"Mizter T" wrote
I think Ken did once have ambitions beyond London, but
they had gone by the time he was elected Mayor in 2000.

Exactly right. After Mrs Thatcher scrapped the GLC, Ken stated that only the
house of Commons could really achieve anything; however, after a couple of
years as a back bench MP, isolated even within Kinnock's Old Labour, he soon
realised that there was no 'guaranteed' way of achieving his ends, then he
turned his attention back to more local aims.

Boris is 'old tory' just as much as Ken is 'old labour'; he is loyal to
those who voted for him, and has his own agenda. I suspect his differences
with the National Tories are smaller than a few news stories might suggest,
and when/if Lord Snooty gets elected, he'll work much more closely with
them.

At the moment, he has power, they don't - and he's not going to waste
opportunities, simply to please Her Majesty's Official Opposition.

However much of a Tory Boris is, he ain't stupid, and he recognises that
London needs those awful socialist ideas like public transport. One reason
why Lord Snooty has to keep saying that many of Boris' plans are 'local
issues' up for local decisions (eg anything remotely connected to congestion
charging).

London will always be a 'special case', and it's no surprise that Boris'
policies differ from Ken's only in superficial ways. So far, at least.

Boris' re-election manifesto will be a joy to behold ;o)
--

Andrew

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