That's the headline on the Guardian website right now.
Who'd have thought that the Race to be London's mayor would be too close to call?
Not me, that's who.
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Race to be London's mayor is too close to call
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biggyonacid wrote: That's the headline on the Guardian website right now.
Who'd have thought that the Race to be London's mayor would be too close to call?
Not me, that's who.
LOL.. fancy the Guardian saying that. Bet the editor wanted to go to bed, seeing as they havent started counting yet.
Burt Reynolds wrote:
biggyonacid wrote: That's the headline on the Guardian website right now.
Who'd have thought that the Race to be London's mayor would be too close to call?
Not me, that's who.
LOL.. fancy the Guardian saying that. Bet the editor wanted to go to bed, seeing as they havent started counting yet.
How about The Times then? Hardly a socialist paper... :p
Nick King wrote:
Burt Reynolds wrote:
biggyonacid wrote: That's the headline on the Guardian website right now.
Who'd have thought that the Race to be London's mayor would be too close to call?
Not me, that's who.
LOL.. fancy the Guardian saying that. Bet the editor wanted to go to bed, seeing as they havent started counting yet.
How about The Times then? Hardly a socialist paper... :p
Well the local govt results are coming in now.. so news based on that is fine. London mayoral election not announced til tomorrow night, so speculation either way is a bit premature. The get out words and phrases are 'knife-edge' and 'close to call'. Basically, we dont f'in know, it's a free election, but we have to report it.
I almost want Boris to win for the pure comedy angle of having a clearly demented toff in charge of the city 
Spotted Brian Paddick being interviewed for t'telly outside Scotland Yard on the way home from work the other day... he's got to be about 7 foot tall 
Or maybe it's because I'm a shortarse.
I didn't vote so can't complain, whoever wins. :(
Was s'posed to be meeting G-man for 'power Stella drinking' between 6-9pm last night ... then home in time to vote!
Next thing I knew it's facking 1am and me, Mark and Leggy are in some members club off Piccadilly watching G and his mate have a proper spat behind the decks whilst they're working!!! 
Power drinking with G: not a sport for beginners.
I trust the ‘Eadphone Disco went down well?
biggyonacid wrote: Power drinking with G: not a sport for beginners.
I trust the ‘Eadphone Disco went down well?
Absolutely quality mate.
You checking yer e-mails? G had 'words' with some lad in the boozer during the Rangers game - came out with the best insult ever!
Boris win = London's fcuked.
That indirectly affects the rest of the country though...
However, glad I'm leaving London soon in that case!
Chris Nash wrote: Boris win = London's fcuked.
That indirectly affects the rest of the country though...
However, glad I'm leaving London soon in that case!
Please tell me yer moving to Stoke, you skinny southern cunt?
And if Boris gets in, it confirms every prejudice I've ever had about London wankers. You did it to yerselves, shitheads!!
Chris Nash wrote: However, glad I'm leaving London soon in that case!
Indeed, Lahndon will be no place for Scousers once Boris is in power! 
PETER COATES'S BELATED REDEMPTION wrote:
Chris Nash wrote: Boris win = London's fcuked.
That indirectly affects the rest of the country though...
However, glad I'm leaving London soon in that case!
Please tell me yer moving to Stoke, you skinny southern cunt?
And if Boris gets in, it confirms every prejudice I've ever had about London wankers. You did it to yerselves, shitheads!!
Skinny? Nope - bit podgy I'm afraid...
Southern? Wrong again - Liverpool...
Vote for Boris? Wrong yet again...
Stoke? Maybe, but possibly Stockport or Manchester...
Cunt? Hmmm... got me there...
Its BORIS!
Well, probably. He's winning first preference votes and might not need second preferences.
T'other day, I was in class, and I casually mentioned the various bits and bobs I'd done on turnout at elections and what not. This morning, I was asked, on the cuff, to give a little talk about the importance and effect of Turnout on elections to a load of sixth formers. And all they kept asking was about yesterdays election...
El Jarvo wrote:
Chris Nash wrote: However, glad I'm leaving London soon in that case!
Indeed, Lahndon will be no place for Scousers once Boris is in power!
London will be no place for anyone Al... :(
Besides, I've been here since I was seven, so I'm used to it!
wrote: Oh fook no,not BORIS THE BUFFOON!
Yup, looks like Londoners have voted him in - a prized upper class pratt...
Glad I don't live there...
Boris wins
FFS I am going to have to move...London will be the laughing stock of the world with that muppet in charge
:( :( :(
Nick King wrote:
Yup, looks like Londoners have voted him in - a prized upper class pratt...
Glad I don't live there...
My borough did the most damage apparently. You guys really don't understand how much we hate Ken. Its difficult to gauge whats going on from Hertfordshire either; Greater London is changing too fast.
