a thorn in
the Conservatives' side, openly antagonising the Thatcher government by posting
a billboard of London's rising unemployment figures on the roof of County Hall,
the GLC headquarters, directly across the Thames from the Palace of Westminster.
Under Livingstone, the GLC pursued a variety of unconventional and controversial
measures (some critics have called "socialist"): sponsoring an 'Antiracist
Year,' providing city grants to such groups as 'Babies Against the Bomb', and
declaring London a 'nuclear-free zone'. Livingstone made perhaps his most
controversial move in December 1982, when the GLC extended an official
invitation to Sinn Féin leaders Gerry Adams and Danny Morrison. In the event,
Adams and Morrison were denied entry into the country under the Prevention of
Terrorism Act and met with Livingstone in Northern Ireland instead. When Adams
was elected to Westminster, the ban was lifted. After meeting him, Livingstone
said that Britain's treatment of the Irish over the last 800 years had been
worse than Hitler's treatment of the Jews.
Such actions made Livingstone a favourite target for the press. He acquired
the nickname 'Red Ken' and The Sun described him as 'the most odious man
in Britain'. However, he favoured European integration and proportional
representation, neither of which were particularly popular causes among the
British left at that time. When several Labour councils (including
Militant-controlled Liverpool) protested against the government's rate-capping
policy by refusing to set a property tax rate, Livingstone refused to join the
campaign because he knew the GLC could run its services while keeping within
capping limits. The GLC had already lost all central Government grant by 1983.
Many on the left regarded Livingstone as having sabotaged the campaign and it
led to a personal rift with John McDonnell, who had been Finance Chairman and
Deputy Leader.
Livingstone's preference for practical politics, which was being demonstrated
at a time when the rest of the Labour left were more interested in theoretical
debates, may in part explain why his popularity grew. Other politicians
identified as the 'hard left', such as Tony Benn and the Militant Tendency found
themselves increasingly isolated from the general public.
Following the Conservative sweep in the 1983 general election, the Tories
forged ahead with their long-standing plan to abolish the GLC and devolve
control to the individual boroughs. The GLC mounted a massive (and expensive)
campaign to 'save London's democracy,' while the proposed abolition bill (which
also abolished six other Labour-controlled metropolitan councils, including
Merseyside) faced opposition from politicians on all sides, including former
Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath. On August 2, 1984, Livingstone and
three other Labour councillors resigned, forcing by-elections that they intended
to serve as a referendum on the abolition issue. John Wilson, the Labour Chief
Whip, served temporarily as Council Leader. However, the Conservatives cannily
chose not to contest the by-elections, and the voter turnout was far smaller
than Livingstone had hoped for. On December 15, 1984, the House of Commons
passed the Local Government Act of 1985 by a relatively slim twenty-three vote
margin. The GLC was formally abolished at midnight on March 31, 1986.
Livingstone in Parliament
Livingstone again stood for Parliament in the 1987 general election, winning
a seat in the Northwest London constituency of Brent East. As a mere Labour
backbencher, Livingstone lost the public platform he possessed as head of the
GLC; furthermore, his brand of radical socialism was increasingly out of step
with the Labour leadership, which had moved sharply towards the centre under the
chairmanship of Neil Kinnock and now blamed leftists like Livingstone for
Labour's 'unelectability.' Nevertheless, he was elected to the party's National
Executive Committee in September 1987, although he lost this position two years
later (he regained it in 1997 in what some interpreted as a stinging rebuke to
Tony Blair). He was returned to Parliament in the election of 1992, with a six
percent swing to Labour in his Brent East constituency. Besides serving in the
Commons, Livingstone held a number of other 'odd jobs' during this period,
including game show contestant, after-dinner speaker, and restaurant reviewer
for the Evening Standard. In 1987 he published an
autobiography-cum-political tract, If Voting Changed Anything They'd Abolish
It.
In 1995, Livingstone appeared on the track "Ernold Same" by the band Blur,
taken from the album The Great Escape. Livingstone provided spoken word
vocals and was listed as 'The Right On Ken Livingstone.'
Greater London's First Mayor
Livingstone was again re-elected in the 1997 general election, in which
Labour was returned to power under the leadership of Tony Blair. Among Labour's
proposals was the establishment of a Greater London Authority with powers
similar to the old GLC; this new body would be headed by an elected mayor, the
first in London's history.
Livingstone was widely tipped for this new post. He still enjoyed a great
popularity among Londoners, as evidenced by the massive 14% swing to Labour in
the 1997 election for Brent East. The mayoral election was scheduled for 2000,
and in 1999, Labour began the long and trying process of selecting its
candidate. Despite Blair's personal antipathy, Livingstone was included on
Labour's shortlist in November 1999, with the understanding that he would not
run as an independent if he failed to secure the party's nomination.
