Congratulations to Brian Paddick for being selected as the Liberal Democrat London Mayor candidate, winning 73% of the first preference votes. The party’s website has the story as does the BBC.
PS: The Wimbledon Guardian reports the story under the intriguing headline, ‘Former Gay Copper Picked For Lib Dems’. We knew Brian had retired from the police, but…
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24 Comments
Hardly a surprise but great to finally have a candidate and be able to take on Ken and Boris. It’s been a good race and all three contenders have come out of it well – The hustings at Brighton was the first occasion I had any feeling that a win for us was even possible but now I think it is.
Well done all.
What was the full votes breakdown?
Brian Facebook group here:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4290828794
Hopefully Paddick’s candidacy will add a sensible and policy led dimension to the coming election campaign.
I’m pleased to see someone of the stature of Paddick standing for us. He isnt a celebrity “drafted in” – anyone who saw his policies during his time in the job could see he was clearly a Lib Dem at heart.
Do we know how the votes broke down? Clearly a win for Brian but I’d be very interested in how far apart 2nd and 3rd were.
More to the point, as many candidates in selections and many selection panels should realise, appeallign to Lib Dems because you’ve worked hard in by-elections and are an all-round good egg may be very worthy, but it doesn’t automatically translate into appealling to the 99+% of the population who AREN’T Lib Dem activists.
We need a candidate who can go out there and win. London needs a Lib Dem candidate who can go out there and win.
Although it’s rare that I want to defend the Wimbledon Guardian, the story is actually on the Streatham News website – it’s just that they share a website . . .
Brian Paddick has held a senior position in an important public body with a huge budget that effects the lives of Londoners.
Neither of the other candidates for selection has ever done this, as far as I am aware.
The challenge for Brian is to prove that not only is he capable of giving orders (the job of a senior police officer), but he is also able to listen and build consensus.
And there is already some evidence that he can do both of these.
It remains to be seen if our opponents use homophobia as a campaigning weapon.
The moral right detests Brian Paddick with a passion. For them, he symbolises the collapse of hierarchy and traditional social relationships that David Cameron bemoaned over the weekend. Expect a bit of hectoring from the likes of Peter Hitchens and Melanie Phillips, and some greedy attention-seekers claiming to be ex-boyfriends.
The ’73 %’ comes from the BBC, and was no doubt disclosed at the press conference. The votes of the other 2 candidates don’t seem to be public.
An excellent candidate. The problem with too many lib dems in London is their obsession with global warming and so on. Crime etc does not figure.
But Paddick does talk about it, and other issues, and clearly has his feet on the ground. And he’s had a proper job.
Perhaps a minor thing, but perhaps the party website should really have a picture of Brian rather than Vince on the press release?
Moderation note: I’ve moderated some comments from Ralph Magus (along with responses to them) because they were written as if from a Lib Dem activist, but there is surrounding evidence that they were really written by someone else trying to pass themselves off as a Lib Dem activist. Apologies if I’ve done you a diservice Ralph; if that’s the case just get in touch to clarify matters and I can restore the postings.
Angus Huck: “Brian Paddick has held a senior position in an important public body with a huge budget that effects the lives of Londoners.
Neither of the other candidates for selection has ever done this, as far as I am aware.”
Ken Livingstone has of course now been Mayor of London for over seven years…
Anonymous @ 14:
Candidates for selection, not for election – he means the other two LibDem candidates.
Just caught the end of Brian’s interview on BBC 1 London news; impressive, not thrown by any of the questions that I saw.
9,14 – Surprised grammar police have not corrected ‘effects’ to ‘affects’ yet.
With the greatest respect to Brian, being gay, he may be statistically less likely to EFFECT lives….
Does anyone know how one can pose a question to Brian to clarify his announcement on congestion charging for teh whole of Greater London
Before I vote would like to know what this candidate’s policy is for knife and gun crime. I have two teenage boys who do not feel safe enough to go out-with six murders in our area since Christmas who can blame them? We have a crisis in this city and yet it seems to be fairly low down on the candidates list of priorities.
Am becoming a little disapointed and worried about some of the policy content of the campaign.
Namely about the (apparent?) desire to conjestion charge people who live outside the M25 .
Conjestion charging is meant to encourage people to use Public Transpert , whilst the boundaeries of the M25 are primarily Rural areas without sufficient public transport . Quite where the logic in this is (other than to penalise those live outside London and can’t vote).
Also the (reported ? ) proposal to do yet another PPP (Public private Partnership) on running the Tube after the catastrophy of Gorden Browns prevoious effort, seems unlikely to appeal to the electorate.
Does anyone know where these policys are actually coming from ? Obviously Brian is getting advise on such things I assume? It would be a shame if an energetic campaign faltered becuase the right message wasn’t being put across .
John Fraser
John (and others)
You can see Brian’s full manifesto at http://www.brianpaddick.org, but just to answer the last two specific points here is what we saying about the idea behind a boundary Congestion Charge.
“The Liberal Democrat Mayor will ask Transport for London to conduct a feasibility study into introducing a £10 Congestion Charge using the boundary and technology on the GLA perimeter already installed for the LEZ scheme. The charge will be targeted at long-distance car-driving commuters during the morning peak (Monday-Friday: 7am-10am) with the aim of shifting people to rail, and of reducing severe pollution levels on the arterial roads leading into the capital. ”
Note the use of the word “feasibility”, but already we are investigating A/ The legalities behind offering support for enhanced public transport options beyond the GLA boundary; and B/ how to avoid harming town shopping centres (for instance) on the edge of London. And people can be assured that under a Lib Dem Mayor the results of the consultation exercise that will need to take place will be carefully assessed, and the results abided by. Something the current Labour mayor singularly fails to do.
As for the Tube we are certainly NOT proposing another PPP. Gordon Brown’s failed scheme has already cost London far too much! Again from the manifesto:
“Liberal Democrats want to run the tube like every other form of public transport run by the Mayor and Transport for London (buses, DLR, North London Line): through the “concession model” where Transport for London sets the fares and service standards and takes the fare box, and a contractor is paid a fee to deliver the service.”
Hope this helps.
Sue,
Gun and kife crime is mentioned in the manifesto.
The Mayor will chair the Metropolitan Police Authority to set targets focusing
on local issues.
He will meet all Borough Commanders and community leaders to establish
local policing priorities. He will direct police officers to engage actively with
local communities to regain their trust, concentrating on what local people
want.
We will get knives and guns off the street by intelligence-led stop and search.
We will avoid alienating communities by race-based stop and search.
Brian Paddock
Should you or will you extend free or cheap fare to London Jobseekers if elected in May 2008.
Will you divert free training to the unemployed as opposed to the employed people from the GLA headquarters.
Will you support Brit jobs for Euro workers in future or will British people be forced into unemployment at lack of immigration controls on the UK. will you support jobtrials and job training to the unemployed now
“Will you support Brit jobs for Euro workers in future or will British people be forced into unemployment at lack of immigration controls on the UK”
Perhaps if you could write a coherent sentence, you’d find it easier to get a job.