I was trying to explain to biggy last night, that the free bus pass to 16 yo's has had a huge effect on the suburbs. Currently we get busloads of kids coming down from places like Lewisham, New Cross and Peckham late at night, basically to mug people. My local crime rate has shot up as a result.
Recently a friend of mine, off duty policemen, was set upon by 15 hoodies, after walking out of my local to catch a bus. Absolutely beat the shit out of him.
Its amazing how such a simple decision can affect things.
The other 'irk' of ours is of course the congestion charge, which is initially a good idea, but doesnt appear on paper than to be much more than a money generating exercise. 35% of penalties issued are to unregistered and untraceable cars, and this has figure has not been reduced throughout the term of the scheme. If the money generated was ploughed into taking these cars and drivers off the streets, we would have much less of a congestion problem.
Hopefully Boris will be far less of a Robin Hood character, although he'll probably turn out to be a muppet.
Burt Reynolds wrote:
Nick King wrote:
Yup, looks like Londoners have voted him in - a prized upper class pratt...
Glad I don't live there...
My borough did the most damage apparently. You guys really don't understand how much we hate Ken. Its difficult to gauge whats going on from Hertfordshire either; Greater London is changing too fast.
I was trying to explain to biggy last night, that the free bus pass to 16 yo's has had a huge effect on the suburbs. Currently we get busloads of kids coming down from places like Lewisham, New Cross and Peckham late at night, basically to mug people. My local crime rate has shot up as a result.
Recently a friend of mine, off duty policemen, was set upon by 15 hoodies, after walking out of my local to catch a bus. Absolutely beat the shit out of him.
Its amazing how such a simple decision can affect things.
The other 'irk' of ours is of course the congestion charge, which is initially a good idea, but doesnt appear on paper than to be much more than a money generating exercise. 35% of penalties issued are to unregistered and untraceable cars, and this has figure has not been reduced throughout the term of the scheme. If the money generated was ploughed into taking these cars and drivers off the streets, we would have much less of a congestion problem.
Hopefully Boris will be far less of a Robin Hood character, although he'll probably turn out to be a muppet.
Deary me, time will tell - if you thought Ken was bad, you're in for a BIG shock...
Nick King wrote:
Burt Reynolds wrote:
Nick King wrote:
Yup, looks like Londoners have voted him in - a prized upper class pratt...
Glad I don't live there...
My borough did the most damage apparently. You guys really don't understand how much we hate Ken. Its difficult to gauge whats going on from Hertfordshire either; Greater London is changing too fast.
I was trying to explain to biggy last night, that the free bus pass to 16 yo's has had a huge effect on the suburbs. Currently we get busloads of kids coming down from places like Lewisham, New Cross and Peckham late at night, basically to mug people. My local crime rate has shot up as a result.
Recently a friend of mine, off duty policemen, was set upon by 15 hoodies, after walking out of my local to catch a bus. Absolutely beat the shit out of him.
Its amazing how such a simple decision can affect things.
The other 'irk' of ours is of course the congestion charge, which is initially a good idea, but doesnt appear on paper than to be much more than a money generating exercise. 35% of penalties issued are to unregistered and untraceable cars, and this has figure has not been reduced throughout the term of the scheme. If the money generated was ploughed into taking these cars and drivers off the streets, we would have much less of a congestion problem.
Hopefully Boris will be far less of a Robin Hood character, although he'll probably turn out to be a muppet.
Deary me, time will tell - if you thought Ken was bad, you're in for a BIG shock...
I think we know its a gamble.
LOL. I just saw a news report. His grandfather was Turkish.
Surely the primary objective of the congestion charge is to reduce congestion and it has, no?
And as I was trying to say to you the other night, the idea that free bus passes are responsible for an increase in crime in a particular area seems bizarre.
In any case, judging such a wide-ranging scheme because of the behaviour of a few yobs seems unfair.
I don't know enough about it to argue the detail, but surely not all teenagers in London that ride buses for free are beating your mate up?
That's the problem with being Ken Livingstone, the blame for any problems anywhere in London seems to be placed with him.
I think you'll regret choosing a comedian over a proper politician.
It's only funny until someone gets hurt
biggyonacid wrote: Surely the primary objective of the congestion charge is to reduce congestion and it has, no?
No. Its steadily worsened over the last ten years since I've been driving into town. Not noticed any blips at all. Still took me 105 minutes to go the eight miles into town this morning. Ken had some figures i think saying it had reduced traffic by 17% on its introduction, but then, he pays people lots of taxpayers money to produce these figures.
Burt Reynolds wrote: I think we know its a gamble.
LOL. I just saw a news report. His grandfather was Turkish.
A gamble?
