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From left, Islington Boat Club chairman Francis Chronnell, its director Paul Kilham, Ken Livingstone, Mayor Stefan Kasprzyk, Islington Labour leader Catherine West, BBC political editor Nick Robinson and Angel Community Canal Boat Trust chairman Giles Eyre |
Why Ken’s flushed with confidence
Ex-mayor expects to run for top job again. For now, he hopes to change our loo habits
KEN Livingstone is brimming with confidence, fully expecting to be Labour’s London mayoral candidate again. But in the meantime he’s on a crusade – to get people to stop flushing the toilet so often.
Speaking at a fundraising event for Islington Mayor Stefan Kasprzyk’s charity Kids Afloat on Tuesday, Mr Livingstone devoted more time to the subject of ecologically correct toilet habits than practically anything else.
The former London Mayor was at Highbury Grove School to be grilled by residents and BBC political editor Nick Robinson.
But he was preoccupied by one subject. “Every time I hear someone saying we can’t have a wind farm because it will destroy the countryside I think: you bloody idiot it will all be under water if you don’t,” he said.
“Don’t flush the toilet if you’ve had a pee. To purify it, vast amounts of water are used. The biggest problem I had with my staff is that they would never advertise this point.”
He started preaching the virtues of not flushing after testing it out at home for a year. “At the time Thames Water was run by Germans,” he said. “You couldn’t get them to talk about flushing the toilet. They would rather talk about the war than flushing the toilet.”
He lightheartedly admitted to being a cynical powermonger who seeks out the flaws in any system, describing his time as mayor as “the high point of civilisation”. He said: “If I believe in something I want to tell everybody. I’m the sort of person that will pin you against the wall and you can’t get away. I’m a believer and crusader. I can imagine if I was born [earlier] I’d have joined the crusades or in Russia I’d have been trying to bring down the Marxists.”
He admitted to a love of power. “When I went into Parliament I said I’m going to be Prime Minister. I couldn’t see any other reason,” he said.
Asked if he believed he should have done anything differently as mayor, he revealed: “If I could I would have found a way to close the Evening Standard.”
On Labour’s chances of winning the next election, he said: “You wouldn’t bet on Labour winning but a Tory win could protract the recession.”
Mr Livingstone favoured Gordon Brown over Harriet Harman as Labour leader. Asked if he considered Foreign Secretary David Miliband a likely candidate, he said: “He used to work in my office when he was 16. He’s a really lovely bloke but he’s not ready. Obama’s not ready. He’s like John Kennedy.”
Looking to the mayoral election in 2012, he said: “I assume I will win the Labour Party nomination because it will involve all party members. It will be a better campaign because Boris Johnson will know the job.”
He admitted overestimating Mr Johnson’s right-wing beliefs. “I gave him the credit of reading everything he wrote in the Telegraph and believing it and thinking he’s a neocon. He’s trying to be Ken light,” he said.
Mr Livingstone praised Islington Labour’s plans to introduce free school meals for all under-11s, adding: “I’d have free school meals and breakfasts but I want to control the diet – a lot more veg and a lot less chips.”
Islington Kids Afloat – the umbrella name for Islington Boat Club and Angel Community Canal Boat Trust – aims to raise money for underprivileged children.
Islington Boat Club chairman Francis Chronnell said: “The kids we deal with are largely not in education, training or employment and they need all the help they can get – not on a plate – but we can help them get in touch with practical activities and they can come to courses.” |
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