London Mayoral Election

[The Larch]

I know her name (Anne Hidalgo) , but I wouldn't recognize her in a pic.

Now you know. 

[Sheilbh]

Incidentally, this thread made me realize that Khan and De Blasio are probably the only two mayors from non-Spanish cities I can name and recognize.

Not even the Paris one?

Yeah - non-UK ones I know are de Blasio and Hidalgo. I used to know mayor of Berlin when Wowereit was in charge. And I have an idea of the mayor of Barcelona because she briefly really excited the UK left.

With Khan it's weird because he's been so freighted with symbolism - I remember him getting a congratulation from Hilary Clinton - so he's very widely known but has, in all honesty, been a fairly mediocre mayor. And that goes both ways. He is more famous globally than I'd expect for a London mayor, but you should never look at the comments on literally anything he posts on social media for example because it's just an open sewer of global Islamophobia

[Duque de Bragança]

I know her name (Anne Hidalgo) , but I wouldn't recognize her in a pic.

Formely Ana Hidalgo. Reclaimed Spanish citizenship in 2003 so dual citizenship now.

Nicknamed Hidingo or Notre Dame des Bobos.

Bicycle pic is clearly outdated, e-scooters are al the rage for bobos now.

[Sheilbh]

1 - Luisa Porritt - Lib Dems
The election was meant to be May last year and got postponed because of covid. Being a candidate is unpaid for most parties and takes a lot of your time, so their initial candidate withdrew then in the new selection her main opponent had to step down after allegations of anti-semitism. So she became the candidate by default, the two sweetest words in the English language.

2 - Shaun Bailey - Tory
The Tories keep trying to make Shaun Bailey happen - and you can understand why. As well as being a minority he's got a great back story - council flat, single mum, very few GCSEs and pulled himself up by his bootstraps etc. Unfortunately he is a dreadful candidate (just like he was when he was running for parliament). He's probably running the worst Tory campaign for Mayor I've seen and the last guy spent most of the campaign race-baiting and their first candidate was arrested for perjury.

3 - Laurence Fox - Reclaim Party
First of several middle aged men running on an "anti-woke/anti-lockdown" platform. Best known from Lewis and Keira Knightley's first big hit, The Hole. Ex-hubsand of Billie Piper and she is well clear of him. Since the divorce he's been trying to fill the Farage shaped hole to widespread indifference.

4 - Kam Balayev - Renew Party
Renew are the last party standing from the slew of pro-European centrist parties set up in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum. Very inspired by En Marche, but without the charismatic senior politician at the centre of it, so a bit of a party in search of an electorate.

5 - Piers Corbyn - Let London Live
Brother of Jeremy and our second anti-lockdown canndidate - also anti-vax his main issue lately is that the vaccine rollout is the new Auschwitz (shocking for a Corbyn brother to make a tone-deaf Holocaust reference, but here we are). He's a former weatherman who, until covid, was mainly obsessessed with climate change being a hoax and conspiracy.

6 - Mandu Reid - Women's Equality Party
I don't know much about her. The WEP were very focused on issues of equality but basically only looked at sex - so ignored issues of race or class or education or wealth. Which is a bit of a problematic analysis and basically leads to a party who's main issue is appointing more of its members to the boards of companies. At least according to a friend who stepped down as their first press officer after about one profoundly disappointing week. May have changed in recent years - don't know.

7 - Sadiq
Query - why do all London Mayors get mainly known by their first name? Ken, Boris, Sadiq. It's odd - maybe something to do with how Londoners relate to their mayors as their representative (something similar with Andy in Manchester and Big Joe in Liverpool - before the flood).

8 - Sian Berry - Greens
I quite like her. She'll probably get my first vote.

9 - Dr Peter Gammons (really - well, possibly) - UKIP
He got his doctorate from some non-registered institution in the US and is also a faith healer. According to his personal website he is, under a different name, a Lord and has numerous other lines of work, including as a parfumier, actor, motivational speaker, musician, peacemaker etc. He has appeared in a Bollywood soap opera and there is this startling music video from his attempted 80s pop career:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5WouIzjgqo&t=30s
Another of the men responding to their mid-life crisis by trying to be the next Farage.

10 - Valerie Brown - Burning Pink
So Burning Pink are a protest group a bit like Extinction Rebellion and there's a bit of cross-over. Their schtick is painting public buildings pink. Main agenda is to dissolve government and replace it with citizens' assemblies to deal with the climate emergency.