Boris quotes:
The wannabe mayor on race, sex and politics
On homosexuality
"Gay marriage can only ever be a ludicrous parody of the real thing." · Daily Telegraph, 2005
"If gay marriage was OK - and I was uncertain on the issue - then I saw no reason in principle why a union should not be consecrated between three men, as well as two men; or indeed three men and a dog." · From his book, Friends, Voters, Countrymen, 2001
"We don't want our children being taught some rubbish about homosexual marriage being the same as normal marriage, and that is why I am more than happy to support Section 28." · Daily Telegraph, 2000
"The clerics gave us [journalists] a wigging for being so mean to the Church of England ... Why did we draw attention to tricky subjects like homosexuality, aka the Pulpit Poofs issue?" · The Spectator, 2000
"I'm not bisexual so far ... not that I would condemn myself if I later discovered I were." · Daily Telegraph, 2008
On Africa
"No doubt the AK47s will fall silent, the pangas will stop their hacking of human flesh, and the tribal warriors will all break out in watermelon smiles to see the big white chief touch down in his big white British taxpayer-funded bird." · In 2002, on Tony Blair's visit to the Democratic of Republic of Congo, Daily Telegraph
"Right, let's go and look at some more piccaninnies." · Reported remark, while visiting Uganda, to Swedish Unicef workers and their black driver, the Observer, 2003
On the Commonwealth
"It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies." · Daily Telegraph, 2002
On failing to recognise his Filipina housekeeper
"When our housekeeper appeared on stage in her hot pink strapless number [as a finalist of the Mrs Philippines 2005 contest in London], I failed at first to recognise her, surrounded as she was by 10 other Filipina mums, each shimmering in every shade from fuchsia to Germolene ... Was that Luz, the No 6, the one with the cleavage? Or was she No 5, with the smile? Surely she wasn't No 11, the one with the legs. No: wait - that was her, with her hair up. No 8! 'We want eight,' we screamed, and waved at good old Luz, a woman who has been exposed to the full horror of the Johnson family washing and yet contrived to look little short of $1m. · The Spectator, 2005
On his prospects
"My chances of being PM are about as good as the chances of finding Elvis on Mars, or my being reincarnated as an olive." · The Independent, 2004
George Bush and Iraq
"He liberated Iraq. It is good enough for me." · Daily Telegraph, 2004
"The Americans were perfectly happy to go ahead and whack Saddam merely on the grounds that he was a bad guy, and that Iraq and the world would be better off without him; and so indeed was I." · Daily Telegraph, 2003
On Islam
"The most viciously sectarian of all religions in its heartlessness towards unbelievers." · The Spectator, 2005
On race
"I'm down with the ethnics. You can't out-ethnic me, Nihal ... My children are a quarter Indian, so put that in your pipe and smoke it." · To Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Asian Network, 2008
On cannabis
"It was jolly nice. But apparently it is very different these days. Much stronger. I've become very illiberal about it. I don't want my kids to take drugs." · GQ, 2007
On sex
"I've slept with far fewer than 1,000." · On whether he has slept with fewer than 30 women, like Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, Daily Telegraph, 2008
"An inverted pyramid of piffle." · The Mail on Sunday, 2004, on allegations that he had an affair with Petronella Wyatt, later confirmed.
On obesity
"Nothing but their own fat fault."
On transport
"I don't believe [using a mobile phone at the wheel] is necessarily any more dangerous than the many other risky things that people do with their free hands while driving - nose-picking, reading the paper, studying the A-Z, beating the children, and so on." · Daily Telegraph, 2002
"The whole county of Hampshire was lying back and opening her well-bred legs to be ravished by the Italian stallion." · GQ, while in a Ferrari
On Liverpool
"A society that has become hooked on grief and likes to wallow in a sense of vicarious victimhood." · A Spectator editorial, 2004 (Johnson didn't write the editorial, but he approved it)
On his arts role
"Look, the point is ... er, what is the point? It is a tough job but somebody has got to do it." · On being appointed Tory Arts spokesman, 2004
On stag hunting
"I remember the guts streaming, and the stag turds spilling out on to the grass from within the ventral cavity ... This hunting is best for the deer." · From his book Lend Me Your Ears
Burt Reynolds wrote:
No. Its steadily worsened over the last ten years since I've been driving into town.
My ecxperiences of Central London, although limited, have been quite different.
Anyway, it's got nothing to do with me. It just irritates me.
biggyonacid wrote:
And as I was trying to say to you the other night, the idea that free bus passes are responsible for an increase in crime in a particular area seems bizarre.
In any case, judging such a wide-ranging scheme because of the behaviour of a few yobs seems unfair.
I don't know enough about it to argue the detail, but surely not all teenagers in London that ride buses for free are beating your mate up?
Before 5, they are normally getting to and from school. At midnight though they are most definitely not. The beauty of free travel is you can go somewhere new, and not be recognised on the street.
I've just suggested to a lass, that we go for a meal in the town centre of Bromley in Kent, over the weekend. She asked me when the last time I'd been there. Apparently its a war zone of youthful exuberance and blue flashing lights on a Saturday night these days.