Labour chose its official candidate on February 20, 2000. Although
Livingstone received a healthy majority of the total votes, he nevertheless lost
the nomination to former Secretary of State for Health Frank Dobson, under a
system in which votes from sitting Labour MPs, MEPs, and GLA members were
weighted more heavily than votes from rank-and-file members. Speculation swirled
that Livingstone would renege on his earlier pledge and run against Dobson; on
March 6 he ended the suspense and announced an independent candidacy. He was
suspended from the Labour Party the same day and expelled on April 4.
The result of the election — held on May 4 — was a foregone conclusion:
Dobson, who had allegedly been pressured into running by the party leadership,
showed no real enthusiasm for the job, and there was never any chance of the
Conservative candidate prevailing in Labour-dominated London. Livingstone came
out ahead in the first round of balloting with 38.11% of first-preference votes
to Conservative Steven Norris' 26.5%; Dobson finished a humiliating third, with
only 12.78% of all first-preference votes — just ahead of Liberal Democrat Susan
Kramer, with 11.6%. Under the modified instant-runoff voting system employed for
the election, the votes cast for Livingstone and Norris (only) were considered
in the second round, where Livingstone won with 57.92% of first- and
second-preference votes, versus 42.08% for Norris.
Recent events
One of the key points of conflict between Livingstone and the Labour Party
had been the proposed 'Public-Private Partnership' for the London Underground.
Livingstone wished to finance the improvements to the Tube infrastructure by a
public bonds issue, which had been done in the case of the New York City Subway.
However the Mayor did not have power in this area and Livingstone was forced to
make a deal. The PPP deal went ahead in July 2002, but it did not diminish
Livingstone's desire to re-join Labour.
In March 2002, while still independent, Livingstone was accused of "cronyism"
by some Labour party members in the London Assembly after he had appointed six
officials as special advisers. Livingstone claimed the appointments were a
"necessary efficiency drive," but these opponents believed it was a manoeuvre to
help his chances of being re-elected.
An Association of London Government survey, conducted by MORI towards the end
of Livingstone's first term, demonstrated Londoners' increased satisfaction with
public transport and buses in particular were seen as more frequent and
reliable. In accordance with his pre-election pledge bus fares were frozen for
four years, but then the standard single fare on the privatised London Bus
increased 30 pence from 70p to £1 (43%) - well over the rate of inflation for
the whole four-year period (9.7%).
Livingstone was also instrumental in introducing the London Congestion
Charge, in an attempt to reduce traffic congestion in central London. The charge
reduced traffic levels by 15% and Livingstone intends to extend the zone in
which the charge applies.
Also in November 2003, Livingstone was named 'Politician of the Year' by the
Political Studies Association, which cited his implementation of the 'bold and
imaginative' congestion charge scheme. The honour came a week after Livingstone
made the headlines for referring to George W. Bush as 'the greatest threat to
life on this planet,' just ahead of the President's official visit to the UK.
Livingstone also organised an alternative 'Peace Reception' at City Hall 'for
everybody who is not George Bush,' with anti-war Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic as
the guest of honour.
Allegations of a drunken party fracas involving the mayor surfaced in June
2002. The Evening Standard alleged that Livingstone tussled with Robin
Hedges, a friend of his partner Emma Beal, at a birthday party for Emma's sister
in the early morning of 19th May 2002. The paper maintains that he manhandled Ms
Beal, who was pregnant with their first child at the time, and that he left the
scene before the police arrived and after Hedges had fallen down a stairwell.
Livingstone denied any wrongdoing but the case was referred to the Standards
Board for England by the Lib Dems on the London Assembly. The standards board
went through each and every allegation made by the Standard, and owing to
contradictory witness statements by parties involved (including two completely
different statements made by one of the alleged victims) and on the balance of
probabilities the board "found no evidence" that Livingstone breached the Code
of Conduct.
Livingstone applied for readmittance to the Labour Party in 2002 but was
rejected. In November 2003, however, rumours emerged that the Labour Party would
allow Livingstone to rejoin, just ahead of the 2004 London mayoral election.
