Ken Livingstone Suspended For A Month

[Matt S]

Simon Hughes manages to prove once again that he's a bit of a wanker:

Commenting on the decision of the Adjudication Panel for England that Mayor of London Ken Livingstone had been guilty of bringing his office into disrepute, North Southwark and Bermondsey MP and Liberal Democrat leadership contender Simon Hughes said:

“A large number of Londoners found the Mayor’s remarks clearly offensive. It is sad that the Mayor Livingstone has not accepted that, nor chosen to apologise for what he said. Ken should do that now and demonstrate that he is a mayor for all of London not just certain groups within the capital.”

 

[phildwyer]

No they won't. I can't see this being debated in the pubs and clubs in London tonight.

Depends on Ken's reaction. I assure you that if he basically calls the city government out on strike--as he should--people would be talking of nothing else.

 

[zenie]

This is absolutely atrocious by the Evening Standard – bloody bastards

Who is gonna stand him for him though?

Does he have a deputy at all?

 

[zenie]

Depends on Ken's reaction. I assure you that if he basically calls the city government out on strike--as he should--people would be talking of nothing else.

That is a good idea

Any likelyhood of it happenning though?

 

[girasol]

The Standard doesn't seem to know about it yet...

No mention of Ken's suspension on their website... I'm about to write an email to them, what shall I say?

 

[Harold Hill]

So you really believe the reporter was tewwibly offended do you?

Bless.

I can't know for certain how offended the reporter was but this idea that Associated Newspapers today should be measured by any action of Lord Rothmere in WW2 is pathetic. He wouldn't start goose stepping in front of German tourists whose grandparents may have supported the Nazis - he tried to be clever towards an centre right media group making valid criticisms of him and its come back to bite him on the bum. Boo hoo

 

[zenie]

The Standard doesn't seem to know about it yet...

No mention of Ken's suspension on their website... I'm about to write an email to them, what shall I say?

Dunno but definitley CC the other tabloids in and show the ES up

 

[Harold Hill]

Depends on Ken's reaction. I assure you that if he basically calls the city government out on strike--as he should--people would be talking of nothing else.

Then it would be the beginning of the end of GLC Mk 2 I imagine.

 

[tom k&e]

This is absolutely atrocious by the Evening Standard – bloody bastards

Who is gonna stand him for him though?

Does he have a deputy at all?

Yes.

London did perfectly well without the self aggrandizing egomaniac at the helm anyway. I suppose there might be less posters about how the mayor of london has set up a rastafarian youghrt weaving club, but otherwise we won't notice the difference.

 

[knopf]

Lest we forget....

(the one on the left is Lord Rothermere)

 

[exosculate]

That the Daily Mail crew are odious vermin is hardly surprising.

 

[exosculate]

Lest we forget....

(the one on the left is Lord Rothermere)

Nice illustration of the crux of the problem.

 

[zenie]

Everyone email

http://www.adjudicationpanel.co.uk/index.php?page=Contact Us

I am and so are people at work

Colleagues effort

Dear Adjudication Panel,



So who has given some non-democratic bunch of prats the right to suspend a democratically elected mayor?



Give him a fine perhaps (despite the fact his comments are correct. Have you read the mail/standard?) but how dare you go against 7 million voters.



I suggest you move to North Korea if you want to try your hand at State dictatorship.

Regards Mr Geek, Democratic Voter

 

[zenie]

Yes.

London did perfectly well without the self aggrandizing egomaniac at the helm anyway. I suppose there might be less posters about how the mayor of london has set up a rastafarian youghrt weaving club, but otherwise we won't notice the difference.

I think it's the fact there was a witch hunt not that London wil fall over if he's not about for a week tbh.

 

[Fong]

So you really believe the reporter was tewwibly offended do you?

Bless.

While I agree this is all a shambles and Ken said nothing out of order at all.

This isn't right.

In another thread you are having a pop at Rogue_Yam for implying that the French are surrender monkies.

Yet its not like it hasn't been said before and I doubt any french people would be 'tewwibly' upset by it considering the source is America and most of Europe now looks to France as being one of the few countries with backbone enough to tell America to fuck off when we all should have.

Yet you were ready to take him to task for that.

Is it really relevent whether someone in particular is offended, or is it down to the remark being offensive, whether they were offended or not.

I personally don't think Ken Livingstone said anything offensive. I don't care if the guy was a jew or not, what he said was not offensive.

 

[beeboo]

Not surprised there is nothing on the ES website yet, they're probably too busy breaking out the champagne

It's bloody annoying that Ken didn't apologise, as this would all be long forgotten about by now.

But it'd never have been an issue at all if ES hadn't gleefully picked up on it and blown an off-hand comment into this shambles. Just completely despair about them and the delight they take in finding any opportunity to knock Ken. Especially as this sorry excuse for a newspaper is the only one we have in London, and in the absence of any alternative it influences the opinions of a lot of people.



