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“Insufficient evidence” to declare confidence in London Mayoral results
The Open Rights Group, the body accredited by the Electoral Commission to provide official observers to the London mayoral elections, said today that it was given insufficient evidence to have full confidence in the election results. In a new report out today, it identified a number of 'shortcomings' in the e-counting of votes, and found that:
"there is insufficient evidence available to allow independent observers to state reliably whether the results declared in the May 2008 elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly are an accurate representation of voters’ intentions.”
It said that while the election was well-managed by the independent body London Elects, transparency around recording votes was at issue because the 27 official ORG observers were unable to observe whether votes being counted were actually valid. London Elects even admitted the system "was likely to be recording blank ballots as votes."
Here's a link to the ORG report: http://www.openrightsgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/orglo...
Could this be the beginning of an election scandal? The Open Rights Group, the body accredited by the Electoral Commission to provide official observers to the London mayoral elections, ... more -
Boris Johnson to write for Daily Telegraph again
The newly elected London Mayor is heading back to the daily paper to write his column. Oh and he'll get about £250k a year to do it. Obviously the task of fighting escalating street crime is not a full time job. But he is donating £25k a year to a 'Boris Bursary' to help trainee journalists out - liberals need not apply. Oh, and another £25k to help teach classics to London state schools; that'll appeal to today's troubled youths. Go Boris. The newly elected London Mayor is heading back to the daily paper to write his column. Oh and he'll get about £250k a year to do ... more
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Bookies pay out on Boris victory in London mayoral elections
Yesterday afternoon, hours before the official announcement, bookmakers Paddy Power declared they believed the Tory had won the contest for London Mayor.
The £100,000 payout, which could have backfired if Ken Livingstone won, caught the mood of change in the capital after Labour suffered its worst town hall election results for 40 years.
It crashed to third place with only 24 per cent of the vote. The Prime Minister also appeared to think a Johnson victory was on the cards. He said he had called Mr Livingstone to thank him for all he had done for the capital. Yesterday afternoon, hours before the official announcement, bookmakers Paddy Power declared they believed the Tory had won the contes... more -
Vote counting begins in London mayoral race
Election officials have begun counting the London mayoral votes and the result is widely expected to rely on second choice ballots.
The Tories are hoping that bookies-favourite Boris Johnson can secure victory and oust Ken Livingstone, 'sealing the deal' on the May Day local elections that saw Labour suffer their worst election result in 40 years.
Analysts suggest an increase in voter turnout could give Ken Livingstone a chance to retain office though the Guardian reports that Labour is talking down the chances of a Livingstone win. According to the paper, Harriet Harman, Labour's deputy leader, strongly hinted that she expects Johnson to be declared mayor when the results are announced, probably late this afternoon.
(This post will be updated as news and results come in. Last update: 12:25pm BST) Election officials have begun counting the London mayoral votes and the result is widely expected to rely on second choice ballots. ... more -
Labour takes beating in local elections
It's shaping up to be the worst election result for Labour in 40 years and the Conservatives even seem to be winning in Labour strongholds. If this kind of win happened at a general election the Conservatives would have a huge majority.
Sky News are reporting that Boris Johnson is the bookies favourite for London Mayor. The Guardian suggests that a high turnout of voters could see Ken Livingstone hold onto the job.
Reuters report that after two-thirds of the results counted from local councils in England and Wales, BBC predictions put the Conservatives on 44 percent and Labour only one point behind the Liberal Democrats who are on 25%.
(This post will be edited as the results come in. Last updated: 13:17 BST)
Check the links for latest results.:
BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7378788.stm
Sky:
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91211-1314749,00... It's shaping up to be the worst election result for Labour in 40 years and the Conservatives even seem to be winning in Labour st... more -
Boris could win London mayoral election.
If you have not yet voted, there is still time to do so. Please do not give Boris the reigns to London.
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Sian Berry, the Green London Mayoral Candidate Wants to Help London Public Transpo...
The cost of travel is one of the main reasons London is such an expensive place to live. Instead of wasting hundreds of millions of pounds on the Thames Gateway motorway bridge, I would focus on making day-to-day travel more affordable for ordinary Londoners.
We already pay too much to sit in gridlocked buses and swelter in packed tubes. So it’s simply not enough to promise a fares freeze. I will cut the cost of travel and reduce all bus and off-peak tube fares by 20p.
I’lI also extend the student discount on buses from travelcards, to Oyster pay-as-you-go.
It seems to me there have never been more compelling reasons to use public transport, so the more affordable it is, the better. That’s why I’m dead against pouring hundreds of millions into more roads when we could be putting that money towards running public transport in our interests not those of greedy corporates.
We could invest in really innovative schemes that make our streets safer and less congested. Why not have free bicycles all over the city? If Paris can do it, so can we! Why not make the West End car free every Sunday, not just one day of the year? The cost of travel is one of the main reasons London is such an expensive place to live. Instead of wasting hundreds of millions of po... more -
Boris Johnson: 'I am descended from slaves'
BBC: 'No you're not'.
London Mayoral candidate Johnson has been accused even by fellow Tory MPs as being an 'out of touch toff' - his Eton education and grating upper-middle class accent haven't helped matters on the numerous occasions he's made gaffes in the public eye - most notably in a newspaper article six years ago, describing Africans as 'piccaninnies'. The black playwright Patrick Augustus recently accused him of sounding like 'the slave master trying to keep the slaves down'.
But today Boris Johnson has made the startling claim that he is directly descended from slaves, telling reporters, 'I am the proud offspring of Turkish immigrants. I want you to know that my great-great-grandmother was a slave, so put that in your pipe and smoke it, Mr Livingstone. She was a Circassian slave [from a region in southern Russia], and she was sold: my great-great-grandfather literally purchased her.'
Intriguingly, when the BBC studied Johnson's story for a forthcoming edition of the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are?, in which celebrities trace their family trees, it was unable to find proof. 'It's not in the film', a BBC source told the Guardian. 'They can only document the truth that can be backed up by documentation. It's just one of his old family tales'. BBC: 'No you're not'. ... more
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London Mayoral Election
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London Mayoral Election