Opinion polls consistently gave a poor showing to Labour's official candidate,
Nicky Gavron, and many in the party leadership (including Tony Blair himself)
feared that Labour would be humiliated by a fourth-place finish. In
mid-December, Gavron announced she would stand down as the Labour candidate in
favour of a 'unity campaign,' with Gavron as Livingstone's deputy, with Labour's
National Executive Committee voting 25-2 to pave the way for Livingstone's
readmittance. The deal hinged on a 'loyalty test' administered by a special
five-member NEC panel on January 9. The panel recommended that Livingstone be
allowed back in the party. The move towards readmittance came amid considerable
opposition from higher-ups in the party, including Chancellor of the Exchequer
Gordon Brown, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, and former party leader Neil
Kinnock. In a ballot of Labour Party members in London, Livingstone was
overwhelmingly endorsed as the Labour candidate for the 2004 Mayoral election.
Livingstone was re-elected Mayor of London on 10 June 2004. He won 35.70% of
first preference votes to Conservative Steven Norris' 28.24% and Liberal
Democrat Simon Hughes' 14.82%. Six other candidates shared the remainder of the
votes. When all the candidates except Livingstone and Norris were eliminated and
the second preferences of those voters who had picked neither Livingstone or
Norris as their first choice were counted, Livingstone won with 55.39% to
Norris's 44.61%. Some commentators believed that his re-election as mayor was
hindered rather than helped by his readmission to the Labour party.
Ken Livingstone was publically criticised in February 2005 when he compared
Oliver Finegold, a Jewish Evening Standard reporter, to a concentration
camp guard after the reporter had tried to interview him following a reception
marking the 20th anniversary of Chris Smith's coming out. Livingstone
told the reporter to "work for a paper that doesn't have a record of supporting
fascism" - a reference to the Standard's sister paper, the Daily Mail,
which endorsed Oswald Mosley's fascists in 1934. Livingstone also claimed the
Standard was guilty of "harassment of a predominantly lesbian and gay
event". The gay rights group called OutRage! stated that the gay community did
not need Livingstone's support if that meant resorting to abuse. Outrage also
used that dossier to further attack the Muslim Cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
After listening to a recording of the attempted interview with Mr. Finegold,
the London Assembly voted unanimously for Livingstone to apologise. Livingstone
responded by saying "the form of words I have used are right. I have nothing to
apologise for". Deputy mayor Nicky Gavron, herself the daughter of a Holocaust
survivor, said of Livingstone: "These were inappropriate words and very
offensive, both to the individual and to Jews in London". The Standards Board
for England, the body responsible for English local government standards, has
referred the case against Livingstone to the Adjudication Panel, which could
result in sanctions ranging from a censure to a five-year ban from public
office.
Livingstone further sparked controversy in a March 2005 commentary in The
Guardian where he accused Israel's prime minister Ariel Sharon of being a
war criminal, citing his involvement in the Sabra and Shatila massacre and
accusations of ethnic cleansing.
In September 2005 Livingstone came out in support for the placing of a statue
to Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, on the north terrace of
Trafalgar Square. Livingstone said ""There can be no better place than our
greatest square to place a statue of Nelson Mandela so that every generation can
remind the next of the fight against racism."
His long time researcher and friend, Simon Fletcher, now serves as his Chief
of Staff at City Hall.
Reaction to London bombings
Within hours of the London bombings, Livingstone, speaking off the cuff, and
from half way around the world at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore where it
had recently been announced London would host the 2012 Olympic Games, delivered
a speech. Livingstone was visibly shaken and his voice conveyed a sense of
disbelief and anger at the atrocities which had just been perpetrated in his
home city.
Finally, I wish to speak directly to those who came to London today to take
life.
I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to
take others — that is why you are so dangerous. But I know you fear that you may
fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society and I can show you
why you will fail.
In the days that follow, look at our airports, look at our sea ports and look
at our railway stations and, even after your cowardly attack, you will see that
people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in
London to become Londoners and to fulfil their dreams and achieve their
potential.
They choose to come to London, as so many have come before because they come
to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be
themselves. They flee you because you tell them how they should live. They don't
want that and nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that flight
to our city where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with
one another. Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.
On July 20, 2005, Livingstone made the following comments in a BBC interview
about the role of foreign policy as a motivation for the bombing:
I think you've just had 80 years of western intervention into predominantly
Arab lands because of the western need for oil.
We've propped up unsavoury governments, we've overthrown ones we didn't
consider sympathetic.
And I think the particular problem we have at the moment is that in the 1980s
... the Americans recruited and trained Osama Bin Laden, taught him how to kill,
to make bombs, and set him off to kill the Russians and drive them out of
Afghanistan.
They didn't give any thought to the fact that once he'd done that he might
turn on his creators.
A lot of young people see the double standards, they see what happens in
Guantanamo Bay, and they just think that there isn't a just foreign policy.
Livingstone defended the police after the mistaken killing of an innocent
Brazilian man, Jean Charles de Menezes, who police believed was a suicide
bomber.
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