I'm up for whatever boycott etc might work.

 

[tbaldwin]

Lest we forget....

(the one on the left is Lord Rothermere)

Ken looks really different there was it when he got the Job with the standard?



Or when despite promises to the contrary he got rid of the routemasters with the lie that he did it for the disabled. They cant us the bendy buses the ramps always seem to break down when they try.
Lock him up for the month with david irving i say.

 

[phildwyer]

Then it would be the beginning of the end of GLC Mk 2 I imagine.

I think it would be the end of the Evening Standard.

 

[gurrier]

Immediately before the suspension kicks in, he should announce that all the employees of the council can have fully paid time off 'until they hear back from me'.

Although since he's pretty damned spineless he'll take it meekly. Shame I'm not mayor of London.

 

[editor]

While I agree this is all a shambles and Ken said nothing out of order at all.

This isn't right.

In another thread you are having a pop at Rogue_Yam for implying that the French are surrender monkies.

Yet its not like it hasn't been said before and I doubt any french people would be 'tewwibly' upset by it considering the source is America and most of Europe now looks to France as being one of the few countries with backbone enough to tell America to fuck off when we all should have.

Sorry. I'm failing to see any connection here.

I personally suspect that the reporter wildly exaggerated his 'outrage' because it suited his pre-set agenda of finding material to damn Ken with.

That opinion is based on his paper's previous campaigns.

I've no idea what France and Amercia has to do with this.

 

[JoePolitix]

Lest we forget....

(the one on the left is Lord Rothermere)

And the one on the right "stands in direct line with those great leaders of mankind who seldom appear more than once in two or three centuries" according to the one on the left.

Man I am angry right now...

 

[editor]

And the one on the right "stands in direct line with those great leaders of mankind who seldom appear more than once in two or three centuries" according to the one on the left. :

Strange how the reporter in question wasn't too outraged and sensitive to work for a paper with such a direct link to the Nazis in the past, isn't it?

 

[Streathamite]

Lest we forget....

(the one on the left is Lord Rothermere)

oi! I've ALREADY pointed out the DMG's hitler-loving past!!!

 

[knopf]

oi! I've ALREADY pointed out the DMG's hitler-loving past!!!

Ah yes. But a picture's worth a thousand words.

 

[Streathamite]

I can't know for certain how offended the reporter was but this idea that Associated Newspapers today should be measured by any action of Lord Rothmere in WW2 is pathetic. He wouldn't start goose stepping in front of German tourists whose grandparents may have supported the Nazis - he tried to be clever towards an centre right media group making valid criticisms of him and its come back to bite him on the bum. Boo hoo

I disagree. The DMGs nazi-loving past is all of a piece with where their politics - or rather, Rothermere politics - have always been; siding with whichever strongman of the right is most likely to give the biggest kicking to The Unions and the workers, whilst simultaneously appealing to and fuelling their readers worst bigotries and prejudices. there's a clear continuity. and for Finegold to work for such an organisation and then to complain about ANYONE's perceived anti-semitism is rank hypocrisy.

 

[HarrisonSlade]

So you really believe the reporter was tewwibly offended do you?

Bless.

Maybe not. But I can think of many other people who may have been a bit peeved at the fact that their elected Mayor had used a comment about Concentration Camps to verbally attack a reporter who is known to be Jewish. It was a cheap tasteless remark of which had offended many people in Jewish areas, such as Golders Green, Finchley, etc. I don't care how the reporter felt about his remark, Ken should have apologised for offending people who he is supposed to represent.

Saying that, I think that it is irresponsible for the legal system to be able to suspend a man in an important, high profile job just for making a comment, however crass and insensetive it was.

 

[BarryB]

As the ban commences 1 March at least Ken will be able to give a farewell performance at the Hackney Empire the night before at a people's Question Time. Its at 7pm. No jokes about pantomimes please.

BarryB

 

[TAE]

That is absolutely ridiculous.

How the fuck can an elected Mayor be suspended by an unelected panel for a comment he made, that was not against the law?

I'd like to know that too.

 

[HarrisonSlade]

Ah yes. But a picture's worth a thousand words.

How very true.

 

[editor]

Maybe not. But I can think of many other people who may have been a bit peeved at the fact that their elected Mayor had used a comment about Concentration Camps to verbally attack a reporter who is known to be Jewish.

Wooargh! Let's have a bit of context here. Ken was walking home in his private time and being accosted by a journo from a paper who have made it their business to plot his downfall.

If he'd said those words at a press conference, there might be a point to this, but the late-night, post-booze comments were aimed solely at the reporter. Not the most sensible thing Ken's said granted, but if anyone was 'offended' by his words it's only down to the Standard plastering them all over their shitty front page in an attempt to pursue their agenda.