I have just driven along the Embankment between Westminster Bridge and
Temple and just about every lamp post on both sides of the road is
bearing a vertical hanging banner stating "I am a Londoner", followed
by "Mayor of London" and "British Gas".

Does anyone know what the purpose of this latest inanity is?

If it was, for example, the President of Iran proclaiming "I am a
Londoner", in Kennedyesque (Ich bin ein Berliner) solidarity against
terrorist bombers I would understand and condone the sentiment, even if
it was a total waste of money.

But what is the point of this latest gimmick. Anyone any ideas?

In message .com,
" writes

I have just driven along the Embankment between Westminster Bridge and
Temple and just about every lamp post on both sides of the road is
bearing a vertical hanging banner stating "I am a Londoner", followed
by "Mayor of London" and "British Gas".

Does anyone know what the purpose of this latest inanity is?

http://www.london.gov.uk/onelondon/

--
Paul Terry

On Sun, 27 Aug 2006 Paul Terry wrote:

In message .com,
" writes

I have just driven along the Embankment between Westminster Bridge and
Temple and just about every lamp post on both sides of the road is
bearing a vertical hanging banner stating "I am a Londoner", followed
by "Mayor of London" and "British Gas".

Does anyone know what the purpose of this latest inanity is?

http://www.london.gov.uk/onelondon/

I see that's under the heading Crime, Policing and Emergencies. I
presume that refers to the crime of wasting my taxpayer's money, or the
crime of disfiguring lamp posts, or both.
--
Thoss

thoss wrote:
On Sun, 27 Aug 2006 Paul Terry wrote:

In message .com,
" writes

I have just driven along the Embankment between Westminster Bridge and
Temple and just about every lamp post on both sides of the road is
bearing a vertical hanging banner stating "I am a Londoner", followed
by "Mayor of London" and "British Gas".

Does anyone know what the purpose of this latest inanity is?

http://www.london.gov.uk/onelondon/

I see that's under the heading Crime, Policing and Emergencies. I
presume that refers to the crime of wasting my taxpayer's money, or the
crime of disfiguring lamp posts, or both.
--
Thoss

The "crime" to which you refer, gets even worse!

Having visited the website, I see that I can ask for 200 stickers, 100
posters and 100 pin badges, without even specifying why I want them!
So, the waste of taxpayers' money is being equalled by the waste of
paper, metal and plastic for these trinkets being supplied to anyone
that wants them! Oh well, I'd better order my quota - never know what
they will fetch on Ebay in a year or two!

Come on - PLEASE somebody admit to having voted for all this nonsense!

Marc.

" wrote:

Come on - PLEASE somebody admit to having voted for all this nonsense!

Alas, I missed voting for Ken the first time round by a few months as
I hadn't yet moved to London, and I missed voting for him the second
time around as I'd just moved out of London, though I still commute in
to work there. I would have voted for Ken both times, and would vote
for him again if I ever move back to London, despite being a
card-carrying Lib Dem.

Roy

Roy Stilling wrote:
" wrote:

Come on - PLEASE somebody admit to having voted for all this nonsense!

Alas, I missed voting for Ken the first time round by a few months as
I hadn't yet moved to London, and I missed voting for him the second
time around as I'd just moved out of London, though I still commute in
to work there. I would have voted for Ken both times, and would vote
for him again if I ever move back to London, despite being a
card-carrying Lib Dem.

Roy

Okay, Roy, but do you not see something anomalous in supporting Ken's
munificence without actually having to pay for it? Maybe if you lived
in London and saw your Council Tax bill rising inexorably, you might
think differently.

In fact, that is exactly what led to Ken's first downfall - the fact
that the poor ratepayers of Bromley had to finance his generous
transport subsidy without much benefiting from it.

Marc.

" wrote:

Come on - PLEASE somebody admit to having voted for all this nonsense!

I admit to voting for him, twice, despite the fact that I will never
vote red in any general election for the rest of my life. The main
reason was that the rival candidates were all hopeless muppets that
would have been much worse.

It looks like there is going to be no decent/sensible/worthwhile
opposition for the next mayoral election either, so you can look
forward to a third term I reckon.

On 27 Aug 2006 08:57:57 -0700, "
wrote:

I have just driven along the Embankment between Westminster Bridge and
Temple and just about every lamp post on both sides of the road is
bearing a vertical hanging banner stating "I am a Londoner", followed
by "Mayor of London" and "British Gas".

Does anyone know what the purpose of this latest inanity is?

If it was, for example, the President of Iran proclaiming "I am a
Londoner", in Kennedyesque (Ich bin ein Berliner) solidarity against
terrorist bombers I would understand and condone the sentiment, even if
it was a total waste of money.

But what is the point of this latest gimmick. Anyone any ideas?

It's just a general "feel good about your city" campaign for both
residents and tourists alike. Works on some people, doesn't work on
others. Given that Capital Radio and British Gas paid for it, what's
your specific complaint about it? Because I can't think of any
downsides.

Other world class cities such as Sydney and New York are always
running similar feelgood campaigns.

It's better than drab empty lampposts. What would you rather they hang
up? I suspect if they hung Union or England flags everywhere (like
Paris does with French flags) there would be even more of an outcry,
knowing this barmy nation.

Peter Frimberley wrote:
On 27 Aug 2006 08:57:57 -0700, "
wrote:

I have just driven along the Embankment between Westminster Bridge and
Temple and just about every lamp post on both sides of the road is
bearing a vertical hanging banner stating "I am a Londoner", followed
by "Mayor of London" and "British Gas".

Does anyone know what the purpose of this latest inanity is?

If it was, for example, the President of Iran proclaiming "I am a
Londoner", in Kennedyesque (Ich bin ein Berliner) solidarity against
terrorist bombers I would understand and condone the sentiment, even if
it was a total waste of money.

But what is the point of this latest gimmick. Anyone any ideas?

It's just a general "feel good about your city" campaign for both
residents and tourists alike. Works on some people, doesn't work on
others. Given that Capital Radio and British Gas paid for it, what's
your specific complaint about it? Because I can't think of any
downsides.

Other world class cities such as Sydney and New York are always
running similar feelgood campaigns.

It's better than drab empty lampposts. What would you rather they hang
up? I suspect if they hung Union or England flags everywhere (like
Paris does with French flags) there would be even more of an outcry,
knowing this barmy nation.

Here's my proposal for a good "feel good about my city" campaign:

"The office of Mayor of London is to be abolished and the expensive and
wasteful infrastructure that goes with it will be wound up."

Ken already had a practice run in 1985, so it should not be too
difficult for him to repeat it.

Given that planning consent is required for all public advertisement
hoardings, and I assiduously read the City of Westminster plannig
applications advertised in my local newspaper every week, I am pretty
sure that Ken has no planning consent for these banners.

Union Flags I would have no objection to - the Mall looks superb
whenever the flags are out, but I do have a real philosophical
objections to gimmicks of the sort I've seen today, whether they are
paid for from the public purse or not.

Marc.

"Peter Frimberley" wrote:

It's just a general "feel good about your city" campaign for both
residents and tourists alike. Works on some people, doesn't work on
others. Given that Capital Radio and British Gas paid for it, what's
your specific complaint about it? Because I can't think of any
downsides.

I'd rather have some money off my gas bill than millions squandered on Ken's
re-election campaign.

Chris