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Capital’s biggest political shake-up in 40 years
WHILE politicians gear up for the next general election life in London will go on as normal despite the biggest shake up in political control of the capital for nearly 40 years.
There will be one or two reforms introduced by the new mayor Boris Johnson – perhaps a few more Routemaster buses, some kind of police teams on buses – but London will probably stay as it is.
The capital will be caught in no man’s land awaiting the outcome of 2010 elections.
Afterwards things should change depending on whether Cameron enters No 10 or Brown stays where he is – and that is not likely.
So what is the significance of the mayoral elections?
Support for Ken Livingstone did go up in the inner boroughs but proportionately the Tories swept ever upwards.
Basically, it was the Tory vote in the outer suburbs that did it for Labour.
Once Boris Johnson settles in, we might see the Wandsworth effect come into play – that is a tightly low-expenditure Tory-run London with its strong appeal to the outer suburbs.
This could have led to resistance from the Labour strongholds of inner London – but politics have moved on.
New Labour is at the point of no return in what were once Labour boroughs.
Worryingly, what emerged in the election is the appearance of a disaffected white working class – some stuck to Labour, many didn’t bother to vote, and a large number drifted to the extremist British National Party
There are no signs Brown will reverse his neo-liberal policies.
His housing programme is a shambles.
Trust was placed with private builders who are now cutting back because of the credit crunch.
Whoever reverses the Thatcherite ban on the building of council houses will win votes.
In the 1950s Harold Macmillan built up to 300,000 council homes a year. Could Cameron follow suit?
Post haste
THE Post Office decision to close four branches in Camden is a disgrace.
Protesters should join hands across the borough and form a single campaigning body.
Piecemeal opposition will not work.
Meanwhile, the council, who are moving in the right direction, must stop prevaricating – should offer confidentiality to the Post Office and examine the books of the threatened branches as a prelude for a takeover.
Post office closures cause too much hardship especially for the elderly to allow any form of dithering.
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