Turn again, Boris, Dickhead of London

Nearly three years ago, when I was posting on Liberal Street Fighter, I did three posts in one day about the events of 7th July 2007, and a followup post the next day. (Hint: the post that refers to “my wife Hope” – is not me. I do not have a wife.)

It probably is time Ken Livingstone quit being Mayor of London, splendid though his record’s been: eight years is long enough.

Brian Paddick would have been a better choice, though. Anyone would have been a better choice than Boris Johnson. There’s a PDF here – a report from Compass – that shows the real Boris Johnson, not the clown who is quite funny on Have I Got News For You, not the floppy-haired buffoon, but the hard right-winger.

There’s a thumbnail sketch of his politics after the LJ-cut, but more to the point: Boris Johnson won the election as a George W. Bush clone – as a good bloke who means well and is a bit thick, does it matter? A lot of people also probably voted for him because they would have voted for any Tory: some may have voted for him because they’re homophobic (Brian Paddick is gay: Ken Livingstone is strongly supportive of equality for LGBT people).

Boris Johnson’s qualifications for being Mayor of London are his past experience being an MP and running a weekly magazine. Oh, and he does well on talk shows.

Ken Livingstone was a great Mayor. The best anyone can hope for Boris Johnson is that no disaster happens while he’s in office, and that he is not able to put his political goals into practice while running London.

International and overall politics
* Fanatical support for the Iraq war
* Supporting both the election of George W Bush in 2000 and his re-election in 2004
* Opposed the Kyoto treaty on climate change
* Is an evangelist for nuclear power – and opposes wind farms
* Is a fanatical Thatcherite
* Considers Liberal Democrats have ‘a characteristic human psychological deformity’

Economic Policies
* Opposed the introduction of the national minimum wage
* Opposition to full pension rights for part-time workers
* Believes trouble comes from ‘too zealous’ attempts to tackle inequality
* Calls for large scale sacking of public sector workers as good ‘for themselves’
* Defends privatisation of the railways

Social and Environmental Policies
* Attacks the welfare state as ‘excessive disbursements that warp honest people’
* Wants to introduce the private sector into the NHS and believes patients should pay more
* Is opposed to the Social Chapter of the EU and also against its provision on paternity leave
* Supports grammar schools and public schools
* Does not support affordable housing
* Opposition to the congestion charge
* Is in favour of not only fox but stag hunting
* Opposes the ban on smoking in restaurants and public places

Attitude to black people, women, gay rights, the Chinese and others
* Refers to black people as ‘picaninnies’ and ‘with watermelon smiles’
* Attitudes to the black community and calls the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry ‘Orwellian’
* Believes in South Africa there is the ‘majority tyranny of black rule.’
* On Africans and ‘instant carbohydrate gratification’
* Believes Chinese culture is merely imitative
* Sexism
* Labour’s ‘appalling agenda’ of ‘the teaching of homosexuality in schools’

Political morality
* Considers Edward Kennedy faced a dilemma on whether to ‘come clean’ on Chappaquiddick
* Supports Silvio Berlusconi

Other positions
* Opposes devolution for Scotland and Wales
* Insults New Guinea
* Insults Liverpool
* Insults Portsmouth
* Insults the Dutch
* Believes ‘former crypto communists’ run the BBC
* Is prepared to discuss how seriously a journalist should be beaten up and whether to supply his address