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Alex Proud, owner of the Proud Gallery:
“I’ve got a sad feeling that, somewhat like Ken, Boris will be a complete non-event for Camden.
“He came up and looked baffled and buffoonish for all of about 10 seconds. I suspect we won’t see him again for another four years
“Right now Camden Town really needs a friend in the mayor.” |
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Sir Jonathan Miller, writer and theatre director:
“There’s nothing to indicate that Boris has got any qualifications of any sort at all. I’m not exactly happy about it but I don’t want to pre-empt the possibility that he might surround himself with a lot of very efficient people. The question is whether he would be able to recognise a good team.” |
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Martin Morton, chairman of Camden Civic Society, former leader of Conservatives on Camden Council:
“I had a sign in my window during the campaign which said ‘Balls To Boris But Who Else?’.
“Boris will no doubt review planning policies, particularly on tall buildings. We will have to wait and see. It will be more personality than policy though.” |
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Raj Chada, former Labour leader of Camden Council:
“Boris Johnson will be an absolute disaster for Camden.
“He has no appreciation of the communities that we live in.
“Let’s hope that he does not withdraw the money for decent council homes that Ken Livingstone was going to give to the people of Camden.” |
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Dame Beryl Bainbridge, author, lives Camden Town:
“I admire Boris Johnson, I think he’s a very educated man. I was going to vote for him but when I got to the voting booth I couldn’t not vote for Ken. But there’s not much difference between Conservative and Labour now. Ken’s done a marvellous job but maybe it’s time for a change.” |
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Huntly Spence, former Conservative councillor in Hampstead:
“I’m absolutely delighted.
“I’ve read through the points of what Boris is planning to do and if he does all those things it’ll be marvellous.
“He enjoys fooling around a bit but I don’t think we shall see the clowning much when he’s mayor – it’s too serious a job.” |
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Fiona Millar, journalist:
“I’ve never seen any hard policy statements from Boris that indicate to me that he understands the root causes to the problems he’s seeking to solve, such as youth crime. I think it’s very disappointing that Ken has lost and I don’t understand why people think that Boris was a credible alternative.
“I’m not convinced, I’m afraid.” |