11 - David Kurten - Heritage Party
Former UKIP London Assembly Member. He is also running on an anti-woke, anti-lockdown and anti-vax campaign - he's rejected the vaccine. Big issues seems to be family values and opposing the "gender war" plus free speech and ending lockdown. Kurten didn't just follow Farage out of UKIP, but did leave UKIP shortly after for the same reason - basically that UKIP was becoming an Islamophobic, far-right party (or too far-right for Kurten).

Missing are:
Max Fosh a Youtuber who wants more votes than Laurence Fox
The Social Democratic Party (another party trying to replace UKIP - I find it fascinating that the Lib Dems are the most pro-European party but the continuity Liberals and SDP were both very pro-Brexit)
Brian Rose as posted by Larch who is another anti-woke/lockdown candidate
The Rejoin EU candidate
The Animal Welfare Party candidate
Count Binface
A former Tory running on the single issue of reducing the congestion charge ()
A pastor who runs a knife-crime charity who is running as an independent
Another Youtuber called Niko Omilana (can't see much about him - I think he mainly does pranks).

I thought Drillminister was running but not according to Wiki so he might not have formerly been nominated

[Barrister]

For fucks sakes people - the they're called ties.  Wear them!

I probably would have gone for guy in the tux.  I'm normally against bow-ties, but it's acceptable in a tux.  But I thought I recognized him, and that was confirmed in the thread.

So let's go for the black guy.  It's a shot from the side and he looks well-dressed, so I'm just hoping he's wearing a tie.

You want a guy with a proper suit & tie for your vote? He's your man, Beeb.

By the way I'm not opposed to voting for a woman - but these are important jobs and they can at least be wearing some kind of suit.

Those might not necessarily be promotional pics, Beeb, just what Sheilbh picked for the poll.

I don't trust red ties - they tend to be leftists.

And of course Sheilbh hand-picked the photos.  But I'm just playing the game by the rules of the game.

[Barrister]

2 - Shaun Bailey - Tory
The Tories keep trying to make Shaun Bailey happen - and you can understand why. As well as being a minority he's got a great back story - council flat, single mum, very few GCSEs and pulled himself up by his bootstraps etc. Unfortunately he is a dreadful candidate (just like he was when he was running for parliament). He's probably running the worst Tory campaign for Mayor I've seen and the last guy spent most of the campaign race-baiting and their first candidate was arrested for perjury.

Aha! Nailed it!

[Admiral Yi]

I think I got the UKIP guy right. 

[crazy canuck]

I went with the crazy looking guy, and it turns out he is a crazy.

[Sheilbh]

I went with the crazy looking guy, and it turns out he is a crazy.

But wearing a tie.

[Eddie Teach]

For fucks sakes people - the they're called ties.  Wear them!

I probably would have gone for guy in the tux.  I'm normally against bow-ties, but it's acceptable in a tux.  But I thought I recognized him, and that was confirmed in the thread.

So let's go for the black guy.  It's a shot from the side and he looks well-dressed, so I'm just hoping he's wearing a tie.

You want a guy with a proper suit & tie for your vote? He's your man, Beeb.

By the way I'm not opposed to voting for a woman - but these are important jobs and they can at least be wearing some kind of suit.

Those might not necessarily be promotional pics, Beeb, just what Sheilbh picked for the poll.

I don't trust red ties - they tend to be leftists.

And of course Sheilbh hand-picked the photos.  But I'm just playing the game by the rules of the game.

I don't trust pin stripes.

[celedhring]

Yeah, pin stripes are really tacky, which in politicians tends to be a marker for nutiness.

[Sheilbh]

The guy in the pinstripes is American.

I assumed he was just a sub-Farage but he's clearly a sub-Trump with no name recognition

[Barrister]

The guy in the pinstripes is American.

I assumed he was just a sub-Farage but he's clearly a sub-Trump with no name recognition

Who is he then?  Google image search, and looking at the URL, turns up nothing.

[Valmy]

1 - Luisa Porritt - Lib Dems
The election was meant to be May last year and got postponed because of covid. Being a candidate is unpaid for most parties and takes a lot of your time, so their initial candidate withdrew then in the new selection her main opponent had to step down after allegations of anti-semitism. So she became the candidate by default, the two sweetest words in the English language.

