As 1 May, the date for the mayoral election approaches, many Londoners feel “only presentiment and ire”, says Yasmin Alibhai-Brown in The Independent. Leaving aside Brian Paddick, the former Liberal Democrat and gay ex-policeman, our “diverse and lively” city has to choose between a “jaded, ageing Labourite who doesn’t want to let go” and a “Tory with elitist, colonial and libertarian values”. The only question is, “who will make the more disastrous Mayor of London”?
It’s not Boris Johnson’s fault that he “looks like he does, has silly middle names and a silly voice”, says Alastair Campbell in The Mirror. But his choices as an MP are more significant. How can he claim to be tough against crime while voting against automatic five-year jail sentences for illegal gun possession? His transport policies have the feel of “something rushed together on the back of a fag packet” and he has a “dodgy record” on the environment and housing.
Boris has made all sorts of promises “without saying how he would balance the books“, yet if elected he would be overseeing £16bn of public money. When public transport fares go up, council tax rises and police budgets get cut, Boris won’t seem quite so amusing.
Boris hasn‘t done his sums, says Iain Martin in The Daily Telegraph, but there is much to be said for his promises on policing and open spaces. After Ken’s “sub-Marxist shenanigans and the hugging of hate-preachers“, the answer has to be Boris.
But Ken’s environmental policies alone make him worth voting for, says Geoffrey Lean in The Independent on Sunday. He has introduced the world’s most “detailed and thought-out range of policies”. Jonathon Porritt says a Johnson victory would be a “massive setback’ and he’s right. “London – and the world – needs [Ken] to win.”