2 - Shaun Bailey - Tory
The Tories keep trying to make Shaun Bailey happen - and you can understand why. As well as being a minority he's got a great back story - council flat, single mum, very few GCSEs and pulled himself up by his bootstraps etc. Unfortunately he is a dreadful candidate (just like he was when he was running for parliament). He's probably running the worst Tory campaign for Mayor I've seen and the last guy spent most of the campaign race-baiting and their first candidate was arrested for perjury.

3 - Laurence Fox - Reclaim Party
First of several middle aged men running on an "anti-woke/anti-lockdown" platform. Best known from Lewis and Keira Knightley's first big hit, The Hole. Ex-hubsand of Billie Piper and she is well clear of him. Since the divorce he's been trying to fill the Farage shaped hole to widespread indifference.

4 - Kam Balayev - Renew Party
Renew are the last party standing from the slew of pro-European centrist parties set up in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum. Very inspired by En Marche, but without the charismatic senior politician at the centre of it, so a bit of a party in search of an electorate.

5 - Piers Corbyn - Let London Live
Brother of Jeremy and our second anti-lockdown canndidate - also anti-vax his main issue lately is that the vaccine rollout is the new Auschwitz (shocking for a Corbyn brother to make a tone-deaf Holocaust reference, but here we are). He's a former weatherman who, until covid, was mainly obsessessed with climate change being a hoax and conspiracy.

6 - Mandu Reid - Women's Equality Party
I don't know much about her. The WEP were very focused on issues of equality but basically only looked at sex - so ignored issues of race or class or education or wealth. Which is a bit of a problematic analysis and basically leads to a party who's main issue is appointing more of its members to the boards of companies. At least according to a friend who stepped down as their first press officer after about one profoundly disappointing week. May have changed in recent years - don't know.

7 - Sadiq
Query - why do all London Mayors get mainly known by their first name? Ken, Boris, Sadiq. It's odd - maybe something to do with how Londoners relate to their mayors as their representative (something similar with Andy in Manchester and Big Joe in Liverpool - before the flood).

8 - Sian Berry - Greens
I quite like her. She'll probably get my first vote.

9 - Dr Peter Gammons (really - well, possibly) - UKIP
He got his doctorate from some non-registered institution in the US and is also a faith healer. According to his personal website he is, under a different name, a Lord and has numerous other lines of work, including as a parfumier, actor, motivational speaker, musician, peacemaker etc. He has appeared in a Bollywood soap opera and there is this startling music video from his attempted 80s pop career:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5WouIzjgqo&t=30s
Another of the men responding to their mid-life crisis by trying to be the next Farage.

10 - Valerie Brown - Burning Pink
So Burning Pink are a protest group a bit like Extinction Rebellion and there's a bit of cross-over. Their schtick is painting public buildings pink. Main agenda is to dissolve government and replace it with citizens' assemblies to deal with the climate emergency.

11 - David Kurten - Heritage Party
Former UKIP London Assembly Member. He is also running on an anti-woke, anti-lockdown and anti-vax campaign - he's rejected the vaccine. Big issues seems to be family values and opposing the "gender war" plus free speech and ending lockdown. Kurten didn't just follow Farage out of UKIP, but did leave UKIP shortly after for the same reason - basically that UKIP was becoming an Islamophobic, far-right party (or too far-right for Kurten).

Missing are:
Max Fosh a Youtuber who wants more votes than Laurence Fox
The Social Democratic Party (another party trying to replace UKIP - I find it fascinating that the Lib Dems are the most pro-European party but the continuity Liberals and SDP were both very pro-Brexit)
Brian Rose as posted by Larch who is another anti-woke/lockdown candidate
The Rejoin EU candidate
The Animal Welfare Party candidate
Count Binface
A former Tory running on the single issue of reducing the congestion charge ()
A pastor who runs a knife-crime charity who is running as an independent
Another Youtuber called Niko Omilana (can't see much about him - I think he mainly does pranks).

I thought Drillminister was running but not according to Wiki so he might not have formerly been nominated

Lots of Judean People's Front versus the People's Front of Judea going on there.

[Sheilbh]

Who is he then?  Google image search, and looking at the URL, turns up nothing.

He's a conspiracy theory podcaster and former banker I think - Brian Rose. He is at least getting attention through his very weird social media presence.